Introducing a potty at an early age

Have you considered introducing a potty at an early age? A very early age?

This approach - known as Natural Infant Hygiene, Elimination Communication (EC), Infant Potty Training, or the very optimistic sounding Nappy Free - can be used from birth and is often more practical than it might at first seem. In fact, many cloth nappy using families find that they instinctively practice some form of this technique and are then interested to find out how to further incorporate it into their daily life.

The general idea is that you (the caregiver) try to help your baby stay clean and dry by offering them the opportunity to wee and poo somewhere other than in their nappy - and the earlier you start, the more instinctive that can be.

For a large proportion of the world's population, using a nappy isn't as practical as not using a nappy - so it's natural and expected that parental assistance will play a significant role in keeping babies clean (just as it did for your grandparents and great grandparents). But that doesn't mean you need to forsake nappies to have a go yourself.
 

• You might offer the opportunity to use a potty or toilet:

• In response to a 'signal' from your child - some sort of action that you've noticed is associated with the discomfort of a full bladder or moving bowel. The 'poo face'. A sudden stillness. A grunting noise. A newborn wiggle.

• In response to an external stimulus that usually triggers evacuation. After a feed. On waking from a nap.

• As part of a daily routine. During nappy changes. After lunch. Before getting into the car. At bathtime.

• An interval of time after the last time (because that's a straight forward way to go about it).

Specialist Top Hat Potties are designed especially for EC to make potty stops quick and convenient. Available to buy from our EC shopping category.