Our EC Story

Give Elimination Communication a two-week trial – what have you got to lose? Ocean

Interview with an EC parent

How did you hear about EC?

A friend of ours visited with his young son – who was about 2.5 at the time. We were amazed that he was toilet independent and had been for some time. He started explaining to us about EC and its benefits. We hadn’t heard about it before then.

We thought it was worth a try and were already using cloth nappies anyway. Our daughter was about 4 months when we started and we committed to “just two weeks”. My husband and I made a pact that we’d fully commit for this time period and if we saw no progress we would stop, but at least then we’d really tried.

The main attraction for us was reducing the number of nappies we used – as very conscious of the number of nappies that end up in landfills. Doing EC also reduced the number of nappies that I had to wash each week.

Beyond this, I just liked the idea that she’d be toilet trained younger.

Did you have any expectations?

We knew very little about EC when we started and to be honest, thought it would be much harder than it was. Starting so young means the babies don’t know any different so it just becomes a part of normal routine. We were surprised with how quickly we saw progress and were catching poos almost every time from about age 7 months. From here, we might have one or two soiled nappies a month and generally, this was when we’re out of the home.

How has it worked out for you?

Again, we had no expectations but it has worked out pretty well. Our daughter is now 18 months old and can tell us when she wants to poop so we are consistently using the toilet or potty for #2s. We still have a few ‘wee’ accidents but this is generally because she is busy playing and doesn’t want to tell us.

One tip would be to always have a potty nearby, or visible in your living spaces so your child can point, sign, or tell you when they need to go. We’ve found that when the potty is visible it helps the process. We also keep a potty in our car so that when road-tripping we could accommodate her needs.

Potty stops on the road side.

Never without our vehicle potty, just in case!

Starting was surprizingly quick and easy. We saw results almost immediately.

What would you say to other parents considering it?

At a minimum, commit to the 2 week ‘free trial’. If after two weeks you find it is not working out for your family then that’s ok – but worth a go. What have you got to lose?

It’s also a great party trick when you’re socialising and your tiny baby signs to go potty. People are very impressed haha!

How do you think starting toilet use for a baby/child in the first year helps them?

Elimination Communication really helps with communicating and being in ‘sync’ with your child. You can read their signals and respect what they are telling you. They’re actually very intelligent little creatures and love it when their signals are realised.

Less washing. Less cleaning up dirty diapers. Less poo everywhere in general.

Our EC story September 26, 2021 Give Elimination Communication a two-week trial – what have you got to lose?

The book was great as an initial guideline for how to proceed, and little tips from someone who has been successful using EC with their own children.

I didn’t even know there were books about EC before finding this one.

Beyond the book, I love the support group Rebecca has built alongside the EC community.

The commentary, the live chats and Facebook questions are super useful.