Potty training is like sign language for babies: Definitely not the norm, but a very trainable skill that works well for some families.
Baby potty training (sometimes called elimination communication) is totally different from teaching a toddler to use the toilet. For starters, a 2-month-old won’t have the same verbal skills as a 2-year-old and can never tell you it's time to go to the bathroom.
Baby potty training requires patience and a certain level of vigilance to anticipate potty episodes all day long, at least at first.
But all that effort isn't necessarily going to free up a lot of time. For some parents, it’s a lot easier and more convenient to let babies stick to diapers until they learn to toddle to the toilet.
How young can you start potty training your baby?
How young you can start potty training depends a lot on how well you read your baby's non-verbal communication signals and your commitment to following his natural schedule. For example, if your baby usually pees first thing in the morning or after a feeding, that's the beginning of pattern you can use to try elimination communication rather than diaper.
Does he scrunch his face, turn red or make little grunting noises before number two? He's giving you clues you can use to introduce an alternate option (the toilet!). On the other hand, if your baby was born with a poker face and keeps a topsy turvy schedule, potty training will be a huge challenge.
Should you potty train your baby or is it best to wait until he's a toddler?
Proponents of early potty training might claim that toilet training a baby is potentially less frustrating than potty training a toddler, simply because the teaching is taking place before the "terrible twos" or the "tricky threes."
Read This Next
However, early potty training success depends a lot on your commitment to keeping up the schedule and your baby's innate temperament. If a baby's really not interested in learning to potty train, there's not much you can do except wait for the toddler years.
How to try elimination communication with your baby
He can't tell you when he needs to go and you won't be able to tell him what you want him to do. Instead, you'll have to pick up on his cues that he needs to pee or poop and act on them — which is why potty training a baby is often referred to as elimination communication.
And because a toddler has been peeing and pooping in a diaper for at least a year before he begins potty training, much of what he's learning is how to ditch those diapers, whereas a baby who rarely or never wears a diaper is starting from a completely different point.
Follow these tips if you're trying to potty train your baby:
- Watch and learn. Because so much of toilet training your infant will rely on your ability to get him to the potty in time to use it, you'll have to figure out what his special non-verbal cues are when he needs to empty his bladder or his bowels. Start paying very careful attention to how he behaves when he wets or soils his diaper. Does he wriggle or squirm? Screw up his little mouth and grimace or pout? Does he grunt or make other sounds? Does his face turn red? Also notice when he pees and poops (after a feeding? after a nap?) and write it down so that you can start to pick up on his pattern.
- Take it to the toilet. After you've figured out his pattern and behaviors, you can start by taking him to a toilet or potty seat (or even a small bucket) whenever you see signs that he needs to go. Hold him securely on the seat (bare-bottomed, of course).
- Give a signal. While he pees or poops, begin to make a noise that he can learn to associate with potty breaks, such as "ssssssssss." Sound off whenever he's in the act of peeing or pooping, or as soon as you anticipate he's about to. That way he'll begin to associate the sensation of needing to relieve himself with both the potty and your verbal signal. You can also teach your baby the sign language signal for bathroom — close your hand (with your palm facing away from you), put your thumb between your pointer and middle finger, and then shake your hand from side to side.
- Repeat! Now the trick is being consistent. If it helps, establish a schedule for potty breaks (based on the records you kept during the observation period), as well as watching for your baby's signals. Building in as much predictability as possible will make it easier for you, and it will help your child fall into a daily rhythm as well.
While consistency is indeed important here, there's room for flexibility, too. If watching for your baby's signs is too stressful when you're out and about, put your little one in diapers before you leave the house.
Yes 
No 
Trending On What to Expect
