RE: Infant potty training / Dr. Sears

[Guest guest]

I'm afraid to talk about this subject any longer since it is so off topic

but here are a couple thoughts..

 

Don't underestimate children. From my experiences, it is very true that a

baby will tell you when to go. Only after being trained to 'go' in their

diapers do they stop their signals. My daughter grunts (almost) every time

she pees or poops, which usually gives us enough time to get her to the

grass/toilet/sink.. We haven't missed a poop in months! When we walk around

the city doing errands, whenever she has to pee she starts to squirm in the

sling and try to get out and I just pull her pants down and... whoosh!

Sometimes we ignore her signals and then when we realize it we pull her

pants down and she explodes (of course we try to avoid this). By doing this

method we are not 'training' her, we are just responding to her signals. If

we have an accident, no big deal. She just points to the 'mess' and says 'ka

ka' (easier then 'pee pee' for her) and we clean it up. " Toilet Training " as

discussed by Dr. Sears is a totally different story.

 

And in response to the comment: " Based on two of many of Dr. Sear's

comments, I don't see how you can expect an infant/baby to be potty

trained. " ... As much respect as I have for Dr. Sears (since he advocates

home birthing and attachment parenting) I would think a better " expert "

would be the mothers around the world. (The day I found out I was pregnant I

went straight out an got Dr. Sears pregnancy book, but while reading it I

laughed when I thought about how only western women have this practice of

needing a book for the most natural occasion in a women's life). Laurie

Bouke has written a great book called " Infant Potty Training " where she has

researched the history of potty training in the US and includes writings

from women from different parts of Africa and Asia about their methods. (One

funny story was by a women who lived in Vietnam and described how after the

war the US did air drops of jarred baby food (bananas in particular) and

disposable diapers. The women there could not believe that American women

would feed their babies this 'old' food or put these paper/plastic diapers

on them. But they found use of the jars and used the diapers as bandages.)

 

Apparently she also wrote Dr. Sears a year ago... from the EC egroup

archive:

 

" ... A few days ago, I received an email from Dr. Sears. I had sent him

Infant Potty Training ages ago. His email was very positive. He said he

found the book very helpful. The overall tone of his message led me to

believe he is now going to somehow incorporate ec into his books and

teachings, even if just in a general sense. The info you just posted

confirms this!

 

He is coming out with a new book on attachment parenting. It will be

interesting to see if he includes his revised views on toilet learning in

it. I predict he will. This is great news for all of us. "

 

Keep your minds open,

Erika

 

Down to Earth Nomads in Quest of Future Civilization -

http://erika.ofek.com/

Compositions by OfeK - http://ofek.com/

 

 

 

Deb Proen [deb_proen]

Mon, November 12, 2001 11:41

 

Re: Infant potty training

 

 

I did not see the original post.....but I thought potty training was all

about when the child was physically and emotionally ready (not because the

parents did not want to wash diapers or because the parents thought the

diaper was uncomfortable). Sofie never complained about a diaper not being

comfortable, in fact as a infant, she did not even care if there was poop in

it. From the mom's I talk with, most babies don't care.

 

I don't think a baby can physically hold the pee until at a potty or tell

you when they have to go. That is something I thought a toddler could do

but definitely not a baby. Maybe I am blessed, but my daughter potty

trained herself at 26 months. Yes, she has an occasional accident, but we

reinforce the positivie so she won't feel so bad. But you know, feeling bad

at times is part of life and learning how to get over it and on with life

without it affecting you is important.

 

Here are some comments from Dr. William Sears re: potty training

(http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t106600.asp):

 

Toilet-training is a complex skill. Before you rush baby to the potty at the

first squat, consider what's involved in learning toileting skills. First,

baby has to be aware of the pressure sensations of his bowel and bladder.

Then he must make the connection between these sensations and what's

happening inside his body. Next he learns to respond to these urges by

running to the potty, where he must know how to remove his clothes, how to

situate himself comfortably on this new kind of seat and how to hold his

urges until all systems are go. With all these steps, it's no wonder many

babies are still in diapers well into the third year.

 

The muscles surrounding the opening of the bladder and bowel (I call them

doughnut muscles when explaining the elimination process to six-year- old

bed wetters) need to be controlled to open and close at the proper time.

Bowel training usually precedes bladder training, mainly because the

doughnut muscles surrounding the bowel are not as impatient as those around

the bladder. When a baby senses the urge to defecate, he has more time to

respond before soiling his diapers. A solid substance is easier to control

than liquid. When the bladder is

full, the urge to go is sudden, strong, and hard to control.

 

Based on two of many of Dr. Sear's comments, I don't see how you can expect

an infant/baby to be potty trained.

 

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