As is the case for many parents these days we weighed the environmental impact of cloth diapers versus disposables. In all of our research and reading we came across a number of references and some testimonials discussing another alternative to some of the inevitable and literal waste that comes with having a baby. Early start potty training, or elimination communication or "EC" as some people call it, is the simple idea of teaching your kid to use the potty from the day they are born.

We thought this made a lot of sense. Since the only way to reduce the use of any type of diaper is to have your kid use the potty, why not start earlier rather than later? We read a couple of books on the topic before starting on our adventure, but the method is really simple: Put your kid on the potty from the day they are born (or whenever you want to start), several times a day (or however often you want to or can). Honestly, that’s just about it.

The idea is that you anticipate when your baby is going to need to go (after nap or nursing, for example) and you provide the opportunity for them to go in the potty. In the beginning, sometimes he will go (we have two boys) and sometimes he won’t. But when he does, you give him positive feedback. Some people suggest that you give your baby an audible cue to associate with going to the bathroom and teach them a hand sign so that they can tell you early on when they need to go.

As you read this post, I can assure you that there are lots of different experiences out there with widely varying results and opinions. This is just our story. I should also note that we have had one parent at home with the kids since they were born. The books we read said that parents can have as much success even if they are only able to practice early start potty training outside of work hours, but I don’t have experience with that directly.

For those who are interested, my goal here is just to let you know what worked for us, what didn't and ultimately why we love early start potty training.

What worked

We were astonished to discover how quickly and easily both of our boys took to using the potty. For our first son, L. (now 3), we used a small Baby Bjorn Potty and later upgraded to a larger one, but to avoid the added step of cleaning the potty, we are putting our second boy, C. (now 9 months) right on the toilet (with a potty training seat).

First of all, elimination communication doesn't mean committing to having your child make big messes when you miss their cues - diapers make a great fail-safe. Here's how we do it: When C. wakes up in the morning, we put him on the potty. He either goes if he needs to or doesn't and then we put a diaper on him. Unless he makes any indication of needing to go, we wait until say, before nap time (about 2-3 hours later) and then put him on the potty again. He either goes or he doesn't and his diaper is either dry or it isn't. (But its never poopy.)

We saw results within days of beginning our early start potty training, even when our kids were only weeks old. At that age, babies are... productive, so sometimes our boys would go on the potty and sometimes in their diapers, but over time they used the potty more and more and their diapers less and less. I’d say that by the time they were 4 months old, they were using the potty about 90% of the time for poop (more on pee in a sec). And by 6 months for our first son and about 8 months for our second, we have never seen a poopy diaper again!

What didn’t work

We did not find using an audible cue to be particularly helpful in our experience. We found that the association with the potty was enough for them to know what they were supposed to do. Nor did we find using a hand sign to be particularly helpful in having our kids "communicate" to us about their potty needs. We taught our kids a hand sign, but neither of them has ever used it to let us know that they need to go. Our second son is now nine months old and mostly we just provide several opportunities a day for him to use the potty and this is enough to get the job done. But on occasion he has communicated his need to use the potty simply by being fussy. We have learned that when he’s fussy, we should check the usual suspects plus one more. Is he hungry? Is he tired? Or does he need to poop?

Having a poop-free-diaper existence has been reward enough for us to fully endorse early-start potty training. However, our expectations for actually having our kids truly potty trained at an earlier age have now been readjusted as our older son was no sooner pee-trained than his (non-early start) friends. Somewhat ironically, this may have had something to do with our use of early-start potty training. For example, we noticed that while his friends were all discovering the potty for the first time and showing excitement towards this “new” activity (that they sometimes got rewards for) - he just thought they were crazy because he had been using a potty all of his life. What was there to get excited about?

While he was fully capable of using a potty to pee in - and in fact did pee in a potty several times a day (when we took him to the potty) - this did not translate into him voluntarily telling us when he needed to go. This turned out to be more of a developmental step, requiring him to be OK with stopping whatever fun activity he was doing at the time to take a potty break. For us that came right around his third birthday.

We used lots of "naked time" with our first son, L., on the theory that it would help facilitate regular use of the potty (one kept close at hand). In our experience, this didn't really offer much benefit above and beyond our early start potty training habits, so we haven't emphasized that as much with C. and don't really see much difference.

Why we love it

Particularly because we chose to use cloth diapers with both of our boys, not having to deal with poopy diapers has been heavenly. No extra rinsing. No stinky diaper pails. Clean bums, no diaper rash. And our kids’ waste has gone where it’s supposed to – in the sewer system, not the trash can (as often happens with disposables).

Finally, some might view the time spent putting your kid on the potty as time they don’t have to add to their schedule, but we have really valued our potty time with the kids. We use that time to talk with them and read stories. We have a big bookshelf right next to the potty. It’s the first thing we do in the morning and the last thing before bed. It has actually come to be scheduled quality time that we all enjoy.

Ultimately, we have found that early start potty training is good for the environment (fewer diapers of any kind and waste in its place), good for our kids (quality time with their parents and always knowing what the potty is for), and great for us (for all of the reasons above).

Have any questions about how EC worked for our family? We're happy to field questions in the comments.

Need cloth diapers? ZRecs published a Cloth Diaper Showdown nearly two years ago that is still heavily referenced, and Kim Rosa's Dirty Diaper Laundry site features great video reviews of cloth diapers and follows current trends and designs in cloth diapering.

Feeling lucky? PRIZEY's Baby Gear category has frequent giveaway listings of cloth diapers and diapering supplies.

Our family loves to ride bikes. From commuting to work to participating in long distance rides, my husband and I have always enjoyed the simplicity, sustainability, health benefits and great fun of riding bikes. But when you have small children, family rides can get a little more complicated. Through two kids, I've had experiences with balance bikes, mini bikes that attach to the back of an adult bike, and front- and rear-mounted child seats, so I thought I'd share a few impressions on our favorite kids' bike seat to date: The iBert Safe-T Seat.

Our toddler can balance for long distances on his pedal-free kids' bike. It's great for his own play, but not suitable for riding as a family.

When my older son (who is now 17) was little, I used a bike seat that attached to the back of my bicycle. While he enjoyed getting out on the bike with his mom, he often complained that he couldn’t see anything (besides my backside) and I didn’t like how difficult it was to talk to him. As he grew older, we got a Trail-A-Bike that was a blast for us both. We rode daily to school and even did some short “long distance” rides (25 miles) with friends.

Now, our younger son wants to be more involved in our bicycling adventures. He isn’t willing to sit quietly in a trailer and we knew he would want to see everything we were seeing from our bikes. So after my husband made a trip to Tokyo and saw countless Japanese families riding around with front-mounted child bike seats, we researched front seats online and found one available in the U.S.

The iBert Safe-T Seat allows our toddler to really participate in the ride. Since the seat faces forward and attaches near the handlebars, he can see where we are going, is able to talk to us while we are riding and feels safe right between our arms rather than being banished to the back of the bike. Out on a typical ride, he points out objects like airplanes, animals (he loves cats) and other bicyclists and is able to put his hands on the handlebars (which can be a liability if you aren’t paying attention).

The iBert Safe-T is recommended for children ages one to four with a maximum weight of 38 pounds and a maximum height of 42 inches.

The cost is reasonable compared to seats that go on the back of a bike - at around $85 it's cheaper than some, and costs more than just a few. Better still, assembly is a piece of cake - it literally took five minutes to install, and has a quick-release for the seat so you can ride solo again quickly. That's a great feature!

There are two drawbacks to the iBert:

1. Your handlebar stem needs to have 3/4" clearance for the iBert to fit properly, so make sure to measure it if you're thinking about getting one. Our family is proof that the mounting bar doesn’t fit on all bikes - it fits on two of the five bikes we have between us.


2. Ergonomically, it doesn't work equally for all users. My husband is tall (6 foot 1 inch) and he still has plenty of knee room to pedal. For me at 5 foot 3 inches tall, it is not as comfortable. Reaching over my son to get to my handlebars, I feel crowded. So, he usually rides with his Dad.

The seat has a very minimal affect on the handling of the bicycle and the balance feels natural, with more of the weight towards the front rather than the back of the bike.

Overall, the iBert seat is simple to use and our son loves it so much he asks to go on bike rides!

PRIZEY is awash with green giveaways right now. Here are the current Editors' Picks; click through to get links to enter them, or for a handy way to email one to a friend who might like the prize even more than you.

• Pair of Hatley organic cotton pajamas [July 14]


• Mimi the Sardine Lunchbugs Ecofriendly Lunch Bags [July 17]


• Zhena’s Biodynamic Gypsy Tea [July 11]


• Snappi Diaper Fastners [August 01]


• Mrs. Meyers Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products [July 15]


• Prairieland Herbs Goody Bag [July 16]


• Keeper Menstrual Cup [July 31]


• Nine Naturals Shampoo [July 08]


• 3 Month Supply Of Laundry Dropps [July 12]


• The Safe Sippy2 sippy to straw cup [July 13]


• Aller-Ease Cotton Pillow Protector [June 06]


• Ecobag Classic String Bags [July 31]


• 3 Kits containing Products from Organicare [July 11]


• Zoe and Sprout Tee [July 13]


• Save Your World Shampoo and Conditioner [July 08]


• marchuska cmarchuska Hunter Summer Scarf [July 09]


• $50 Gift Certificate to Tiny Prints [July 10]


• A Tool Set from Green Toys [July 07]


• organic tee by hessnatur [August 07]


• Happily Ever After Sweepstakes [September 30]

You can also visit our Green Living section on PRIZEY to vote up non-Editors' Picks for a Reader Pick award. It's a great way to help spread the word about green products and companies you'd like to see succeed!