Diaper-free Babies

[PsychoCat]

Might be a nice idea but I can only imagine the amount of work it would take....yikes :shock: Anyone tried this method of potty training?

Diaper-free babies’ fad swells, despite critics
More parents potty training from birth by using ‘elimination communication’

SUTTON, Mass. - Thirteen-month-old Dominic Klatt stopped banging the furniture in the verandah, looked at his mother and clasped his right hand around his left wrist to signal that he needed to go to the bathroom.
His mother took the diaper-less tot to a tree in the yard, held him in a squatting position and made a gentle hissing sound — prompting the infant to relieve himself on cue before he rushed back to play.
Dominic is a product of a growing “diaper-free” movement founded on the belief that babies are born with an instinctive ability to signal when they have to answer nature’s call. Parents who practice the so-called “elimination communication” learn to read their children’s body language to help them recognize the need, and they mimic the sounds that a child associates with the bathroom.

Erinn Klatt began toilet training her son at birth and said he has not wet his bed at night since he was six months old.
“The nice part is ... really getting the majority of poops in the toilet versus having to clean that,” Klatt said. “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,” she said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20464264/

[Will Lavender]

Saw a special on this last year on 20/20.

I think it's sort of...strange.

They spoke to eight or ten moms, and almost all of them claimed that the main reason that they wanted to do it this way is because of cleanliness. "Nobody wants to sleep in their own poop," one of them said. There seemed to be almost this creepy reaction to body functions by the mothers they spoke to.

Babies have pooped on themselves forever. No need to stop now, even though I've changed my fair share of awful Huggies. My kids have some problems too. (Rimshot!)

There are indications that this might help kids become smarter, but my feeling has always been let babies be babies. I love my kids even though they're gurgling, pooping little machines.

[capcat]

I read about it only a couple of days ago. The number of diapers in the landfill must be enormous, so from that standpoint, I say more power to them. But then, there is such a thing as a cloth diaper, and I've used both in raising my children. I love babies, but geeze...taking them outside to go could create problems. From the diapers I see wadded up in parking lots, etc., not everyone will clean up afterwards at say, a public park. Especially with a baby in tow.
(not to mention peeing in a public sink :confused:)

[Calsegs]

Some of my relatives by marriage practiced this method of training, back in the late 70s.They were crunchy , granola types living in Gainesville( and worse, Gator fans!) i thought they were sweetly eccentric and that all their friends were probably into it.They had 2 reasons: the eco-friendly aspect, and no big wad of diaper causing misaligned hip and knee joints on the little diaper wearers.

Their kids have grown up to become educated, lovely people. Alas ,their parents have divorced. I don't think it was the stress of no diapers that did it, but you never know.

[trublu]

Heck, I might be wearing diapers myself before too long.