This mom is stepping in some serious doo-doo.
A California woman has been branded “abusive” for potty-training her infant daughter — but she says it’s kinder than letting her newborn sit in a dirty diaper all day.
Alexis Abdelaziz, 26, began teaching her daughter Aya to use the bathroom when she was just eight weeks old — almost 18 months before most parents start the practice.
In an essay for Newsweek on Wednesday, Abdelaziz defended her decision, saying: “Potty-training immediately made sense to me because I did not want my daughter sitting in her stool all day. I feel that it’s more hygienic and respectful for her to signal to me. If I find that this form of communication is ever putting my daughter in discomfort, I will stop, but as of now, I believe that she loves it.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, most children show signs of being ready for potty-training “between the ages of 18 and 24 months.” The medical organization warns that there are risks to premature potty practice, stating: “If you start too early, it might take longer to train your child.”
Abdelaziz — who works as a physical therapist — said she was initially inspired to potty-train Aya at a very early age after watching YouTube videos of other unconventional moms who had success with the practice.
In June, when Aya was eight weeks old, Abdelaziz and her husband decided to kickstart potty practice by placing their baby over a bucket.
“The first time she sat over a bucket, she peed. I couldn’t believe it,” the mom recalled, saying that she soon decided to place Aya over an actual toilet four times each day.
Abdelaziz made sure that each of the four daily visits occurred at consistent times so that Aya could become used to the routine
Sure enough, the baby began to adjust, with Abdelaziz subsequently stepping up her training routine by introducing an “elimination communication method.”
According to the mom, the method requires teaching a tot to make a specific noise or gesture to signify that they want to go potty.
“I feel that when we teach them [babies] to signal their needs before they can verbally speak, we are naturally able to take crying and discomfort out of the equation,” Abdelaziz explained, justifying her training methods.
Aya is now five months old, with the proud mom saying her daughter has started waving to communicate that she needs to relieve herself.
Abdelaziz has made dozens of TikTok videos about the potty practice – but her clips haven’t always gone down well with viewers.
“Some people hate the method and have even judged it,” she admitted, saying that she has even been labeled as “abusive.”
But the mom is confident that her training technique is actually beneficial for her daughter.
Baby Aya now goes potty about six times per day — when she wakes up, after she feeds and before she goes to bed in the evening.
“Every day she gets more consistent with it and understands it better,” Abdelaziz declared. “My daughter still wears a diaper, and she uses it two times a day as babies naturally pee a lot, but she never releases stool in the diaper, unless we miss her cue.”
