By Melissa Gunn
Not enough money for nappies? More time with your baby than you’d expected thanks to Covid lockdowns or job changes? This could be the perfect time for potty training. For parents who are at home with young babies or even toddlers, it may be a great opportunity to consider an alternative to the typical kiwi attitude of ‘pop on a nappy and wait till they tell me they want to use the loo’.
Sounding a bit weird? Don’t be scared, there are millions of people around the world who find the idea of letting their baby sit around in a poopy nappy a bit weird, too.
Some of those people take a different approach to potty training, opting to give their baby the opportunity to use a potty from a surprisingly young age – even from newborn.
If going nappy-free is a bit extreme for you, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there is a middle path. Enter Elimination Communication Babies – Potty Plan, a combination approach for parents who want the peace of mind of a nappy, but don’t like the thought of having to deal with squished poo-ey nappies for years either! It’s also a good route for children with sensitive skin, but more about that in another post.
The combination approach – using a nappy on your child, but giving them frequent opportunities to use a potty or toilet – is a happy medium that gives parents the confidence to go out and about (or stay in at home), while teaching the child that the place to eliminate (that’s poo and wee, for most of us!) is on a toilet or potty.
