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HOW IT WORKS
Infants are aware of elimination from birth–just observe their movements, facial expressions, and vocalizations when pooing–and often cry or give other signals to be changed. But we don't watch and listen. What if we were to do so? I have found that if we respond positively and proactively, babies will experiment, practice and learn in this regard, just as they do with other milestones such as crawling and walking. You start by briefly whispering a watery sound such as "sssss," "pssss" or "tssss" in your baby's ear at potty time to help the child learn to associate this sound with releasing the sphincter muscles. If it's (nearly) time to go, infants can release on cue. |
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Studies of conditioning in babies demonstrate that infants are able to quickly learn and remember things and that positive conditioning reinforces learned behaviors in the first weeks and months of life. Opponents say that any "catching" of elimination from babies 0-12 months is "merely conditioning," but much of what we learn in life starts with conditioning and progresses from there. The whispering cue itself may only be needed for a few weeks or perhaps just a few months. It doesn't take long until babies recognize other cues from you such as the way you hold them in-arms at potty time. For children who can sit, the potty elicits elimination. |
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You can later return to potty whispering at times when your baby needs help relaxing in order to release or if the child is distracted. You can also communicate back and forth through the use of sign language and hand signals until your little one is able to communicate verbally. Our Western cultural expectations and medical professionals tell us that infants have no control, yet many parents have experienced the opposite. When we take our babies to a toilet place (potty or other receptacle) around the time they need to "go," we afford them the opportunity to practice using their sphincter muscles and encourage them to communicate the next time they need relief. This allows them to slowly but surely develop elimination muscular and neural control per their own innate tempo. |
| This is not the type of potty training we are familiar with and thus is often misunderstood. Some people don't even consider it to be potty training since it differs in so many ways. But whatever you decide to call it, medical professionals classify it as a form of toilet training. I've researched infant pottying in many different societies and each time I asked, "What do you call this?" I was told that there is no name for it, that it is simply the way things are done. Perhaps it is easier to describe this practice in terms of what is not a part of it. |  |
The Potty Whisperer No-Nos:
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