During my
2.5 weeks in China, I have seen more babies’ butts than I have during the rest
of my life combined. This is because Chinese babies often wear backless pants
without diapers or underwear. That is, if they are wearing any pants at all. I've also seen several babies without any clothing on below the waist. But, more
seem to go the backless pants/ no undergarments route.
I started
researching this and found that this has to do with a form of potty training
called Elimination Communication. (This is also called Natural Infant Hygiene.)
Basically, this is a way to avoid diapers and to keep children clean without
them. Many people here believe that diapers, especially disposable diapers, are
bad. They believe that diapers are expensive, bad for the environment, cause
diaper rash, etc. So, they use the very old method of Elimination
Communication.
Elimination
Communication involved having a caregiver communicate with a child about when
the child needs to go. They do this using timing, signals, cues, and intuition.
To accomplish this, a parent or other caregiver will monitor a child’s
elimination routine for a few weeks without the use of diapers. Then, they will
gauge how often the child goes, the time of day, and any clues (for example, a
facial expression) the child gives before they go. Also, the caregiver can
teach the child signals to announce they must go. The caregiver can also give signals
to the child to let the child know that they are in a bathroom area. All of this leads to the child not needing
diapers. They can simply be held over a toilet (or a bush in my neighborhood)
to do their business.
Now, the
backless pants come into play because there is only a small window of
opportunity between when a child (really, a baby) gives a signal or some other
clue and when they will go. So, the backless pants are so the caregiver can get
the kid to an appropriate place before the kid goes and not have to bother
undressing the kid.
Although I
now know why the babies in my neighborhood are half naked all of the time,
nothing will erase the memory of watching a three year old squat down on the
sidewalk and defecate. The really bad part was that all his mother did was
slide some newspaper under him to catch it.
Here is an example of the backless pants.
From: Yvonnebrill.tumblr.com
Note: This is not common in my area. I have yet to see a kid with backless pants and a diaper on. I just couldn't take a picture of what I usually see because it's creepy for adults to take pictures of strangers' half naked children.
__________
The tools of the trade for Elimination Communication.
From: ThePottyShop.com.au
__________
So does this mean that a stroll down the sidewalk is a test of agility and eye sight? As a potty training mother, newspaper is an insufficient weapon to deal with the 'bombs' i face. Sometimes only a head to toe anti-bacterial shower will do the trick. Also, does one put a baby in backless pants in a car seat? Or hold a baby in backless pants in your arms? Those Chinese parents are braver that the rest of us : )
ReplyDeleteHey Sonia! From what I've seen, the babies do whatever they would normally do while wearing the backless pants. I've seen children being carried this way. I have also seen children in strollers this way. So, I assume they would also ride in a car seat this way too.
DeleteFunny enough, a lot of the rest of the world, especially in developing countries, use EC as their method of choice (and circumstance) for pottying young kids. If you think about it...what did WE do before diapers? Pampers are a "new" thing. Before that, cloth...and they were limited. A newborn is doing its business multiple times a day. Not enough diapers to keep up. So - in short, our fast-paced, I'll change you on my time attitude has been an evolved mindset. Before that, we were looking Chinese too...well, figuratively. More on the subject at godiaperfree.com for those interested. Great resources.
ReplyDeleteMr. Bentley, I have visited developing countries in South and Central America. I have seen disposable diapers and cloth diapers--but never have I seen anything like what happens in China. It's not bad, it's unique. You missed the point of this blog entry entirely.
Delete