Yes, it is possible, fun and wonderful for the environment! This article is about America's best-kept enviro-secret: Babies can be potty trained in infancy. As hard as it is for Westerners to believe, the process of infant potty training is a very simple and cozy one, used in many countries around the world. 

Infant potty training is the most environmentally friendly system a parent can use. It is the ultimate answer to the cloth vs. disposable diaper argument: Reduce and eliminate diapers! It is important for parents to think about potty training during pregnancy or the first few months of life, yet most do not even consider the topic until their baby is over a year old--often too late to start infant toilet learning.

I used the conventional Western method of potty training with my first two sons and was very dissatisfied with the results--diapers until 3 years of age and occasional bed wetting for several more years. By the time my third son was born, I was fortunate enough to learn about infant toilet training and adopted the method immediately. The result? No more dirty diapers, and he was continent day and night around 25 months. 

Each child that is trained in the "accepted" manner of "wearing diapers for years" uses 6,000-10,000 diapers before staying dry. That's a lot of disposable diapers to clog our over-taxed landfills! And that's also a lot of trees felled for feces. 

Many environmentally conscious parents elect to use cloth diapers which, in terms of the environment, may offer a slight improvement over disposables, but still expends valuable resources and causes pollution and other problems. By using relatively few cloth diapers, parents can conserve a lot of water, reduce electricity consumption and avoid using considerable amounts of polluting chemicals. This method affords the greatest hygienic respect for your baby since she never has to sit in her waste products. It also eliminates diaper rash. 

There are important financial rewards. Think of the savings if you could drastically reduce or even eliminate diapers altogether! Families save from $1,000-$3,000 per child. In addition, the yearly cost to taxpayers for diaper disposal is astronomical, approaching half a billion $$. 

In short, YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE if you use infant potty training. Parents as an individual family unit may think that one baby's worth of diapers doesn't have much impact on the planet. But when the diapers of thousands of babies are compiled, compacted or cleansed, the toll is staggering. It is our children and grandchildren who will have to deal with the mess we are making. We, as responsible adults, should cut back on pollution and depletion whenever and wherever possible. One effective way to do so is to reduce/avoid the use of diapers. 

Most people laugh when they first hear about the concept of infant potty training, "Impossible," they say. Yet we know that kids can learn a foreign language with no effort and no accent until they are about 9 or 10; thereafter it becomes a difficult task. In the same way, infants are receptive to elimination communication from birth and pick it up in a day or two. The window of learning generally remains open until the age of 4-5 months (longer in some cases). The problem is, parents teach infants to use a diaper as their toilet, then our children have to unlearn this behavior later. 

Although small babies do not have the muscular control to voluntarily retain their elimination, they can be prompted to RELEASE these muscles and respond to your cues if it is near time to "go." So when you think your baby needs to go, take her in your arms and hold her over a plastic basin, bathroom sink (great fun to gaze at mom in the mirror!) or whatever container you elect to use as an infant potty. Since your infant cannot yet sit, you must provide adequate and comfortable support in your arms. That is one reason why this method enhances bonding and is so gentle and loving. 

Most babies go at fairly regular intervals after eating and sleeping (example, every 20 minutes 3 times after nursing), but parents are not familiar with these patterns since they bundle their babies in diapers. It takes 1-2 hours to observe your undiapered baby and get a feel for his elimination patterns and timing. Some mothers don't even need to do this since they rely partly or purely on intuition to know when their baby needs to go. Once you are familiar with your baby's potty patterns, it is up to you to take him to his potty place on time. This is usually fairly time consuming in the early months, but in the long run, infant potty training generally takes no longer than conventional training. There are exceptions to every rule, and no one claims that infant potty training is the best method for all families. No matter what method is used, there will always be some babies who finish sooner than others. 

Another fabulous aspect of this method is the close communication you experience with your baby as you learn to read and respond to his elimination signals (body language and vocalizations). Just as breastfeeding is a lot more than a means of feeding a baby, in the same way infant potty training is a lot more than just a means of toilet learning. It is a lifestyle choice and therefore a matter of preference. 

By working with your infant in the manner described here, you keep him in touch with his natural awareness of the elimination functions. This awareness increases as he experiences the muscular sensations involved with elimination on a daily basis. As soon as his muscles and nervous system are developed enough for him to voluntarily retain, he will be potty trained.