What is elimination communication? The trending potty training method

Jody Coffey

Potty training is different for every parent depending on the child; it can go smoothly or all hell can break loose during this learning curve.

Many celebrity parents nowadays have opted to forgo diapers in an approach that is known as ‘elimination communication’.

These include famous mums such as Rumer Willis, Gisele Bündchen, Mayim Bialik, and Alicia Silverstone, to name a few.

What is elimination communication?

While it sounds like a very complex or formal way of potty training, it’s quite the opposite.

According to Go Diaper Free, elimination communication is a ‘gentle, non-coercive way to respond to a baby’s natural hygiene needs, from as early as birth’.

They add that when a baby cries, they’re communicating a need and often, this need may be that they’re about to soil themselves, their sleep space, or… on you.

Sometimes, parents will check everything in response to soothe their baby, with the nappy as a last resort after the damage is done.

Elimination communication is all about tuning into a baby’s signals and natural rhythms and assisting them with gaining independence by nine to 18 months, according to Go Diaper Free.

During this process, a parent will use timing, signals, cues, and intuition to preempt their baby’s need to eliminate waste and respond by getting them to an appropriate place to urinate and defecate e.g. a toilet or potty.

Some parents may opt to use a diaper as a ‘backup’ until their baby is nine to 16 months old.

They write that the approach works because ‘this is how NATURE created us’.

“Babies are extremely instinctual, and when we parents zoom out, we can see that they are trying to tell us what they want – beyond eating, sleeping, and staying warm!

Pottying your baby can make baby-raising cleaner, easier, and MUCH more connected. Plus, it protects the environment while your baby’s dignity remains intact.”

How does the elimination communication method work?

Speaking to PEOPLE, Dr. Jennelle Ferry offered some insight into the trending potty training approach.

The neonatologist and director of feeding, nutrition and infant development at Pediatrix Medical Group Florida, told the outlet that it ‘ essentially relies on reflexes to release bowel or bladder function when naked’.

“This is different than potty training, where a child can recognize the signals of needing to use the bathroom and chooses the appropriate time to coordinate sphincter release.”

What to expect?

Dr. Ferry says any parent who is deliberating on implementing elimination communication should be aware that it does not result in bowel or bladder control during infancy.

“Trying to achieve complete potty training too early may increase symptoms of dysfunctional voiding with incomplete or delayed bladder emptying. This can also lead to issues with constipation and incomplete bowel emptying,” she tells the publication.

She adds that ‘as long as you have developmentally appropriate expectations for your child’, there are very few drawbacks to the process, but data on elimination communication is ‘limited’ but rather positive.

“There have been some studies that suggest that the introduction of elimination communication might result in earlier eventual potty training, and some suggest that there is a trend towards a decreased risk of urinary tract infections.

“In some Asian countries, it is part of the cultural norm to begin elimination communication at 6-9 months.”

There have been some studies for countries like Vietnam that suggest the average age for full potty training trends closer to 2 years as opposed to 2-3 years in other western countries,” she adds.

Why choose elimination communication?

All parents will be aware of the financial burden that comes with nappies, as well as the time constraints.

Dr. Ferry believes the of interest around elimination communication may be down to these components.

“Parenting is hard. Changing diapers is costly and time-consuming. Expectations for childhood greatness seem to just continue to increase, and parents are under a lot of pressure to keep up and prove to themselves and others that they’re doing a good job.

“In some cases, there can also be pressure from schools or daycares wanting kids to be potty trained earlier.”

However, regardless of the route a child takes to becoming successfully potty trained, it’s a developmental milestone that should be celebrated.

She adds that achieving these milestones ‘early’ doesn’t equal a child being ‘any smarter’ than a child who learns at the end of the normal age range.

“If your child doesn’t poop on the potty until he’s 3 and continues to wet his bed for five years after that, he’s still perfectly normal!”

Many parents across TikTok have been sharing their experience with the practice

With anything that trends, of course, TikTok picks it up and gives a visual aid for those hoping to learn through various user’s videos.

Mums and dads across the app have been documenting their journeys through elimination communication, with some babies grasping the approach from the newborn stage.

@eatfood_behappy It’s been 25 days since our last 💩 diaper! #eliminationcommunication #babyfever #momtok #pottytraininngtips ♬ original sound – Eatfood_behappy

A number of tips that have come up in numerous clips are:

Getting the right sized potty for your child’s size – most potties are targeted for toddler use, but smaller ones can be sourced.
Establishing a schedule: There are a few times of day when it’s easiest for a baby to go according to users – when they wake up, approx. 30 minutes after they eat, when they come home, when they’re being changed, and when you see they are already going.
Noticing the cues – observing what tell-tale signs a baby has that they need to go to the toilet can help to help the process.