TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — Potty training children may arguably be one of the most difficult tasks in parenting. Scads of research is available to young parents, often sending mixed messages about what age is "best" to move from diapers to "big-kid" pants.

A new technique -- diaper-free training -- is gaining popularity among some parents, according to a recent report by the Associated Press.

Followers of the movement believe babies are born with an instinctive ability to signal the need to relieve themselves, and if parents take the time to read and work with the signals, potty training can begin much earlier - some say even at birth.

According to www.diaperfreebaby.org, a network of support groups promoting the practice, babies are aware of their elimination needs from birth and communicate about those needs through various vocal and bodily signals.

Within the first few months of life, babies have the ability to consciously release their bladders and bowels. By taking them to appropriate elimination places during infancy, practitioners enable them to maintain a connection with their bodily sensations and learn from an early age what to do when they experience those sensations.

Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Educator Heather Winn is the mother of two boys, and isn't sold on the idea.

"No way!" she exclaimed. "The only thing an undiapered baby is good for is a mess!"

Experts at the Child Study Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center tend to agree, saying children younger than 12 months have no control over bladder or bowel movements and little control for six months after that.

Laurie Boucke, author of books on infant potty training and the DVD series "Potty Whispering," says studies of conditioning in babies demonstrate that infants are able to quickly learn and remember things, and positive conditioning reinforces learned behaviors in the first weeks and months of life.

Boucke's technique involves briefly whispering a watery sound such as "ssss," "psss" or "tsss" in baby's ear at potty time to help the child learn to associate this sound with releasing the sphincter muscles. If it's time - or nearly time - to go, infants can release on cue, says Boucke.

Diane Weston, Tahlequah Baby Signs instructor, wasn't familiar with the practice.

"In our class, we do have signs that babies learn to make indicating they need a diaper change," she said. "But I'm not sure about this elimination communication technique. The youngest child we've had in the program was 7 months old, and we recommend parents wait until a child is 8 months old before enrolling them in Baby Signs."

According to the AP report, the practice of using elimination communication is common in many parts of rural Africa and Asia, where diapers are often unaffordable, but it is just beginning to catch on in the U.S. among stay-at-home moms.

Weston said early potty training isn't necessarily a new discovery.

"Back in the olden days, they did this with kids because we didn't have disposable diapers," she said.

Nelda Littlejohn believes diaper-free training to be unrealistic.

"You would have to spend all of your time watching your child, and their little sphincters are not fully developed," she said. "In short, I think it's a crock of baby you-know-what!"

Proponents of the practice say elimination communication can be done using diapers all of the time, some of the time, or not at all. By reducing the number of diapers used, Elimination Communication provides a more environmentally-sound option than conventional cloth or disposable diapering.

Winn said choosing the age to transition from diapers to the potty can be difficult.

"I tried potty-training my first [child] at the age of 2," she said. "He wasn't ready, so instead of beating my head against the wall, I just decided to wait a little bit. At age 2-1/2, following the purchase of two of the mega-sized packages of diapers, he decided he wanted big-boy pants. So we got them and he was trained. Just like that. We even made a three-hour trip to grandma's that evening without a hitch."

Becky Wolfe considers herself a dinosaur in the potty training department, as her children are grown.

"When my children were young, we didn't have the option of disposable diapers because of the cost," she said. "I was one of the fortunate mothers whose children pretty much potty-trained themselves, but not as newborns! Potty training from birth, I think, would be more a learning experience for parents than children."