Elimination Communication

What is Elimination Communication (EC)?

Elimination communication is a practice where a caregiver watches for an infant to signal the need to pee or poop and holds the baby over a waste receptacle. It may also be called infant potty training or infant hygiene.

Ingrid Bauer coined the term “elimination communication” back in 2001; however, the idea was not a new one and comes from ancient civilizations throughout the world. It was common practice before the advent of diapers in the 1950s.

When diapers first hit the market, they were not popular. Parents did not understand why they would want to leave the baby to sit in their own waste for any period of time, and they were seen as wasteful.

In 1962, pediatric developmental specialist Dr. T. Berry Brazelton published a paper arguing that parents should not push their children to use the toilet before they were ready. It is interesting to note that Dr. Brazelton was a consultant of Pampers and appeared on Pampers commercials.

Today, it is estimated that 95% of families use disposable diapers—that’s a lot of diapers! Disposal diapers are estimated to be the third-largest single consumer item in landfills today and are a billion-dollar business. Children are staying in diapers longer and longer, and the landfills are getting fuller and fuller.

Not only do diapers take up physical space they are packed with chemicals linked to cancer and other diseases.

My experience with Elimination Communication

While diapers do offer an undeniable level of convenience, I chose to practice elimination communication with my son starting at five months old. For me, the benefits were well worth the initial effort it took to begin EC.

When should you start Elimination Communication?

Why did I wait until 5 months to begin Elimination Communication?

When I first read about it, I thought it was crazy and that there was no way it would work. I was a firm believer that infants can’t control or sense when they need to eliminate waste. I was also somewhat concerned that training early could be detrimental if I made using the toileting a source of stress, or if my son felt like he had to “hold it” until someone could help him to the toilet.

After researching some of the history, I did find some very strict and rigid early potty training protocols that were detrimental; however, EC is nothing like these practices, although it is often lumped in with the term “infant potty training.”

One day I decided to hold him over the toilet and make the recommended “shhh” sound and see what happens. Guess what… he peed. Then I tried it again, with my husband this time, to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. And it happened again.

After that, I purchased Andrea Olson’s book Go Diaper Free for 0-18 months.

It took us about a week and a few observation times and then we were off to the races and on track with EC!

I practice part-time EC with my son, meaning during the day we catch poops and most pees. We use cloth diapers as a backup. When we are out and about, we often just use diapers and do not practice EC.

While he will hold his waste for short periods of time, he doesn’t hold it past the point of comfort. He will wiggle around and signal a few times, and if I don’t take him to the potty, he simply goes in his diaper. This was important to me to ensure I was not causing him discomfort waiting to use the toilet.

Currently, I use disposals at night. I have experimented with using cloth at night and I had too many leaks and middle-of-the-night outfit changes. I tried EC at night a few times, but it woke him up too much and he was ready to play and didn’t want to go back to sleep! For us, using disposals at night allows us to get more sleep and remain leak-free.

Pros of Elimination Communication

• Reduces waste
• Saves money by using fewer diapers
• Child becomes used to using the toilet earlier
• Facilitates connection between caregiver and child
• Decreases irritation or rashes from wet/soiled diapers
• Infant gains confidence as you respond to their needs

Cons of Elimination Communication

• Time- In the beginning, as you learn your baby’s cues, EC is time-consuming.
• Convenience/Logistic- It is often more convenient when out to just have your baby go in his or her diaper and change it when it is convenient for the parents.
• Isolation- It can be difficult if no one else in your social circle practices EC.

Additional Reading

WebMD Cloth vs Disposable