What is Elimination Communication?

Elimination Communication (EC) is the process of recognising the signs and signals a baby gives when they want to poo or wee. When you see the signal, you place the child on the potty.

Over time parents should gradually be able identify these cues so that the child poos or wees on the potty rather than in their nappy (diaper).

How Elimination Communication works

In our experience, EC relies on two main factors:

• Spotting the signs: Parents should recognise certain signs (e.g. child pulling faces or going to a corner) that indicate the child is about to go in their nappy.

• Timing: Putting the child on the potty at regular times, such as when changing their nappy, after a nap, meal or before bedtime, the child begins to know when they will be going on the potty and starts to make an association between the potty and when to wee/poo.

In addition, some say that if a parent puts a child on the potty and makes a certain sound (hiss or whistle) to mimic the sound of going to the toilet, that can encourage them to do their business. The act of positioning a child over the potty or toilet can also help them understand when it is time to go.

We thinking timing and spotting the signs are the two biggest factors in potty training children earlier.

Why do it?

There are many reasons to do it, all of which we explore in our blog “What are the benefits of potty training early?’. In short, we believe it is better for you and your baby providing you do it safely in a way that works for you.

Not only does it help normalise using a potty much sooner, it comes with the added benefits that you’ll save money on nappies and wipes which – in turn – will reduce your impact on the environment. And for your little one, there’s a reduced risk of nappy rash.

We’re so conditioned into thinking we need to wait until our children are 2.5/3 years old to potty train but previous generations potty trained much earlier than today. And in some parts of the world, it’s normal for children to be potty trained far earlier than in countries like the U.K. and the USA.

In our experience, you have nothing to lose. We used the Revopootion method with our two children and barely changed a pooey nappy after they turned 12 months old. In fact, our son barely pooed in a nappy after 8 weeks old until he started nursery (which we’ll talk more about in another blog).

What’s the difference between EC and potty training early/from birth?

In short, we would say very little. The terms seem to be used interchangeably. At their core, both are about getting your child out of nappies sooner, using similar methods.

Our Revopootion training courses are designed to teach you the Revopootion technique we used to potty train our children from birth. To find out more, send us a message or keep an eye out for our upcoming training courses that will go live soon.