Infant Potty Training: A Gentle and Primeval Method Adapted to Modern Living

by Laurie Boucke

Book Overview

A comprehensive resource on infant toilet training (also called "elimination communication," "diaper-free" and "early toilet learning") including guidelines, medical and anthropological reports, testimonials, history, philosophy, cross-cultural research, and photos from around the world.The book contains guidelines for newborn, early-starters & late-starters; 100+ baby signals; 35+ tips for late-starters; photos; tips for working with twins and other...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1888580305
• ISBN13: 9781888580303
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: White-Boucke Publishing
• Length: 369 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Age Range: 15 years and up

Customer Reviews

Instructions how to get started and many references on why it is sound and helps parent establish a

Infant potty training is not the book on how you get your infant pottry trained in miracle time. It is the gentle method on how you learn to communicate with your baby so that you can notice their signaling that they need to go, and you can then help them do so at a more hygenic place than the diaper. It is not easier than full time diapering, in fact the first months is probably more work, but it feels better for you, and I'm sure for the baby; that they can be free of the diaper. It is a very comprehensive book all you need to know, I really loved it. We started with IPT a little late (3 months) and this book helped us answering some questions that arised, and more important perhaps, how to answer questions asked to us by other parents. We were practicing IPT, we knew it worked and would never go back to full time diapering, but it is sometimes difficult to explain it to others. We don't do full time diaper free, we use cloth diapers at night and the days I don't feel I have the time to be all focused, or when going out. Cloth diaper are better than paper dipers with IPT because the baby feels they are wet and know that they peed. It help them associate feeling/action/result. But I try to always let my infant go potty within regular rutine, and when he signals, so that if he choses he may go on the potty and not in the cloth diaper. The cloth diaper is more of a "oops insurance" than a place to go. In this book Mrs Boucke also writes how one do if for a while one cannot do IPT, like if you get sick or other reason. It is ok to take a break and resume later. It is a comfort to know. Now at 9 months our baby can stay dry all night, and always poo in the potty (that he did from 4 months), though pee we sometimes miss and it goes in the cloth diaper or pants if he is diaper free. But paper dipers sometime leak too, and at least we never had any diaper rashes, and it's nice not having to buy new paper diapers all the time, and take the trash out. We also feel more secure knowing about when he needs to go, if we take him potty before bath he never pee in the bath water or on the changing table. Since we did full time disposable-diapers from birth till 3 months we have tried both methods. We infinately preferred IPT.

This book is priceless.

This book is wonderful. After diapering three children with disposable diapers until they were 3+ years old I thought it would be time to try something new with my forth baby. I am now using cloth diapers and have been applying the elimination technique described in the book since my baby was about 2 weeks old. I cannot tell how amazed I am about how successful this method is. Every morning when my baby wakes up I take off her diaper and hold her over a potty. She immediately poos and pees quite a bit. This is great because her diaper stays dry, which means less diaper rash for her and less laundry for me. During the rest of the day I manage to catch about 1/2 of the stuff that otherwise would go into the diaper. I feel especially empowered when I take off her dry diaper, let her pee and then put the same dry diaper back on. I am by no means forcing my baby to go to the potty. I just try to respond to her cues as well as I can. My daughter is relaxed about being taken to the potty. Sometimes she gets upset when I think she is done and put her diaper on too early. When I take it off for a second time and give it another try she immediately stops protesting and becomes calm again. I also have the impression that when she has to go, my baby waits until I take her to the potty. I really enjoy the communication going on between me and my now 2-month-old baby. It is true that people do not believe it when you tell them about infant potty training. On their visit my parents saw my baby go on the potty and said it was just a coincidence that she used it. They did not even change their minds after watching it for several consecutive days. After two months my mom finally believes me that the method is really working. By the way: It does not matter whether you are using disposable diapers or cloth diapers. The technique aims on using less (or even no diapers, depending on how brave you are) in a shorter time than with conventional potty training. Imagine how much money you could save and how much dirty diapers you won't have to handle. I am convinced that, if I keep on doing what I am doing, over time my baby's diapers will stay dry during most of the day. I can only recommend this book.

Wow, it really works!

I read this book and gave it a try last weekend with my 8 week old son. I was astounded when he not only immediately responded and understood, but seemed thrilled that I finally was paying attention to his cues! It seemed overwhelming before I actually tried it, and I was really unsure, but I am a complete believer now. You can do it as little or as much as you want to, it's not all or nothing. Try pottying your baby when they first wake up, either in the morning or from a nap and see for yourself! Highly recommended. I also love the second section that gives a very informative and fascinating review of how and when potty training is done by other cultures around the world. The majority of them use techniques like this!

Amazing and life altering

I didn't think it was possible but after only a few days of reading this book it worked for my 6 week old. With a little boy we went through a messy time (directioning was hard) at first until I got the recommended Baby Bjorn potty but now it is wonderful. My family including husband thought I was crazy until it actually worked. I'm contantly impressed by my son and I would have completely underestimated him if it wasn't for this book.

Infant Potty Training

With Infant Potty Training, by Laurie Boucke, new and expecting parents have at their fingertips easy-to-follow, stage-by-stage instructions and training tips. Parents learn how to develop signals and cues that baby quickly associates with elimination, and how to chart baby's elimination patterns. Parents also get tips on choosing comfortable positions and suitable containers that vary adaptively to baby's growing body and capabilities. The author also shares historical writings on early training, dispells myths, and discusses changes in attitudes and child-raising philosophies during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that greatly affected the Western world's move away from this natural method of toilet training. Along with stories of the author's personal experience with infant potty training and an abundance of research references, the book also includes an impressive number of shining testimonials which were gathered from families of different backgrounds, cultures, races, nationalities, lifestyles, and income/education levels. These demonstrate that infant toilet training is not limited to any particular society or group. Undoubtedly, an important concern is how infant potty training can accommodate busy life-styles. Boucke addresses this issue by showing parents how they can use, mold, and adapt this method to contemporary living with part-time potty training. She includes feasible advice for working, traveling, and home schooling parents on time-management, multiple caregivers, siblings, erratic pottying, potty strikes, and unexpected interruptions.While reading the book, it quickly becomes evident that this method logically parallels our current knowledge about brain development and the windows of early learning. What is especially appealing is that this method compliments and strengthens attachment and bonding. Notably, the book is endorsed by Prof. Marten W. deVries, MD. who has personally observed and researched this method, and who is currently Secretary General of the World Federation for Mental Health, and is a Professor of Social Psychiatry. There is also a favorable interview with pediatrician, Dr. Leah Lam, who is the Medical Director of CARES (Child Advocay Resource and Evaluation Team) at St. Lukes' Hospital in Boise, ID.In this day and age of longer training periods, endless diapers, and parental potty training frustrations, Infant Potty Training offers a much needed and refreshing alternative to current toilet training methods. Parents, caregivers, medical professionals, educators and parenting advisors, who strive to be on the cutting edge of child development and parenting information, will do well to explore this inspiring theory.