Thursday, September 06, 2007

Infant Potty training in the Media

Personally I feel the recent articles I have encountered regarding infant potty traing to be acurate and fair. Lets see if the link will work, and you can read and see them for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaENzKvsnzo

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20464264/

For anyone who finds this concept crazy you simply have to understand that if you have not seen or experienced a young child under the age of 12 month exhibit celf control you can not declare that it does not exist. How many of us believe in a God, or the Australia really is there?

My own son, now 12 months old, while unable to keep himself dry all the time does exhibit potty control, even during long car trips. He is aware that sitting on the potty is a special place to attempt to release urine and poo and often will pass gas there while "giving it a go". As many kids his age who have learned infant potty training he wets himself frenquently during the day because he is preoccupied with climbing, walking and running. Should I make the mistake of mentioning the potty without actually taking him to it we will have wet pants.

However he keeps his bedding dry at night most nights and now regularly wakes me up simply to have me carry him to his potty at 3 or 5 in the morning so that he can pee there. If he had no control over his bodily functions this would not be possible. Certainly a child with no control would simply live in the world with wet pants, urinating in a constant dribble. That is just not the case, their bladders and bowels are capable of holding onto waste until they feel a fullness and an urge to push it out.

An aware parent can help the child undress when it senses the child is uncomfortable, full or by knowing the pattterns of their childs elimination. Practicing this form of "potty training" in our home has given me great insights into teething, allergies and sense of non-wellbeing in my son. For example early teething is often accompanied by diarreah.

If you have not seen this in action you can not be so sure the control does not exist. The next time you see an infant pee the moment it's diaper is removed ponder this question - was it the cold air on their genitiles the gave them the urge to pee, or did the cold air simply let them know that their elimination was being tended to and that the given monent was a good time to ensure relief and comfort by having the waste attended to in that monent?

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