With Green Earth Day this week there has been talk on how dispoable diapers have been adding up to pollution on earth.With the majority of diapers still non-degradable some parents have been thinking about using EC(Elimination Control) as it advocates totally no diaper usage relying solely on the parents understanding and following the babies needs to relieve himself.

I personally have not tried this method as it is definately not for me. However, without trying to sway your judgement of this method here is a list of pros and cons for you to make your own judgement.

Diaperfreebaby.org lists 75 different benefits of using EC

Here are some which are feel are most practical

Benefits

1. Save $$ which would have been used on diapers
2. Reduces the risk of skin irritation/ UTI
3. Less items to pack when bringing the baby out
4. Reducing frustration between child and parent.

Cons

1. It is unpractical especially a newborn can go 4-5 times in an hour. If you have other kids or am working from the home it is impossible to be 100% focus on that particular child.
2. Creates more mess and clean up for the parent as they have to be spot on to all the babies subtle cues of elimination. Ie: similar to cleaning up after a not housebroken pet.
3. It may not be possible to have the potty/toilet readily on hand especially if you need to commute with the baby daily.
4. It is more parent training then EC training for the child as they are unable to truely communicate and go to the bathroom(with minimal assiatance) till they are 2yrs old.Most of the time it would be the parent assuming or "reading" the facial features, sounds that the child makes and it can be very tiring and exhausting as the child is unable to use the toilet without any help.

If you do have a big backyard and have time on your hand do try it out if you wish. However don't get too stressed over it if it doesn't turn out to be the correct method for you.