EC paper

My wonderful husband wrote a paper about EC for school. I thought I would post it here for all to enjoy. Feel free to post questions in the comments!

Ditching Diaper Dependency
PARENTS OF INFANTS EXCITED ABOUT DIAPER ALTERNATIVE
By David Mayer
REXBURG, Idaho- During these trying economic times it seems that many people would do just about anything to save some extra money, especially if you are a parent. Well, what if there was a way to save on diapers before your child is even old enough to walk? It may sound unrealistic unless you’ve ever heard of Elimination Communication.
Elimination Communication, or EC as it is often called by those who practice it, is a potty training technique that begins at infancy. One of the basic premises of the technique is that, like most baby mammals, human babies have a basic instinct to not “soil the nest,” but that instinct is suppressed in most infants when they are taught to eliminate into a diaper.
Elimination Communication teaches parents how to watch for their child’s natural cues, and then allow them to eliminate in a designated way (holding them over a toilet, sitting them on a small training toilet, etc.) It also teaches parents how to train their child when it is OK to eliminate by making a cue sound (usually a sound like “shhh” or “psss”) while offering them a chance to eliminate in their designated way.
Arora Mayer was born in Rexburg, and was only three weeks old when her mother, Holly Mayer, began the EC program. “It was more difficult at the beginning than it is now,” says Holly Mayer, “but it was also very rewarding because I felt like it was something I could really do for my baby.”
She also felt that it helped with her develop in her role as a first time mother. “It gave me an opportunity to get to know her needs,” says Mayer. “It has helped me see her more like a person whose needs and schedule should be respected just as much as mine.”
Arora is now 1 year old, and according to her parents she is already very aware of her elimination needs. “She’s able to hold it a lot longer, and she decides where and when she wants to go,” says Mayer. “We definitely use a ton less diapers now. We usually only have to use two diapers a day.”
Laurie Boucke also felt that bonding and communication were major benefit of her EC experience, adding environmental as another worthwhile benefit for her. Boucke is the author of Infant Potty Training: A Gentle and Primeval Method Adapted to Modern Living, and creator of the DVD “Potty Whispering.”
Boucke learned about EC from a friend in India. She says that she was quite skeptical in the beginning, but after a few demonstrations and tries of her own, those feelings turned to enthusiasm. She says to any moms or dads who are skeptical, “I was skeptical too. Give it a try anyway.”
Boucke says that her greatest challenge was the guilt that she felt if she was ever “late for a pee.” She cautions parents new to EC to “Relax, avoid stress, don’t expect perfection.”
Of course, EC is not for every parent or child. Melanie Sorensen is a stay-at-home mother of three in Rexburg who decided to pass on EC after looking into it.
"The reason that I didn’t do it is because I have three kids, I’m potty training my second child, and I just don’t have the time,” says Sorensen. “By the time I heard of EC it was with my third child, and I just can’t handle potty training two kids at the same time."
Mayer admits that it requires time and attention to get started, but she sees it more as an investment that pays off in the long run. She is hoping that spending the time to do EC now will save her and Arora from potty training challenges in the future.
Despite Arora Mayer’s apparent success at EC, she declined to comment on her personal feelings regarding the program. However, her parents are sure she will be happy to prepare a statement as soon as she learns how to talk.