Are you with the diaper free baby movement?

The Diaper-Free movement is growing thick and fast. The movement was founded on the belief that all babies are born with an instinctive ability to signal when they have to use the restroom. Parents who practice this “elimination communication” learn to actually read their children’s body language to help them recognize the need to use the toilet and they mimic the sounds that a child associates with going to the bathroom.

Erin Klatt began toilet training her son from birth and claims he has not wet his bed at night since he was a tiny 6 months old!

She says, “The nice part is . . . really getting the majority of poops in the toilet vs. having to clean that. I don’t have to wake up at night and change diapers or have wet sheets anywhere. That’s really nice.
“And being able to travel without a big, bloated diaper bag is terrific,”

Well not all parents and experts agree with the claims of the “Diaper-Free” movement.

The experts at the Child Study Centre at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Centre state that children younger than 12 months have no control whatsoever over bladder of bowel movements. They also say children up until 18 months a child still doesn’t have complete control.

In the developed world, with diapers being so accessible and affordable, many parents would laugh at anyone who would go through the struggle of trying to toilet train a tiny baby but the practice is common in the parts of rural Africa and Asia where parents can’t afford to buy diapers for their children.

I have a 16 month old son and he’s only just starting to be able to tell me when he has been to the toilet, let alone when he feels the urge to go. Dr. Mark Wolraich of the American Academy of Paediatrics’ book on toilet training says, “To be truly toilet-trained, the child has to be able to have the sensation that they need to go, be able to interpret that sensation and be able to then tell the parent and take some action,”

With both sides claiming they are right it can be a little confusing to a new parent to know exactly what the best method is. Only you can tell what will work for you and your child and you need to choose a system you are comfortable with, whether it be in the same vein as the Diaper-Free movement or whether you stick to using diapers.

What do you think of the Diaper-Free Movement?

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