Many parents are proud of their newborns, but there is one thing they all have in common that can be included in the list of “cons” of the magical journey of raising a newborn- born: diapers. No one likes to change their baby, especially at poo time, but out of love and attention, we often joke about this thankless task. Still, some parents pass on a new “educational technique” which allows you to say goodbye to diapers from the first weeks of life.
TikTok / lexiabdelaziz
Alexis Abdelaziz, a 26-year-old mother from California, started teaching her five-month-old daughter Aya to use the toilet when she was just eight weeks old. Usually, children start potty training between 18 and 24 months, although in some cases they can start as young as three years old.
She adopted the technique of “elimination-communication”, which is based on the idea that babies naturally signal when they need to go to the bathroom. Alexis has been consistent in her potty training and says Aya is already capable of signal when she needs to go to the bathroomusing children’s sign language.
The method of elimination-communication consists of the child finding a sign, for example by showing a piece of paper or drawing a symbol, and immediately afterwards the parents must place it in front of the potty or the toilet and make a sound for the child to use the toilet. Alexis said she was rather skeptical the first time she tried the technique, yet her daughter Aya used the toilet from the start.
“Since then we haven’t stopped. Every day, she becomes more coherent and understands better,” says Alexis. “Aya is just five months old and a few days ago for the first time she did sign language for me, without me asking her if she needed to go to the bathroom. I usually ask her if she needs anything by showing her a paper representing a toilet, then I take her to the toilet.
TikTok – @lexiabdelaziz
Alexis also teaches his daughter the sign language : “There are many advantages to children being able to communicate before they are able to do so verbally, as they are able to show their needs and are aware of their emotions, which means they are less likely to throw tantrums or feel emotionally misunderstood,” she explains.
“Obviously Aya is not yet able to speak, but she is able to understand and can learn to use her voice,” added Alexis, emphasizing that the key to her teachings is consistency. “If I take her to the bathroom for a whole day and don’t show her the paper or do the signs, I’m sure it would throw her off balance and make her lose sight of her program and her understanding. That’s why I carry the paper with me wherever we go and show it to him,” she said.
Many people have asked Alexis why she taught her daughter this technique at such a young age: “It’s not for diapers or showing off a child prodigy. With this method, I see my daughter much more serene, because babies in dirty diapers don’t like it: they cry, they scream, it’s not pleasant. Since Aya goes to the bathroom, she is smiling and satisfied and after she is done, she is still calm. She hardly ever cries.
What do you think of this now fairly well-known technique?
@lexiabdelaziz Replying to @Clarissa Martinez the easiest way to get started with early potty training👶🏻🚽 #pottytrainning #babiesoftiktok #babiesontiktok #momlife #fyp #foryou ♬ Funny Song – Cavendish Music
