Isis Arnesen, of Boston, kisses her 14-week-old daughter, Lucia, after the baby went to the "bathroom" after her mother noticed a sign from the child Friday at a park in Watertown, Mass. The "diaper-free" movement is gaining momentum.
Erinn Klatt holds her son, Dominic Klatt, 1, over the toilet, Thursday at their home in Sutton, Mass. Dominic is a product of a "diaper-free" movement founded on the belief that babies are born with an instinctive ability to signal when they need to go to the bathroom.
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 6 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."
Some parents and toilet training experts are skeptical.
"They teach them from birth? Oh, my God!" said 40-year-old Lisa Bolcato, as she held her 5-month-old daughter, Rose, at a park on Boston Common. "When you're getting two hours of sleeps between feedings, I don't think that you have the time to do it. You just make sure that your child's healthy and happy and well-fed."
Still, the practice is common in many parts of rural Africa and Asia where parents cannot afford diapers.
In the United States, many of the parents are stay-at-home-moms, but there are also working mothers. Some meet in online groups, at homes and in public parks to share experiences and cheer each others' efforts.
Experts at the Child Study Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center say children younger than 12 months have no control over bladder or bowel movements and little control for 6 months after that.
But some parents begin going diaper-free at birth, and the infants can initiate bowel movements on cue as young as 3 to 4 months, said Elizabeth Parise, spokeswoman of DiaperFreeBaby.org, a network of free support groups promoting the practice.
And unlike some methods of toilet training, there are no rewards or punishment associated with it.
Dr. Mark Wolraich, professor of pediatrics and director of the Child Study Center, said the practice essentially conditions young children to go to the bathroom at predictable times or show clear signs when they must go.
"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," said Wolraich, who is also editor of the American Academy of Pediatrics' book on toilet training.
"And that's different from reading the subtle signs that the child is making when they have to go to the bathroom."
Parents attempt the early training to forge closer ties with their infants, to reduce the environmental impact associated with diapers and to avoid skin irritation caused by a wet diaper, Parise said.
Others were inspired by observing the practice while traveling abroad.
The practice also enables parents to get insight into an infant's development because more accidents occur if a child falls sick or enters a new phase such as learning to crawl, walk or talk.
This is because an infant may be too distracted by illness or efforts to master a new skill to communicate the need to go to the bathroom, said Melinda Rothstein, an MIT business school graduate who co-founded DiaperFreeBaby.org.
She says finding a supportive day-care center is the biggest challenge for parents who choose not to use diapers. Other problems include finding tiny underwear for diaper-free infants.
Isis Arnesen, 33, of Boston, has a 14-week-old daughter, Lucia, who is diaper-free. She said it can be awkward to explain the process to people, such as when she helped Lucia relieve herself in a sink at a public restroom.
"Sometimes I don't know what's gonna happen and it doesn't work, and sometimes I feel a little embarrassed," Arnesen said. "It makes her happy though, right? She smiles, she's happy."
Comments
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BrianR (anonymous) says…
This is crazy talk.
Centrist (anonymous) says…
Yet another excuse for being non-parental. Make 'em learn at birth.
Why the %$%$ do we have kids then if we don't want to nurture them?
Come on ...
ohplease (anonymous) says…
So these babies are going in public parks? Are the parents practicing doo clean up? I agree..oh come on!
Confrontation (anonymous) says…
This explains the piles I've been seeing near city hall.
emilyhadley (Emily Hadley) says…
Awesome.
NotALBERTOGonzales (anonymous) says…
And I thought a house smelled bad if they had a cat!
imagold (anonymous) says…
Whatever turns your crank...but get these kids to a toilet. Don't these babies know to tell you to find a bathroom? Or do the babies just take for granted that their parent would be sensible enough to take them to a bathroom? For gosh sake, don't take them to a tree and do we really have to tell them not to hold the baby over a sink. That's just gross. Not to mention inconsiderate and unclean. I guess instead of taking those bulky diapers along they'll have to take baggies, sponges and a bottle of sink cleaner.
bugmenot (anonymous) says…
Yeah, seriously, diaper that stuff up. Why do people act like kids are a totally different species than other humans? If it's poop, no one wants to encounter it (in a sink, under trees, on the streets), no matter whose it is. I can't believe someone would let a baby pee in a sink.
warthog (anonymous) says…
Geez... why not just litter train them?
I can see it already; parents with kids on leashes; following them around with a little plastic bag and a pooper scooper. And getting together with other parents at the park so they can all watch each other's kids progress. How entertaining that has to be. But, it's okay... they do it in Africa and Asia... because they can't afford diapers. In our country, mothers want to do it because... ?
Gootsie (anonymous) says…
Isn't this what they do in China? Squat over grates in the ground? I don't think we want that here.
justathought (anonymous) says…
Okay seriously ppl....the sink thing is just nasty. If you want to waste your time "potty training" your newborn fine but please don't have them peeing in a sink where people are going to wash their hands..
-mom of and 11 week old who has much better things to do with her time than to wonder if my newborn is peeing(although if I could miss some of those times where he decides to pee while I'm changing his diaper that'd be okay)
kneejerkreaction (anonymous) says…
The people that let their children poo everywhere and pee in public sinks obviously think that e coli is not a biproduct of their filthy habits. This is just plain lazy. I have an idea. Let's train the freaking parents. How about parental fines for public filth for any children caught pooing and peeing in public and the parent doesn't clean it the freak up. A fine or two and diapers and the drudge of changing them might seem less onerous. jjjjjjeeeezzzzzzzzzzz.
kneejerkreaction (anonymous) says…
......and another thing, as disgusting as dog poo is, they don't wipe their arses (except on their owner's carpet), kids usually get theirs wiped. Whatcha gonna do with the poo paper parents?