Anyone using Elimination Communication with their kids? We use cloth diapers but were also doing EC with my daughter....was working well - first real success on the toilet at 6 months. Then a change of job and house and and and...it fell by the wayside. She is almost 12 months old now, and it is REALLY hard to tell when she is eliminating. Thinking we may have to wait to try once the weather is warm and I can have her bare bottomed for awhile. Any suggestions about how to get back on track?
I have found myself being sorely disappointed in some of the critical and sometimes judgemental responses to my request for help. Typing on the internet, where we are faceless to eachother, apparently removes the guilt or culpability that might hinder such responses in other situations.
I implore us to be more thoughtful in our responses, and caring about eachother. We of all people as mothers are the target of unwanted advice and criticism - from a neighboor, in-law, sibling, person at the grocery store....you name it. Parenting is hard enough. I hope we can find it within ourselves to be supportive of eachother as we make our way through this parenting journey.
As an update for us - we are steadily making successful steps to reintroduce elimination communication with our daughter. As a result we are better able to meet her needs, and communicate with her; strenghtening our bond even more.
This is something that I have never heard of, can you give me some more info on that.
Thanks,
L. S
I tried EC for awhile, unfortunately I wasn't very good at it. check out this website
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eliminationcommunication/
they usually meet once a month in Hartford, and when I was actively trying to do ec, they really helped. My daughter is now about 16 months, and will only poop in the potty. I can't get her to tell me in words that she has to go, I still rely pretty much on her body language, but it's nice to know that she knows not to poo in her pants. I think the pee thing might be a little harder. It sounds like you got off track for a minute, and I bet you will have no trouble at all getting back on. What I did everytime I stopped with the EC'in was to take her to the potty only when she woke up, before she took a bath or went to bed, and before we left the house. I haven't had the courage yet to try public bathrooms, but she always goes in the potty when I take her. I think she likes having a dry bootie.
Good luck!!
D.
I've never tried EC, but I would just wait it out. My daughter was day potty trained at 18 months. By the time she was 2 she night trained herself, and never-ever wet the bed. 12 months is probably a little early to trying to potty train unless she is giving you the signs. Sorry, I just don't see the point when a child that age is too young to even wipe herself. Plus it's not an expense issue since you are already using cloth diapers. Either way I hope you find what works best for both you and your daughter.
This is one of those issues that become a battle for control,
I'd make very little issue on the subject for a while, give it some time then reintroduce your method,I think the more you pay attention to it the bigger an issue it becomes
I have 5 children and they each trained in thier own way and in very different ways, its one of those things that they do on thier time
try not to worry forget about it for a bit then it will come back naturally
peace love and joy, MB
W.: I know your point made below regarding people being overly critical. I am sorry you had to experience that first hand. I've found that anything different is often viewed as wrong, but I think you're doing an amazing thing. I have a friend who is pregnant who is looking to do something along the lines of EC and I referred her to www.pottytrainingearly.com -- I like how the info is broken up into different posts all linked from the home page so you can easily access the info that might help you. Good luck and I hope you and your daughter are doing well!!!
hi W., i never did this myself, but if you are on aol, they have a breastfeeding support message board that i used to be on a lot, and they had many moms who used it, and were very knowledgeable. even if you dont see a thread specifically about it, the moms mostly signed their messages with kind of codes of what they were into, look for ec or ec-ing in the sigs. i was on it a while ago, dont know if its still the same, but check it out, its not letting me paste the link for some reason, go to aol parenting message boards > parenting babies > feeding your baby > breastfeeding support. hth, D.
ok, i understand how annoying it is to change diapers but honestly I think you are trying to push your baby into toilet training before she is ready. My daughter is three and she also had some early success on the toilet but then suddenly had no desire to do it anymore. Any pediatrician will tell you that children will do it when they are ready, not when you are. I thought my baby was just being difficult and was in training pants up until her third birthday when all of a sudden almost overnight she started going in the potty(not the baby one she did not want anything to do with that). Since then there are no accidents or any bed wetting and I assure you it's because she was just ready to do it on her own as will be the same with your daughter. Don't push her because that may make her not want to do it. Just relax and be patient and when she's ready she will let you know.
It looks like this thread has died off, but I stumbled upon it, so others may as well.
First of all, I think it might help some of the "critics" to know a little bit about Elimination Communication.
The concept is based on the idea that mothers/parents in many cultures do not use diapers, yet can hold their bare-bottomed babies without being covered in poo. The way they do this is by learning their child's elimination habits and watching for the signs that the baby has to "go". The baby is then taken to a location (potty, bowl, woods) so that mother and baby (and innocent bystanders) all stay clean and sanitary.
Just as babies learn to sleep and eat, they learn their other bodily urges as well. Although they may not be conscious of what they're doing, they do show physical signs that they need to eliminate, and can learn (from birth, according to some) to wait for a cue that it is time to go.
This is not an attempt by lazy parents to avoid changing dirty diapers, it is more commonly used to allow more skin-to-skin contact, cut back on the environmental and financial impact of diapering, limit the amount of time a child is sitting in feces, and aid the "difficult" transition of potty training. Many people have had success with the Elimination Communication method without having to "push" their children to use the potty. It takes great commitment by parents to be incredibly attentive to their child's needs, but many find that it creates a bond like no other.
That said, EC does not work for everyone. However, one of the nice things is that you don't have to do it 100%.
I have not had any practice with EC - I will be a first time mom this September - but I plan on doing my best to see if EC will work for my child and me.
I'm sure W. has solved her problem by now, being that it has been more than two years since her post, but what I've heard is that the most important thing is to stay calm and not get frustrated. I would be curious to hear the rest of W.'s story, and anyone else who has had experience with EC.
Hope this helps!
Sorry that some people have been critical to you and your choice for your child. I just did some reading on this subject because I had no idea of this. I was just wondering what the doctor thinks and if you have md support. I think when asking other mothers about this, instead of opinons you may get feedback in a general age range for potty training. I have 3kids and pregnant due in july. My kids were all different with potty training, talking and walking. You know your child best. Good luck!
J.
Sorry but what is Elimination Communication ??? We just used awards to train our daughter. Im pregnant for a boy and I know training him will be harder...
I didnt know people still used cloth diapers, isn't that alot of work? more cleaning? etc... but, then again you save money too - huh? I dont know I guess it'd be good to atleast have them on hand...
