Alison Roberts-Tse, a 36-year-old mother from Maidstone, has achieved what many parents consider impossible: potty training her baby boy, Ethan, at just five months old. While most children begin potty training between 18 months and two years, Alison used a method called Elimination Communication (EC) to start early.
What Is Elimination Communication?
EC teaches parents to recognize their baby's cues indicating they need to urinate or defecate. Instead of using nappies, parents hold the baby over a toilet or potty. Alison discovered EC before giving birth and was determined to try it. She began when Ethan was three months old, once he could hold his head up and she had recovered from her emergency C-section.
Alison's Approach
Alison started by sitting Ethan on the potty fully clothed to get him used to it, then progressed to bare-bottom sessions. She used sound and sign language cues to reinforce the experience. 'After he's done with the potty, there's just the matter of disposing of the waste in the grown-up toilet and giving the mini potty a quick wash,' she says.
Quick Results
The results were almost instant. After one month, Ethan rarely soiled his nappies, and after two months, he stopped completely. This made long-haul flights to visit family much easier. Alison created a digital calendar to track Ethan's potty times and signals, reviewing it daily to learn his patterns. 'The two primary signs that he has to go are: suddenly stopping an activity – like drinking while breastfeeding – or looking antsy or unsettled,' she explains.
Benefits Beyond Convenience
Alison highlights several advantages: fewer disposable nappies, saving money and reducing environmental impact; no painful nappy rash; and fewer 'poonamis.' She also notes that offering the potty can soothe an antsy baby. 'It's another tool in the parenting toolbox,' she says.
Support and Skepticism
While loved ones were supportive but skeptical, Alison's husband initially had low expectations. After two months of solo potty training, he saw the consistency and joined in. Alison has since created a course called Bare Bum Baby to help other parents learn EC.
The EC technique is not new; it was mentioned in the 1950s book Teach Yourself Mothercraft as the quickest way to train a baby to stop using nappies. Comedian Kathryn Ryan also successfully potty trained her son Fred at eight months using similar methods.
Despite some criticism online, Alison remains proud. 'I'm very glad that we incorporated it into our lifestyle and I'm very proud that it's just normal life for us now,' she says.
