Product Details

• Actors: Commentary by various practicing parents and medical professionals
• Directors: Colin White & Laurie Boucke
• Format: NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 2
• Studio: White-Boucke Publishing
• DVD Release Date: December 22, 2006
• Run Time: 145 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000NJWANI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,235 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who knew? (That babies can do this), February 21, 2007

By 

Sunday Crepes - See all my reviews

This review is from: Potty Whispering: The Gentle Art of Infant Potty Training (DVD)

When I first heard of EC, I was skeptical. However, I liked the idea that my baby might get by without a diaper rash and would be out of diapers as soon as possible (typically by 25 months.) I added the books "Infant Potty Training" by Laurie Boucke and "Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene" by Ingrid Bauer to my prenatal reading list. What they said made sense and my husband and I decided we would try EC when our baby was born. WOW! I am so glad we went down this path.

This dvd is helpful for parents who are first starting out. Reading a book, looking at still photos, and joining online groups is nothing like seeing it in action. There's so much information in the dvd that, if I were inexperienced, I'd probably watch it a gazillion times (along with reading the books and joining the online groups.) What is most helpful is seeing so many different ways of working with so many different ages of babies and toddlers. There's no one right way, there's a different right way for each baby at each stage of their infancy and toddlerhood, and this dvd lets you see quite a number of different styles.

As someone who's almost 14 months into the process, I was encouraged by the scenes of older toddlers. It's so easy to get lost in where you are today that you forget the end result is an independent child. It was also fun to see how our style compares to that of other families. The little boy just waking up from a nap and holding his pee until he was given the cueing sound could have been my son. The woman from Australia made sewing pants for her baby look really easy. Then there's the scene of the young toddler ec'ing her doll. That had to be the cutest scene in the dvd.

For anyone uncertain if they want to undertake EC, the process is simple. Watching the dvd will not only reinforce the basics, but it will show you the subtleties. How do you hold a 1 week old? How does a toddler sign "potty?" What clothing, equipment, and bedding facilitate EC? Then there's the big question-why would anyone want to use this method? You get to meet a lot of different people to find out why and how they utilize EC. Additionally, if you're like me, watching the dvd will greatly reduce the fear at trying something you've never even seen done before.

The EC process:
1. Make the cueing sound (typically "pssss") whenever your baby pees or poops. They quickly associate the sound with the action.

2. Watch your baby for any signs they need to go. Not all babies will give cues. Sometimes you have to go by intuition. In our case, we've gone by timing. We've been at this for over a year and only timing has been successful for us. (Although yesterday, 5 days shy of 14 months, he actually used the hand signal 4 times to indicate he had to pee or poop! Today hasn't been so good, though. Typical up and downs of toddler learning.)

3. If you think your baby has to go, take them to the potty place and make the cueing sound. The potty place could be a bowl, an infant potty, the toilet, or the backyard flowers. If they have to go, they will. If it's not time, you try again later.

4. Relax. Don't plan on 100% success. This is not about "potty training." This is about taking care of your infant's needs in a healthful, economical, environmentally friendly way while you are also teaching them about their bodies.

One of the chief criticisms of this technique is that the parents do all the work. Of course they do. These are babies. They are incapable of taking off clothing, undoing diapers, wiping themselves, etc. Parents do all the work in standard American potty training. But they do it for a lot longer than people who EC. My son isn't even 14 months and he signed to me that he needed to poop. He went in the toilet and I used 1 wipe to clean him up. Yes, I did all the work, but he's the one who initiated it. I'd say he will be totally independent years before most of his peers. Also, he's never had a diaper rash and I doubt if he'll ever get one.

I've been so vocal about EC that a number of families I know have tried it. Most have done so on a part-time basis. They are keeping their babies aware of their bodies while living very busy lives.

I have been giving the Sears "The Baby Book" as a baby shower gift. I will now also give this dvd. Not all families will choose this method, but at least those I know will have the information should they decide to go this way. This dvd would also be great for skeptical relatives. There are so many families and medical professionals and so many babies who are just doing their thing. It really lets you see this is a gentle, baby-friendly way of taking care of an infant's basic needs.

This dvd provides info on local or online groups and lists various online retailers specializing in EC. For more information, you can also go to diaperfreebaby. It's a dot org site.

19 month update--Our son continues to do well with EC. He rarely has accidents in his training pants. Typically no more than once a day (and that's usually because we've just gotten home and I'm too distracted to remember to ask him to pee.) Sometimes he will sign "potty." Other times he just grabs my hand and leads me into the bathroom. He's still not totally independent in letting me know every time he has to go (there are just too many important things in the world to do to take a break to pee.) Most of the time I take him into the bathroom to sit on the potty. If he needs to go he does, otherwise we just read a book and come back later for another try. I can tell we are very close to being completely potty trained. I watch other people battling 3 year olds to change their diapers and I am so glad I don't have to do that.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seeing is Believing..., May 16, 2007

By 

Lucia Ruedenberg "happy mama" (Equinunk, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Potty Whispering: The Gentle Art of Infant Potty Training (DVD)

It's one thing to read about infant pottying in theory. It's another to see it in action. That's the value of this video. I showed it to a friend of mine, who was convinced that it was too much trouble, yet interested to know 'the basics.' Shortly after viewing the first three sections of this video, her 3 month old daughter began to fuss and I suggested she try to pee her. And guess what? The mom was truly impressed and surprised when her baby peed into a potty for the very first time! It was so simple. Watching this video will help any parent learn the basics, and probably inspire them to give it a try! The interviews with professionals provide interesting research and commentary, and the portraits of different families give an in depth look at particular circumstances and special cases. Not only is this video an excellent learning tool, it is beautifully put together, chock full of charming footage of babies and families, with fun, upbeat music as accompaniment. It's not just a how to, or why to, it's a testiment to the love and warmth that develops between parent and child when potty training is done in this gentle way. Thus, it is a valuable tool for all parents who have young children.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Potty Whisper!, July 3, 2007

By 

KATHRYN V. OHARA "Kate O'Hara" (Bridgewater, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Potty Whispering: The Gentle Art of Infant Potty Training (DVD)

I recently stumbeled upon the underground world of "EC" or elimination communication and this DVD was able to explain much of that technique to my partner who doesn't like to read as much. For those that aren't too framiliar yet, Potty Whispering is based on the logical thought that you can totally notice when any infant (like my newborn) is ready or starting to go to the bathroom. Instead of deficating in the diaper as usual, the technique teaches how to eliminate over a toilet, potty, etc.

I think this method is great. I am a new mom from NJ, (5 day old as of July 4th 2007) and caught my daughter's first poop today. I am using disposable diapers like most people, and consider this a "part-time" trial for now - which they teach in the tapes and books.

The way I see "part-time" is, even if you "catch" one poop and save ONE diaper, that's one less to buy, and one less to send to a landfill. If you like this tape, you might also like to buy "Diaper Free Baby."