I have been on the verge of this idea, so I'm glad to see it works. Can you make it work when your child is at daycare full time?

So, I haven't actually read the books but I've had detailed discussions with my sister, who has. I'm a very involved aunt to a 16 mo old (I moved from FL to CA to be able to see my niece B every other day.) B already has a really amazing concept of her potty needs and is able to communicate them. She uses baby sign language and a sound for needing to poop and she uses the potty almost all the time -- I'd say we get a stealth diaper poop maybe once every two weeks. My sister originally wanted to go completely diaper free, which I thought was completely insane. B is pretty good at signaling for needing to pee, but most of the time that she pees in her diaper it's because the adults are too busy with something to notice the gentle signals...especially when running errands of something like that, it's hard to always be completely in tune to her communication. But we take a baby toilet with us everywhere (the nanny has one, the cars all have one, etc) even on airplanes and so by being able to respond promptly, it reinforces teaching her the right behavior. When we're at home we'll do diaper free for hours and it usually goes great. I would be worried about it in a day care situation unless it's a small enough group that the care givers can be really attentive. Read some info on it and then adapt it to what fits your life and your kid(s)...go at the pace they seem comfortable with, and don't worry too much if you're doing it "right" or not.

I am a professional nanny, not a parent, but when my previous employer told me she wanted to go diaper free, I thought she was nuts. I surveyed the moms and fellow nannies I know about the subject and got basically the same response: This might work well if you are a very attentive, full-time mom or live in a place where the kid can run around outside a lot, but for the average New Yorker it is near impossible. Several parents said they knew someone who tried it and failed. Unanimously, the people I asked thought that this was too much to ask of a nanny. I agree with the latter assertion. and extend it to daycare workers. If you haven't worked with a group of kids like that, you don't understand how hectic it can be.

Another thing to remember is that you can't push your kid to potty train. They'll use the toilet when they're ready.