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Infant Potty Introduction

 

This is NOT a joke, I promise!  Having stumbled on the joys, laughter, silliness and occasional messiness of Infant Potty Training ourselves, we are coming out of the closet and telling other people about it!  This method of introducing your baby to the uses for the commode is a fun (!) experience and I promise, it really works!  People will be astounded at the ability of YOUR baby to use the toilet.


Infant Potty Introduction
This is a real baby, in fact, she is our baby!  Here, nine-month-old Kateri is demonstrating her potty prowess.  (Don't worry, she's sitting on a little potty insert and will not fall into the toilet.)  Having combined Infant Potty Training techniques and Infant Sign Language, Kateri can "sign" that she is using the potty and sometimes that she needs to use the potty.  It works by the same principles as the famous Pavolv's dogs experiment; your baby is "conditioned" to eliminate when she or he hears certain cue sounds that you make.  Before you faint, remember that even puppies and kitties can be trained to use their litter boxes, go to the door, ring bells, etc. when they have the need to "go".  Your baby is smart, too!

We learned about Infant Potty Training just before our middle daughter was born.  Both of our daughters have learned to use the toilet for both "functions" when they were just a few months old.  No; not all of the time; but it is amazing what a little babe can do!  Some motivated parents with more time on their hands than us will get their baby totally trained by eighteen months or even sooner.  Our first "trainee" graduated by age 2, our second is still in training.

Learn how to help your baby be an Infant Potty Trainee in this fun class.




So..um...why do you do this???
 
Advantages of early introduction to the potty
 
1.  It's fun!
 
2.  It's amazing!
 
3.  It's more dignified.  Come on, would you want to sit around and wait for someone to notice YOU needed a change?
 
4.  It's an easier process than waiting until your baby is older and also takes a baby's development into consideration. Babies have a natural desire to perfect sitting around the middle of the first year of life and seem to enjoy sitting up on the big potty.  Furthermore, they truly can learn to release their pelvic floor muscles and push at a very early age.  Worldwide, many children are introduced to their culture's version of the privy within the first year of life.
 
By the time most of us in the US start the toilet training process, the child has been learning to use their diaper as the "depository" for their little treasures for a couple of years.  Plus, if he or she ever "makes a mistake" when the diaper is off, they can tell this is not a good thing and so are rewarded for using the diaper.  They learn to hold it in and use the diaper after it's on.  So by the time most of us want them to start using the toilet, using a diaper is a skill they've mastered and it must be confusing and strange that it's all of a sudden not what mom and dad want!  Also, at around the same time, the child has a need to develop independence from mom and dad and therefore tends to want to do just the opposite of what mom and dad want them to do...so, you've got a set-up for power struggles centered around the child's bodily functions.  Controlling when they "let go" are two things over which they are in control!  You can't make them "go" and they know it.

5.  It's more hygienic.  If the baby's skin is not exposed to urine and excrement, because he or she is sitting in a dry, clean diaper most of the time, there is less possibility for diaper rash.