• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 765 0

dry from a young age, don’t be concerned if this changes from time to time throughout toddlerhood—it’s normal. The EC’ing families I know have made the nighttime choices that were right for them, including: diapering their children at night until their children eventually developed the physical capacity to stay dry, assisting their children to go to the bathroom once or twice a night, or changing the diapers or underpants if they happened to notice the pants were wet and the child was not explicitly asking to be taken to the potty or toilet. You know your own child and your family priorities best. Do what feels right for you, but remain open to all possibilities. The situation will almost certainly change at some point.

* * *

I’ll close this chapter with a couple of thoughts from parents just like you who are experiencing the joys of EC’ing their toddlers:

I work and have a nanny that is supportive of EC. She started putting her own daughter (now eighteen) on the potty when she was six months old. My son wears disposables overnight and for naps and outings, and Gerber training pants when we practice EC. But even when he’s wearing disposables while we’re out, I will try to take him to the bathroom if one is readily available. He peed in the bathroom of the Metropolitan Museum of Art a few weeks ago.

EC provides a time during the day when we can interact quietly. At this age, Ben is running around so much and doesn’t spend a lot of time in-arms anymore. EC offers a nice opportunity for us to be together and interact. We play peek-a-boo, look at books, play with empty toilet paper rolls, or look in the mirror. When he goes to the bathroom we say, “Bye-bye” and flush it down the toilet.

—JULIE, MOM TO BEN, 14 MONTHS

I offer the potty after Jason’s nap, and if he goes, he goes. Afterward, I put some underwear on him. I prefer underwear to diapers; after three years of diaper changing with my first child, I recognize that it’s easier to change a pair of underwear than to change a diaper. Also, underwear is more likely to stay on than a diaper. With underwear, it’s always apparent when he’s wet. He helps with changing his underwear but kicks and screams during a diaper change.

—MARTY, DAD TO JASON, 14 MONTHS

From the age of twelve months, my daughter would specifically request certain people to take her to pee, including Mom, Dad, Grandma, a friend’s parent, and especially a friend of mine who hangs out with us a lot.

—LISA, MOM TO KAI, 3, AND NOE, 2

It really feels natural to bond while your child is peeing or pooping. I never did anything to make it especially “fun,” but it was just like all those other things you do with your child, such as feeding or dressing him. I tried to engage him in a friendly way and talk to him about what was happening.

—STACY, MOM TO ORLANDO, 30 MONTHS

I have an overall, daily appreciation for how practical and simple EC can be. For instance, when we’re out of the house and all the other kids have diapers on, my son just turns to me and says, “Poo-poo,” and off we go to the bathroom together.

—RON, DAD TO ORLANDO, 30 MONTHS

Following EC helps us to stay in tune and connected with each other. If he were still in diapers, I would be able to get more absorbed in whatever I were doing and kind of tune him out. Because we EC, I remain alert to his little signals. Sometimes we tickle his belly when he has trouble relaxing his bladder, and he laughs.

—SARAH, MOM TO WALLY, 19 MONTHS

8.

Final Hurdles and Graduation

You’re almost there! You and your child are EC pros by now, and completely dry, miss-free, diaper-free days are just around the corner. In this chapter we’ll look at some of the final hurdles you and your child might encounter as you approach the end of your EC journey. While many families move toward “graduation,” or toilet independence, without a hitch, others encounter varying degrees of challenges, including potty pauses.

But don’t be discouraged! Most toddler potty pauses seem to be the very final step right before graduation. And not everyone encounters this.