Loved this! We practiced elimination communication from birth with my first. She was pooping in the potty by 8 months and out of diapers by 17 months. She’s now 2 1/2 and loves encouraging her baby brother, who’s 7 months, to go on the potty. We’ve been doing it with him from birth as well!!
We also did this my mum did this with me from 9mo, my grandmother encouraged her to do so. its actually quite freeing to have baby out of nappies! we stopped using them at 10mo, and baby has been pretty much consistently dry since 14mo now 19mo (obviously accidents do happen still sometimes but thats normal with young children)
We have done elimination communication with both our kids and I love hearing it mentioned in such a positive way! I think my favorite thing about EC was that it was so gentle and gradual, we didn't have to suddenly take away diapers and changing their whole world. EC just slowly turns into having a potty trained kiddo. The bonus is that we used less diapers per day and we stopped using diapers well before 18 months.
I couldn’t agree more about our experience with EC and the ease of transition! It was such a positive experience for us as a family, and it’s refreshing to actually hear a pediatrician mention it in a positive light too!
My son is 19months old and I cannot wait for the next video to know more potty training. I am already thinking about this topic for months. Exciting ✌️Thank you for the info so far🙏
So excited for this, can’t wait for the next video! My son is almost 18 months and it’s so encouraging to know we might be closer to being potty trained than I thought 🎉
This video came out just in time. My son is 15months and we have been thinking about potty training prep a lot. We don’t plan to start until 18months but this is very helpful info.
Our daughter is 16 months and has been pretty vocal about her bowel movements but doesn't want to have her diaper changed. 😅 This was super encouraging for us to look at training early, thank you!
Love seeing doctors talking about early potty training/EC! I toilet trained my son starting at 3 months using only transition times (waking up for a nap, getting home.) Babies are definitely smarter than we give them credit for, its funny how some doctors will swear babies don't have sphincter control until 18 months.
We did a bit of EC around transition time in early infancy with our first too, but were never consistent enough to make it stick until 18-22 months for our kiddos.
I’m so glad you discussed this! I’m doing some forms of elimination communication with my children, and we do cloth diaper which has opened my mind to earlier potty training anyway. It is interesting how where the money is the recommendations tend to lean. I’m glad you covered this!
We are right there. 2 1/2, it's been a very slow introduction. I didn't want anything too intense because we would have a newborn. But I keep feeling so much guilt/questioning myself because she was already showing interest a year ago. She would already sit on the potty for a bit. Even peed occasionally. But the I got pregnant and was hit with worse fatigue than my first pregnancy and nausea. I just couldn't be present to keep teaching her in the way she needed me. But since my husband is taking a few weeks off at the end of the month, our goal is to work together to be really intentional about getting it "done".
We potty trained our first the first weekend we were home with baby #2 because it was a time when we had 2-parent support. It can most certainly get challenging when there are younger kiddos in the house, but you can do it!
My daughter is 18 months and been peeing on the potty since 16 months. Sometimes she asks to go and I ask her if she wants to go any time I go. She usually goes 2-5 times a day in the potty, but she’s not staying dry inbetween, so she’s in a mix of pullups and cloth diapers still. We’ve caught a couple #2s as well. This was great information.
I’ve felt for a little while now that my almost two year old is ready for potty training, he checks all the boxes that were mentioned in the video. I just need to get my husband and I ready to get started! Playing devils advocate for childcare centres because I work in one and specifically with infants, sometimes it’s an issue of the actual infrastructure you’re working with. There’s no toilet in the infant room I work in, so to take a child multiple times a day to a different room would require calling another educator every time to cover them off. And sometimes there’s no one to call because everyone is needed somewhere. I think it’s important to do our best to meet families where they’re at, but there are a lot of barriers for ECE’s and childcare centres.
We 100% understand the challenges at many childcare centers and completely understand that “early” potty learning doesn’t work for every situation. Thanks for sharing and good luck!
Wow, thank you so much for covering this! I had my first 10 years ago and just did what my mom did (and her mom and so on). So my daughter was diaper free by one. That's when she had to go to daycare and it was heartbreaking to hear from care givers that they don't have time to take her to the washroom (but they did have time for changing poopy diapers). At 22 months she just refused to put her diaper on and went to daycare in underwear:) no accidents to the caregivers surprise. Now I am teaching my second. She is 8 months now and it's been a month since I had to change a poopy diaper. We are taking it slow with peeing since it's harder for me. So we do it before bedtime or if I notice that her diaper is dry after a couple of hours. Both of my girls loved using the toilet. Yes, I need to pay more attention to my child but it's so much more rewarding than spending time cleaning up diaper mess :) and I feel good about doing my part for the environment.
A very fascinating and informative video! Huge respect to those who do EC, I don't have the energy. Mine is 18 months now, we're not quite ready yet. She does like to sit on the potty though, even if she doesn't go, cause she is obsessed with sitting in general nowadays and saying so 🤣
It doesn't take as much energy as you would think, you can do it part time. and actually for me tipping poo in the toilet and flushing it was far more pleasant than the blow outs I had with my first
1. 2 hour gap between pees 2. Pattern through the day with pee/poo 3. Child is able to follow simple commands 4 & 5. The child says 2 word-phrases. "More milk" "peepee" etc. 6. Interest in bathroom 7. Are YOU ready as parents? Back in our parent's time they started potty training as soon as the baby could sit on their own, and on average children were trained by 1 year old. Search "elimination communication".
I'm going to be an older parent so I grew up in a time where being potty trained by 1 was the norm. My mother potty trained all her kids by the age of 1 and I took it for granted I will do the same.
We did nighttime training separately. It’s possible to do at the same time, and doing them separately has potential challenges too. For us, we loved that our toddlers could continue to sleep through the night and saved nighttime training for a little later (2.5-3 years) with our oldest.
We have started potty training at 28 months of age, reason for this was exactly the first keeping- there were lots of changes. When he was 21 months old we had another baby, then when he hit 23 months- we moved to different country and transition wasn’t the easiest, and lastly he started nursery at the age of 25 months.. He communicates good enough for us to understand him, he knows his letters numbers and colours and putting toghether 3 to 4 word sentences. He knows pee pee and poo poo, so we thought we will give it a try to start potty training. We bought steps and family toilet and started putting him creating nice routine where we go on the potty and after he’s done we flush and wash our hands. And I thought it was going good, but he doesn’t say he wants to go. When we put him on toilet and leave for some time he will wee and poo as well with no problem, but if I miss the spot he will wee and soil himself and only alert me straight after saying :” O-oh, wipe down” so I say nothing has happened, you peed/ soiled yourself, next time tell mommy when you need and we’ll go to the toilet. I told his nursery team that we started and they assured me they will be helping him there as well but now he holds his pee for up to 4 hours and I’m not sure if I should continue. We tried for over a week and he still doesn’t say he needs it. I put nappy back on him and now he watches if nothing is leaking when he does pee or poo. Any advice? Do I continue or do I give him some time? I have no issue wiping down the floors just wondering if it won’t make any harm to him if he’s holding for so long
I’ve read the Oh Crap book and my son is definitely ready. I’m the one who doesn’t want to go through that intense first few days. That sounds like torture…
Summary of “Pediatrician Shares Keys to Being Ready for Potty Training Early” (RU-vid video): • Presenters: Dr. Kurt (Pediatrician) and Dr. Sarah (OBGYN), parents who potty-trained their children before age two. • Overview: They share their personal experience, historical background, and expert advice on early potty training, emphasizing that it’s possible to potty train children before the typical age of 3 years. • Historical context: • In the 1930s-40s, potty training often started early (by 6-12 months), but practices shifted in the 1960s to more child-centered approaches. • The current U.S. average for potty training is 37 months, much later than in previous generations. • Cultural Impact: Disposable diapers and social norms have delayed potty training in modern times. The shift is cultural, not necessarily based on children’s biological readiness. • Signs of Potty Training Readiness: 1. Longer stretches between wet diapers (around 2 hours). 2. Predictable bathroom habits or patterns. 3. Ability to follow simple commands. 4. Use of two-word phrases (optional but helpful). 5. Verbal or non-verbal communication about going to the bathroom. 6. Interest in the potty (e.g., watching others use it). • Key Points: • Parents must be ready and committed to the process. • Consistency and creating a supportive environment are critical. • Accidents will happen, so patience and positivity are essential. • Recommended Tools: • Potty chairs, kids’ books, and other resources to aid the transition. • Next Steps: The next video will cover tips, tricks, and strategies for beginning the potty training process. The doctors emphasize that there is no right or wrong age, and readiness depends on both the child and the parent.
Do you go diaper free for naps too for a two year old? My 24month old poops in his crib before I even know he woke up or maybe in the middle of the night. I’m not sure. He refuses to poop in the potty no matter what but will pee. I just started potty training him but he mostly doesn’t stay dry for a long time. It always depends and sometimes it can be as short as 45min interval. So that has been tricky. He also doesn’t show me cues for peeing. But I mostly struggle with his poop. I can’t get him to stop pooping during bedtime, when we sleep together he can hold it for up to 3 days and I have to let him be and the moment he is on his own, in his bed, he’ll go 😭
Thanks for talking about EC! So tired of hearing doctors tell me that potty training isn't possible because kids "can't control their bowel movements" before 2, when I know I was potty trained by 1 because disposable diapers didn't exist where I was born. Having the same problem as some other parents though where the daycare is unwilling to do anything besides diapers, and so my baby is having a regression...
We will talk about this a bit next week. You really can’t force it. Try to stay positive. Positive reinforcement and positive associations with the potty are key.
I read diaper free baby but once I had the small, pooping angel in my arms all my grand plans went out the window. I did pull the diaper off for a few hours one day and managed to miss 2/3 pees. Seeing how many times she peed in such a short period of time with no noticeable indicators discouraged me, but maybe it's time to try again. She's 4 months. 😅 She also only poops every 2-3 days. No clue how I'll practice seeing the signs for that!
Your experience with that “small pooping angel” sounds a lot like what we experienced. For us, EC at that early age just wasn’t feasible and we had so much trouble trying to understand the pee cues too! Our only success at that you age was with scheduled times (waking up from nap, bath time, etc) and then we gave up and decided to wait until she was older. Keep up the great work and know that it’s okay to be human. ☺️
Just go for part time you'll gradually get there dont try to catch everything, its impossible. Traditional EC cultures dont try catch everything, As westerns we try do everything the perfect way. 4mo is actually a hard age to start I think 6mo probs will be easier once they have poo face
Misses are normal you cant catch everything best to stick to scheduled times at that age, waking after eating before and after coming out of sling/baby carrier. I think because we don't come from EC culture we try treat EC like potty training, but its not, you miss some you catch some, do easy catches and with time it comes together gradually every time you catch something you have saved a nappy and thats fantastic. I was the same when I first started then I saw this woman from southern india where they do EC as a norm saying YOU CANT CATCH EVERYTHING stop trying to be perfectionist which is how she saw EC being done in western culture, and then I realised and stopped stressing so much
We will cover this more next week, but don’t recommend any pants to get started at home, and then something loose fitting for the first month or so at least.
