Mum defends going 'nappy free' and teaching her baby to POO in the garden
13 February 2019, 12:56 | Updated: 13 February 2019, 13:02
Mum-of-one Shanelle claims she'll be using the 'elimination communication method'.
Pregnant mum Shanelle Cartwright has revealed she won't be using nappies and will be teaching her kids how to use the garden as a toilet.
Shanelle, who is married to Australian rugby league player Bryce Cartwright, claims she is planning on teaching her newborn 'elimination communication'.
She claims the method takes inspiration from the animal world, as wild creatures will never soil in their home - only where their mother tells them to.
She wrote: "For this baby we are going to try no nappies and do elimination communication, especially if we have a girl.
"All mammals will instinctively NOT soil their nest and will eliminate where mum tells them to.
"You don't s*** your pants because you know it's uncomfortable and yucky.
"Just like you teach a kitten to go in a litter box or a puppy to only go outside - you teach a baby the same."
The bizarre method will no doubt raise eyebrows from sceptics, but the unusual way of teaching children how to potty train has garnered popularity online.
Baby elimination communication, also known as infant potty training or diaper free, uses cues and timing to teach small infants where to relieve themselves.
Parenting website mummynatural.com, claims babies should be given 'diaper-free' time on a waterproof mat so you can begin to learn the child's cues.
The website claims: "When you observe baby eliminating, consider introducing a cue sound like a “pss” sound for pee and a “hmm” sound for poo. Baby will start to associate those sound with “letting go.”
According to research babies can be taught how to use the toilet independently from 6 months old, however, one parent revealed they are using the method on their 8-week-old baby.
One parent revealed: "We are practicing baby elimination communication in our own way. We started at 8 weeks old.
"My son wears only cloth diapers. Whenever we change him we take him to the potty (we use the sink because he isn’t big enough for a potty yet) and give him the opportunity to go. He goes per about 80 percent of the time.
"Poops we are still working on. I think it is all about giving them an opportunity to go somewhere other than in a diaper. After when we are done we do a little pee-pee dance in the mirror to make it fun! Really it only adds an extra minutes to the diaper change. I love it!"
