When it came to toilet training, one mum didn’t hang about.
Just eight weeks after giving birth to Aya, Alexis Abdelaziz started teaching her how to use the loo. This is around 16 months earlier than most children learn.
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But according to the 26-year-old, it can be effective when you use the “elimination communication” technique.
The method involves working out a child’s cue – which could be a movement, sound, card or symbol – and linking it with using the loo.
By doing this, Alexis has apparently shown her baby how to use this sign language to indicate when she needs the toilet.
The mum, from California in the US, said: “I had seen parents try toilet training from a very young age even before I was pregnant and I always wanted to try it.
“When I got pregnant I had totally forgotten about it and then a couple of months after I had her I randomly remembered it and I started doing research and everything aligned with the method – it just made sense.”
Two months on, Alexis said her daughter has come a long way.
She said: “Ever since then, we have not stopped once. Every day she gets more consistent with it and understands it better.
“Aya will be turning five months old on September 19 and for the first time around two weeks ago, she did sign language to me, without me asking her if she needed to go.
“Typically, I will ask her if she needs to go to the toilet and show her a card of a toilet and then I will take her to the toilet.”
Alexis is also using sign language to help her little one communicate before she can actually talk.
She said: “There are a lot of benefits to children knowing how to communicate before they are verbally able.
“Mainly, because they are available to demonstrate their needs and they are emotionally aware – meaning they are less likely to throw a tantrum or feel emotionally misunderstood.
“Obviously Aya isn’t able to talk yet but she is able to understand and it can teach her how to use her voice.”
Alexis told fellow parents they need to be consistent if they want to achieve similar results.
She added: “If I am taking her to the toilet for a full day and not showing her the card or signing to her, I am sure it would throw it off her schedule and understanding.
“Just because she is so little, consistency is the most important thing. I carry the card wherever we go and show it to her.
“The main thing I try to explain to people is it is not about diapers and my baby being potty-trained before other babies – because a lot of people are asking about this and asking why I would even do this.
“She is so much more content and happier because babies sitting around in poop is something they do not enjoy – they cry, they scream and it smells and you can tell by how they are crying.
“But when Aya goes on the toilet she is smiling and content and after she is done on the toilet, she is so calm, there is no crying involved.”
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