AND WHY CAN'T THEY DRIVE THEMSELVES HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL?

Pooh-poohing diapers (Kelly Patrick, National Post, December 6th, 2005)

Matthew Berger is a potty prodigy. At two months, he started using the toilet. At one, he rarely wore diapers. Now at almost two, he's been completely diaper-free for six months.

"It totally works," said Matthew's mother, Ana Beltran, 26. "I'm pregnant and I'm definitely going to do it again."

"It" is teaching babies to use the potty early. Very early. Mrs. Beltran is one of a growing group of parents who are stopping -- or at least drastically reducing -- their use of diapers before their children have uttered a word, taken a step or swallowed solid food.

The alternative to diapers, supporters say, is not wet or dirty sleeper bottoms. It is "elimination communication," a practice that has spawned books, Web sites and a diaper-free support group with chapters in 14 countries, 38 U.S. states and 10 Canadian cities, including Toronto, Halifax and Vancouver.

Elimination communication, or "EC," encourages parents to interpret their babies' facial expressions, coos and sighs to determine when they need to use the potty. Best begun at birth, the method also sees parents learn their infants' bowel and bladder rhythms to figure out when to cradle them over a toilet or sink, or when they're old enough to sit, place them on specially designed miniature potties. To help babies along, parents make a "cuing" sound -- usually a sssshhhhh like running water -- while their infants are on the potty.

"It just makes sense," Mrs. Beltran said. "What baby likes to sit in a soaked diaper? There's no diaper rash, it's cheaper, it's less pollution."

More importantly, say diaper-free devotees, it brings parents closer to their babies.

Yes, we rather expect it would. Where else but here would you encounter the argument that rushing toddlers out of their crappy diapers is contrary to human nature and undermines human dignity? Laugh if you will, but can anyone name a popular parenting fad from the last two generations that isn’t based on rushing the little tyrants out of a state of dependency and innocence as fast as possible?