elimination communication with an older child

[mw-naturalmama]

Hi! I'm wondering...how late is too late to begin EC? I know my little girl has stopped signalling, but I'd really like to incorporate this into our lifestyle. She is currently diapered with disposables, but we're transitioning to cloth (so that she'll feel when she's wet more easily) She's nearly 19 months old, and at this point, it seems more like potty learning than EC to me..... Any advice is much appreciated! Thanks so much!!

[skycheattraffic]

EC can be a nice gateway to PL depending on the child. You could start by narrating diaper changes and taking her into the bathroom when you need to go, explaining what is going on. I recommend getting a potty chair so you can both sit at the same time. Songs, books, toys and rhymes can help to get her to stay on the potty and relax enough to go. If you don't want to praise her for using the potty, you can still be pleased and explain what it's nice to be clean and dry and peeing or pooping on the potty means she won't have to sit in yucky wet or dirty diapers. If you're switching to cloth and want her to feel wet, make sure that a natural fibre (cotton, bamboo or hemp) is against her skin instead of fleece (like in most pocket diapers and many AIOs). I have a bunch of pockets and when I want her to feel wet, I use a cotton flat on the inside of the diaper and remove one of the microfiber inserts (DD is a heavy wetter).

It is absolutely possible to start EC later. I started DD at 11 months part time and now at 14.5 months, the potty is just part of our day. There are lots of wet diapers still and a poopy one here or there but she is definitely comfortable on the potty and will gladly use it if she can. Your DD is older so you may have to play around a bit to see what works. There are great EC books out there that go from newborns to toddlers and they will have great ideas on how to start. Two are the diaper free baby and diaper free before three. One big piece of advice I want to give you is to not fight her on it. If she doesn't want to sit, don't force her. If its noon and you're both fed up already, then try again tomorrow. We have gone through ups and downs and there were days when I just skipped it. But I didn't wait more than a day to offer again. Sometimes three days would go by without her sitting but I would still offer once or twice a day. Then she was back on the wagon out of the blue.

Just be patient and offer opportunities. It's not about ditching diapers completely or catching everything. It's about teaching her how to handle her elimination needs in a sanitary way slowly and steadily until she is ready to take on the task herself.

Please keep us updated of your progress. I'm always on the lookout for ideas to keep my toddler on track :-)

[Carlyle]

I think 18 months is a great time to start ec/potty training..whatever you want to call it.  As long as you're not expecting it to happen overnight, or to be self initiating really quickly, I think you might be surprised (especially if it's summer where you are and you can do naked time outside now).  For some reason the "half birthdays" seem to be great times for pottying...at least in our family.

[AndreaOlson]

At this age, your child is now old enough to require a more autonomous, “do it myself” method instead of EC. EC would be great from 0-18 months.  But don't lose heart! There IS a form of gentle, non-coercive toilet training out there and you can be done with it within a few weeks. :)