CBS News/ November 8, 2010, 1:39 PM

Can You Potty Train an Infant?

CBS

I have been studiously researching cloth diapers ever since I unintentionally disturbed the hornets nest known as the CD community. I'm still trying to pull all the options together for my one-month trial. Meanwhile, a Twitter friend sent me this article about going without diapers altogether and potty training an infant. Um....what!?

At the risk of offending yet another subset of parents, how in the world can this possibly work!?

In theory, infant potty training involves watching for your baby's signs of impending stool or urine and holding them over a receptacle of choice. They are eventually supposed to learn the cues and what? Ask for the toilet themselves? Wait for you to take them to the toilet? Hold it? At 6 months old?

The article suggests that "the ideal time to start is anytime from birth to 4-5 months old. During this time, the first window for toilet learning is open."

I don't mean to be cynical, but all of the books I have read about babies say that they are too immature to learn, manipulate, or retain information in the first 3 months. How can they be expected to draw a parallel between urinating and being in a particular place in the home?

And parents are supposed to watch them for signs that they have to use the bathroom? I can tell when my son is "working on a poop," as we say in my house, but there are no visible signs for pee. I would basically have to count on him urinating in every single outfit.

Further, what about undergarments in general? Would I leave my baby bare-bottomed? Baby commando?

As you can see, I'm terribly perplexed by this whole concept. No judgment, of course, but I'd love to hear from any parent who has successfully potty trained an infant. Or any parent who feels as perplexed about this as I am.

Note: This blog was originally published on Natali's personal blog, Mommy (beta).

Natali Morris On Twitter »
Natali Morris is the host of Loaded on CNET TV and other CNET podcasts. She also contributes technology reports for CBS News.

19 Comments Add a Comment

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MaHa2830 says:: I started pottying my first when she was 13 months old, she was dry through through the day at 18 months old. I was skeptical about the concept of pottying from birth (I mean, really?), on a lark, I started pottying my second child at 2 weeks old, it worked amazingly well. I didn't wait/look for cues, I did it based on timing. You tend to change a diaper after a nap/nurse, which is when baby likely needs to pee (what's the first thing you do in the morning when you get up? You pee!). I pottied her when I had her diaper off for a diaper change anyhow, it was no more work than what I was already doing. Our kids were dry through the day from 11-16 months old, and dry through the night before two years of age. In terms of caregivers, they wore diapers at daycare, but no diapers at home. I understand in a room with 12 other toddlers, my child can't be pottied as consistently as I would potty her at home. I can't imagine waiting to potty a child until she is 2+ years old, after you've seen what comes out of a two year-old's bum, you'll know what I mean. Historically, and in other parts of the world, parents potty train their children at a much younger age than North Americans.; reply

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yorkshirelassie says:: I had my kids in the UK in the 60s. My mother showed me how to hold my almost newborn with his back against my chest over a small potty on my lap. I was quickly trained (by him) when the most probable times were and within a few months every "hold-out" was productive. Of course I used cloth diapers with liners and still had many to wash. However, at around 8 months, when he could sit reliably, he was placed on a toilet seat with a safety belt. I could make the bed, etc and could hear as soon as he had produced and could quickly praise and remove him from the WC. All three of my boys were clean and dry by 18 months and reliable at night before they were two. I always "potted" them when I went to bed around 11 pm - they didn't really even wake up! All this saved laundry, diaper rash and tantrums because they had established a habit before they had learned to resist. I don't think they are psychologically scarred :)); reply

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allamess2002 says:: Ok, so this obviously doesnt work for us working mothers whose children have to be in daycare. A daycare provider children can not be expected to have several children "sans diaper"...im glad it worked for the rest of you though.; reply

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bsperki says:: If you ignore the term "potty training" and consider more of pottytunities as I like to call them, it's easier to get your head around. This is not about making your child do something, it is about listening to you child, paying attention and communication. It is great to do with your baby whether you do it, all day every day or just in the evenings or just on weekends. You can't be too critical of people who do this, because otherwise you'd have to condemn all the Chinese, Indians, many Europeans and Africans who maintain this practice as part of their culture. It works and mom and baby are happy! It works for us, he pees and poops on cue and though he still wears his cloth diapers because I am a part-time ec'er I'd highly recommend this to anyone who wants to help their child be aware of their bodily functions that they're born with.; reply

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niftysmith says:: I think "potty training" is the wrong context. Potty learning or elimination communication is definitely a better semantic implication. Honestly, if you think about it, no one wants to soil themselves. That instinct is intact at birth, though some babies forget faster than others since our culture is used to just using diapers.Without getting into details you can read for yourself, let me sum it up this way:

If you know when your baby is going poop, why not put them over a potty instead of cleaning the mess out of all the nooks and crannies of a baby's bum (and sometimes clothes and legs and back and changing table)?

That's all I'm going to say. I think it speaks for itself with that mental picture.; reply

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brokfarm says:: I was really lucky with my second child. He always woke up dry, so I would put him on the toilet backwards and he would tinkle. 4 hours later I would again put him on the toilet and he would pee and poop and so on thru the day.... that was just him.

Did the same thing with the last 2 kids, girls although they wet at night. First daughter was really funny, Caught her one day standing in front of the toilet on her tiptoes, pulling up her skin trying to pee like her brothers.

Am glad to hear so many of you are using cloth diapers ...... Yay 4 u. By the way I am almost 70.; reply

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brande77 says:: My daughter has been completely potty trained shortly after she turned one.
Diapers are a "modern western culture" thing, people can and do live completely without them. I am an American, in China, living with my Chinese wife and family. My wife's mother would hold the baby over a bucket to either urinate or defecate, since shortly after birth. Of course we also used diapers too. Many Chinese familes have never used them. Google image search "China split pants" and see what I mean. http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=china%20split%20pants&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=634
Now, at almost 2 years of age, our daughter doesn't like having to wear a diaper, and only does so at night "just in case", although she might get up to go to the potty chair instead. It's normal for I don't know how many billions of people in this and other countries to forego diapers altogether and start potty training from infancy. It sure saves money and reduced pollution too no doubt.; reply

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lisachamp says:: I never considered my kids potty trained until they could sleep through the night without going potty. Much too much emphasis is placed on when a child is potty trained. I worked with one psychiatrist who said he potty trained all of his kids at 18 months of age over one weekend..........
Needless to say, if these people would spend as much time and energy teaching their child (reading, talking (a lot-but NO baby talk) they would be amazed at how much the babies retain.......Much MORE important than when he/she is potty trained.; reply

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erinmidwife says:: It works, millions of moms do it, and it's not "toliet training" it's simply learning to recognize and respond to a baby's elimination patterns and cues. It can be a lot easier to teach a child to eliminate in a toilet from birth than trying to convince a two year old that that suddenly the appropriate place to go after they've been taught to poop in a diaper their whole life.

Diapers are a luxury in many parts of the world, and EC is pretty foreign to Americans, but it is natural and sensible. We EC'd with my three year old who was in underwear full time at 12 months. He did not poop in his pants or diaper after 3 months old. We are ECing with my newborn now, and anyone who has EC's since infancy can tell you that newborns certainlly give cues. IF you spend time with a diaper-free baby you will begin to observe them. My daughter always starts fussing right before she has to pee. With ECing I can also help her into a physiological BM position, and both my children have really consistent, healthy elimination patterns. ECing requires more attention in the beginning (though not more time, since you'd be changing diapers anyway) but it pays off quickly. I can't imagine NOT ECing.; reply

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adorabubbleknits says:: I think the confusion mostly comes from inaccurate terminology. It's not infant potty training. If anyone is trained, it is the mother. After having 2 kids "diaper trained" until they were almost 4, I thought I would try something else.
For me, it is more a matter of offering the potty when I know he has to go. We "catch" almost all poops and quite a few pees. He poops in the morning, so I put him on the potty and he does his business. He wears training underwear or pants that are easy to pull on and off. For pees, I know he pees about every 15 mins for the first hour after he nurses, so I just offer him the potty when I think about it. If I'm holding him, he'll try to squirm out of my arms when he has to pee. That's really the only "cue" he gives for pee. I'm not militant about it. It's all about just offering the potty. When we are out and at night, he wears a diaper.
#3 was completely out of diapers by 18 months (we started at 12 months). #4 is 6 months old and only poops on the potty, love that!; reply