This blog discusses attachment parenting and elimation communication. Elimination communication is also known as tickle treat, infant potty training, and more.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Cloth Diapering
One thing that often goes along with ECing and is one of the staples of attachment parenting is cloth diapering. I am a part time cloth diaper user. This comes partly because I truly believe in the idea that kids are more likely to potty train more easily if they can feel the sensation of being wet in their diaper and associate that with the feeling of letting go of the sphinxter muscle. Also, attachment parenting is all about reading the child and truly meeting their needs. Elimination and the need to keep the elimination away from one's self are basic human needs. Therefore, I also believe in trying to change my kids as soon as they are wet. I'm not perfect at this, and I do use some disposable diapers. Ben is allergic to the common brands of disposable diapers, so for awhile, I used Tushies brand diapers http://www.tushies.com/. They are filled with cloth and chlorine free, so they're better for the environment. I'm not really much of a tree hugger, but I do think that those are good diapers if you want to go with something you can still throw away but the baby can still feel the wet. Ben is doing great at pooping on the potty, and he pees on it when I set him up there, but he's not interested in having to pee on there every time yet. That's alright with me, I'm all for what's the most comfortable for me and my kid. In the end, I think that there is a place in the world for some good, cloth diapers. However, I think that parents can still be attached to their children without them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
To be clear, the cloth diapers talked about here are not the old rectangles our grandparents used. Ellie makes or has purchased diapers that are shaped just like a disposable with snaps or velcro instead of tape, so they're easy to use. No safety pins are necessary. I won't say it's a treat to get to load a pile of them in the washing machine, but they can be good in times of need to have around.
I much prefer the elimination communication aspects of attachment parenting. Learning when your child needs to go to the bathroom - or what his or her patterns are for going - can really help them learn not to gift wrap a number two present for you. Our daughter was done pooping in diapers by eighteen months and basically done with them entirely by two years (with the occasional need to wear one at night until we got her on a schedule of going before bed). Our son seems well on his way to not pooping in a diaper because he goes each morning when he wakes up. Peeing, however, seems to be too much trouble for him to care to hold so far, probably because he's used to not feeling it thanks to disposable diapers. In time, I won't be surprised if he's done with diapers as early as Jackie was, though.
Post a Comment