Friday, June 14, 2013

Hipster parenting methods kind of scare me...

Source
Do you guys remember that episode of The Simpsons where, while Marge is away, Homer decides to let Maggie roam free in the backyard and let nature take its course?

Well, it looks like the Hipsters have decided to start doing it too ... in an entirely ironic way, of course [link].

Yep, it's true, there is a whole group of people who are trying a new form of toilet training for their youngsters, which pretty much consists of leaving the little dears diaperless and then rushing around after them, holding their naked butts over bowls whenever their face screws up.

Charming image, isn't it.

The theory seems to be that by using the "elimination communication" method ... yep, it's really called that ... the babies will become potty trained earlier and you save the environment by not using all those disposable diapers.  Well the diaper think is definitely true, although I'd question the early potty training bit.  Are kids only a few months old even able to control it?

I have to admit, I'm not sure how this could actually work for a normal person.  Do you let your baby poop on the footpath if you're taking them for an afternoon walk?  Do you ask to borrow a bowl if you're at another kid's birthday party?  And what about daycare?  Do you tell the carers just to let them go free range in the playground?

To be fair though, it's not like this is just some new fangled concept that they've come up with.  Our ancestors did it for thousands of years before diapers were invented, and there are still cultures in the world today where it's a common child rearing practice ... but any way you slice it you're still encouraging your kids to poop in public.

That can't be good.

75 comments:

  1. interesting to read thank you I really liked your article I love your beautiful blog and so enjoy your posts.good job

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  2. I thought you were just supposed to put it on a leash and let it wander around the yard until it starts sniffing, but I may also be confusing "babies" with "dogs."

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    1. Hard to tell with them both on leashes these days.

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    2. It's a common mistake. Lots of women with those awful little yappy dogs mix them up too.

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  3. I guess they are so concerned for the environment that cloth diapers never occurred to them? Nah, that would be too crazy.

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  4. And that's why, withe 8 months of winter a year in Canada, we'll never have any hard core hipsters living out of their VW vans, pooping in bowls here. :)

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    Replies
    1. LOL! Good point. Frost bite must be a bit of a deterrent in some areas.

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  5. Years back I was traveling in China and noticed a lot of people doing this with their toddlers. They would typically hold their child over a trash can or something. Right in public. I didn't eat a lot on that trip.

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  6. Yes, I couldn't agree with you more: pooping in public is NOT good!

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  7. So that guy that I saw peeing behind Albertson's had hipster parents. That explains a lot.

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  8. We do seem to be regressing as a society don't we?

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    Replies
    1. Yep, next thing you know we'll be painting on walls ... oh yeah, graffiti.

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  9. I think potty training was the absolute most difficult part of parenting. Even living with moody teens was easier! Maybe I was doing it wrong...
    tm

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    1. LOL! I suppose at least with a surly teen you don't have to clean up poop.

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  10. Hahaha, these people do not send their kids to daycare.

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    1. I'd imagine not! Or at least they must send them to a very understanding one.

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  11. In my opinion, this falls under the "My kid is so special I don't care if you think it's gross" category. Hipsters are "special" and "natural" so of course their spawn are as well.

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  12. I protest this pitiful & pungent practice of public peeing & pooping!!

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  13. The people around here who saw my youngest try to pee in public all over town may think I'm a proponent of this EC idea, but truthfully, this is just gross. And dumb.

    One question, do you only read articles and things from the US, so the vast majority of your "crazy people" stories are about Americans, or is it really only in the US that crap (literally and figuratively) like this happens?

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    1. I'm not sure why so many of them are American, it just seems to work out that way. Maybe it's just a percentages game and there are more people in the US.

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  14. Never mind the babies, I'm going to start doing it.

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    1. I look forward to hearing about how you explain it to the cop that catches you ;P

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  15. hi Kelly, thanks for stopping by. Your comment was fun and made me smile. Wouldn't this idea just be teaching them to poop in a bowl? A real bowl, not a toilet bowl? hahahahaha

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    1. Probably not even that. It's just them doing what they'd do in a diaper, just without the diaper.

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  16. I spent a week in Shanghai back in 2010 for the World Expo and spent one afternoon observing the locals. All the toddlers wore strange looking pants with holes in them and they all just relieved themselves wherever they were. There were little puddles of pee all ver the show. Thankfully I did not see them doing any more than this. Each to his own I suppose.

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  17. So we just step in childrens' poop piles at the mall? Dumbest potty training method yet. Who comes up with these ideas??

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    1. Not a clue, but I have to admit I hope it doesn't take off.

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  18. Gross. Lol, but definitely gross. I hope this idea never catches on with the masses. That it remains kind of a hipster 'cult' thing. I don't care if cavemen did it. And i'm all for helping ourvenvironment, but as i said.. GROSS!

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  19. A friend of mine did this with her two daughters. They sense the need to go and when they see/feel the result- puddles on the floor, they associate the two and can let you know when they need to go before they do. That's the theory behind it anyways. She also taught her children sign language before they could talk. Pretty cool that she is such an involved parent huh?

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    1. I've seen kids who learned sign language before the could talk and I thought that was a great idea. They seem to pick it up so quickly.

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  20. One day when I'm rich, I'm going to have someone follow my around to catch my poo. That's living the good life!!

    Hugs!

    Valerie

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  21. I have heard of it. From newborn age as well. My grandson is 10 1/2 months old and I dont want him without a nappy, not at all. The time will come to toilet train him but not yet- he is still a baby. Whats the hurry anyway ?

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    1. LOL! I'm not sure I'd want any babies around my place without their nappies either. I like my bowls poop free!

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  22. Mario's mom here - sounds crazy to me. What's wrong with the good old fashioned method that's worked for years!

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  23. Noooooooo...I had put this news story out of my head, and now you've reminded me. So now I must go pee outside in the front shrubbery!

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  24. So how does this work in the wintertime?

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  25. My sister only allows her 2 year old to eat standing up. They even bought a special table for it. I don't understand the concept or the supposed benefits, but its making me reconsider eugenics.

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    1. I don't think I've ever heard of that one. Most parents are trying to get their kids to sit at a table at that point.

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  26. Ludicrous!! I just can't imagine it! Not for me! To each his own I guess.

    Visiting from TGIF Blog Hop.

    http://agutandabutt.blogspot.com/

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  27. Well... No more "Barefoot in the Park" & watch where you step!!!

    Yikes!!! Have a great weekend, Slu

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  29. At my age, I'd have to hire a professional potty trainer to employ that training technique.

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    1. LOL! Maybe that should be a thing! Professional potty trainers, taking the stress out of toilet time!

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  30. Wait, what---hispters are having babies??? Stunned. ;)

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    1. LOL! Yep, they are. Wee little hipster babies with horn rimmed glasses and elbow patches on their onesies.

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  31. Sounds like a plan. Now all they need is a new brain.

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  32. Great post

    New post on my blog:
    http://www.cultureandtrend.com/2013/06/kiss-me.html

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  33. OK, well, I remember when my own spawn was a toddler (so, about 1997-ish) reading about potty-training by removing diapers so he could see the...er...fruits of his labors? Yeah, that. If I remember correctly, the idea was that your toddler would come to connect the physical sensations of need to pee or have a bowel movement with actual output, so to speak. But that was for ***toddlers***, not freakin' newborns, FFS. C'mon. Also, parents trying this method out were advised to stay close to home for at least two weeks and warned of the need to keep a close eye on the kid, so as to avoid serious messes. They were *not* advised to try this out at a mall.
    Some Dark Romantic

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  34. so uh you know how u have to collect the poop from dogs? would that also count for babies now? do we need to make new street signs??

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  35. I'm having no more children, but if I did, I'd still use diapers. Real ones because I don't care about the environment. :)

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  36. Also: every baby I've known makes basically the same face for getting ready to poo as they do for getting read to scream their ever loving head off or to show general distaste for anything at all...like the sky or whatever.

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