Early Potty Training: Going Part-Time Diaper Free?

I am not (yet) a parent, so anything I write about the sticky subject of potty training should be taken with a pinch of salt. But with our first child due in a matter of weeks, I've started thinking a lot about poop. So far, I only get to practice my parenting skills on my cat (pictured), but given his predisposition for avoiding the litter and pooping in the woods, he might not be a bad model for what I have in mind.

As I wrote over at TreeHugger, I've recently discovered the concept of diaper free babies, also known as elimination communication (EC), also known as 'potty whispering'. The idea is to start working with kids as early as possible to help them communicate their toilet needs, and to have them poop or pee in a potty rather than sitting in their own wastes. It makes perfect sense to me--our neighbor used EC with her child and now her son is a year-and-a-half old she rarely has to change a diaper anymore. This isn't just a convenience thing - imagine the savings in washing and/or disposables if you ditch the diaper a full year earlier than most.

But it's not all or nothing, according to EC advocates. Rather than implying babies go completely diaper free, and dealing with the horrific mess that that could cause, many potty whisperers opt for a hybrid approach. Combining potty whispering with cloth diapers, parents explore a number of methods for working with their baby to learn their needs. Some parents hold the baby over the toilet whenever they are changing diapers anyway, and use verbal cues to offer them the opportunity to pee or poop. Others just check in occasionally with their child in the evenings and watch for the 'tell tale signs' - trying to get them to the bathroom in time, but using the diapers as a backup.

More details are available at part-time diaper free, a site that argues even aiming for just one less diaper a week can make a big difference.

We'll see how far down this route we get (I'm sure parenting will give me plenty of other things to worry about!), but from where I sit it makes a whole lot more sense to start early than to wait till a kid is 2 or 3, and is totally used to the a diaper catching their waste.

Need proof that it's possible to balance being green and still be a supportive partner and parent? See how Ed Begley, Jr. does it on Planet Green TV's Living with Ed.