Elimination Communication

What is EC?

EC is a blend of tuning in to your baby's "signals" / schedule and creating associations for them. This supports babies' instincts not to soil their clothes and allows for you, the parent, to meet their needs in a more proactive way.

So wait. No diapers at all? What??

Modern EC uses a diaper backup until parents are ready to transfer full responsibility to the child (it is NOT naked, peeing on the floor at 6 months - that's not anything). This is a bit like baby led weaning in that it’s a gradual skill building for early on and a slow transfer of ownership over to the child. Generally, EC’d babies are out of diapers earlier than children who have no toilet learning experience.

At what age can I start EC?

EC can be started at any age! You can even learn about it while pregnant and begin your EC practice as early as from birth. Start where you are - there is no such thing as too early or late, we just vary the approach to suit your baby’s abilities.

Isn’t it kind of weird to potty train a baby?

I used to think so too! But after learning all about it, I actually now think that it’s weird to let kids wear diapers until they’re 3 years old (the North-American average). No judgment - I potty trained my first kid at 3.5 years! I do wish that I’d known about EC earlier and could go back in time and teach my first kid from birth ;)

This seems like a lot of work!

It’s honestly less work overall. Less mess, less cleanup, less garbage or laundry (or both).

What are some of the benefits?

They are countless but here are some of my favs:

• A deep connection with your babe and the ability to meet their needs in real-time

• Even better for the environment than cloth diapering

• Zero diaper rashes

• A great way to keep an eye on the frequency and texture of your baby’s bowel movements

Potty Training

I’m not sure my kid is ready for potty training.

I am here to tell you that readiness is a myth. A sneaky capitalist myth ;) If you, the parent, are ready for your child to be out of diapers, then your child is ready. Here’s a couple of striking statistics to back up my claim:

• Until the late 1950’s, almost all children were out of diapers by 12-18 months old

• If we discount North-America, the average age of potty training completion worldwide is still around 12 months.

Is it possible to potty train too early?

No, you won’t harm your child or your relationship with your child by toilet training them “too early”. Because of a massive amount of misinformation floating around in western society, many of us gentle parents think of early potty training in the same light as sleep training - which we know is not evidence-based and does have a negative impact on babies’ nervous system. Unfortunately, waiting for “readiness” in a hygiene or safety situation is not only unsettling to our kids, but it’s unfair to them. We don’t do baby-led seatbelt wearing, or baby-led toothbrushing, for example. Our children deserve to be taught these skills from an early age. The only thing I advise against is beginning potty training in the middle of another big transition. For our process, you need to be present and focused with your child, so - for example - you wouldn’t want to do this at the same time as moving or the same week as they are transitioning into daycare.

What does Gentle and Non-Coercive mean?

Gentle is different from Casual. Just like “Gentle Parenting”, we strive to provide structure in a collaborative way. I teach non-coercive techniques to promote self-motivation. Coercive techniques include (but aren’t limited to): Rewards (stickers, candy, screen time, praise) and punishments (shaming, chastising, taking away toys). In the method I teach, you will get on your child’s team and work together.

How long will it take me to potty train my child using this program?

The average time to completion is about 7 days for older children. Your unique situation could make that somewhere between 3 and 30 days.

I have already tried to potty train my toddler and I’m experiencing power struggles.

• Are you using rewards or bribes?

• Are you sitting your child on the potty when they don’t need to go? (20 minutes before the bath etc.)

• Are you giving off a distinct vibe that you are desperate to get this process over with? are you stressed about it?

• Are you sure of yourself? If not, our kids often sense that uncertainty.

I can help clarify why these techniques might be getting in your way.

I feel I am in a unique situation with my child - do you offer private consultations?

Yes! I mostly work privately with families to complete the potty training process. Sometimes, families want the ‘full plan’ private workshop, which I offer tailored to their child’s needs. Other times, they are looking for a tweak to their plan or some advice about what is actually normal. I am here for all of that. Please see the booking form here to get in touch.

My child is over 3 years old and I feel hopeless! HALP!

Don’t worry! You’re not alone! In my workshops, I go a little bit into the history of how I believe western society and capitalism is failing parents and babies by sending the message that we should teach our children to ignore their hygiene needs for the first few years of their lives. And then when we must transition our children out of diapers for daycare or school, we have no idea how to get them to unlearn the diaper routine. Enter: power struggles, frustrated parents, children feeling shamed, medical professionals providing laxatives as a cure-all, and nobody wins. The reason I discuss this is to reinforce that western society has it slightly backwards and this is not the fault of the parents!

In the short amount of time i’ve been doing this, I have developed a fair amount of experience working with parents of 3-6+ year olds who feel guilty, judged, and exhausted by this process. I got you, sweet parents. It’s not your fault, and we can give your child back their dignity. We can work privately or in a workshop setting.