Elimination Communication Benefits – Why EC is Awesome!

Elimination Communication Benefits

I was inspired by a recent post in an elimination communication support group and realized that it's about time I make a list of elimination communication benefits. I'm not usually one to go around trying to convince people to try EC. If someone isn't interested, that's fine by me. But when I do find someone who wants to start pottying their baby, I'm like, "Yippy! I've got lots of tips to share. Here's my blog post on this, and my video on that!".

So it's only fitting for me to have a blog post explaining why elimination communication is awesome sauce. And it is awesome! I'm probably preaching to the choir here. It's more likely you arrived at this page from searching "benefits of elimination communication" rather than "cons of elimination communication". Come on now, who enters that into the search bar, anyway?

If you are one of the wonderful people who helped inspire this post, please leave a comment below sharing your favorite benefit of EC or which benefit originally drew you towards natural infant hygiene. I have a couple personal favorites!

Hygiene

Using the potty keeps my baby's skin clean and dry so she is less likely to get diaper rash.

Awareness

Offering the potty and changing my baby's diaper as soon as it is wet helps my baby retain awareness of the feeling of needing to pee. She was born knowing when her bladder felt full and communicating her need to pee loudly. But if I were to rely upon super absorbent disposable diapers, she might forget the meaning of that sensation.

Communication

Elimination communication helps me understand the needs my baby is communicating. I quickly learned that my baby's adorable little sad frown meant she was hungry and rubbing her eyes meant she was tired. At times when she had napped and nursed and was content for a while but then started to fuss, I recognized that she needed to pee.

Respect

Elimination communication allows me to respect my daughter's natural instincts not to soil herself, her bed, or her caregivers. I started elimination communication from birth with my daughter and she would fuss very loudly to let me know she wanted to pee. She really didn't want to wet her diaper!

Consistency

I'm happy to be teaching my daughter a consistent message that pee and poop belong in the potty or toilet. It wouldn't be fair if I taught her for two or three years that she was supposed to pee and poop in a diaper and then decided that in three days time she should make the transition to only relieving herself in the toilet. 

Less Reliance on Diapers

By practicing elimination communication we will use fewer diapers than if we waited to potty train at 3-years-old. I'm hesitant to say that practicing EC necessarily equates to using fewer diapers. There are definitely parts of the EC journey when I use more diapers than parents who rely completely on diapers. This is because I like to change my daughter's diaper each time she pees, and as a newborn that's much more frequently than every two hours!

Environmental Impact

Using cloth diapers and training pants as backup for elimination communication is better for the environment than relying on disposable diapers. And each catch in the potty is a diaper saved!

Familiarity 

When my daughter nears potty independence she will be familiar with the toilet and it's intended purpose. It won't be scary or new. Using the toilet will already be part of her daily routine.

Restful Sleep 

When my daughter starts tossing and turning in the early morning hours I recognize that it is because she needs to pee. After offering her a chance to pee in the potty she is able to sleep soundly.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!

P.S. My daughter's "Potty me please!" organic cotton tee shirt is from Komfi Baby. Save 10% on your first order with coupon ECPEESYKOMFI. She's also wearing a convenient pair of split pants from Little Bunny Bear.

 

That wraps up our list of elimination communication benefits. Next you may want to read our tips on Starting Elimination Communication or about the connection between Elimination Communication and Breastfeeding.

About Heidi Avelino

Heidi is passionate about spreading awareness of elimination communication and natural cloth diapering. She is an environmentalist and strives to live a minimalist and zero-waste lifestyle. Heidi practiced EC with each of her three children. Her eldest son and her daughter have reached potty independence. She is currently practicing EC with and cloth diapering her youngest son.

3 Comments

  1. MARIA FERNANDA CAMPOS MENDIETA on February 17, 2019 at 2:51 am

    Great post!! for me its about connecting with our roots, remembering how we use to raise our babies. I love how many benefits EC has!!! <3



  2. Heidi Avelino on February 17, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    Thanks! And thank you for inspiring this post with your question in the support group. When raising my babies I often like to ask myself, “What did people do before these modern inventions and notions?”. We also love the many benefits of EC!



  3. Stephanie White on February 24, 2021 at 12:28 am

    I’m starting to think about starting EC. I never really considered it before, although I’m an EC Peesy subscriber.
    I started following for insight on wool diapering and tuned in for the recent how-to series.

    Thanks for this fantastic post. I especially like the consistency factor. If I get started, my 15 month old boy and I will bond better. His dad can tell when he’s urinating, which tickles him every time. He lifts a leg up– woof, woof– then goes about his day on all fours.