Infant Potty Training in Indigenous Africa: How people potty their babies in countries without diapers (Part 1)

Infant Potty Training in Nigeria - the Dahomeans

"Very young children are carried most of the time on the backs of their mothers or, in rare instances, of nurses. Unless prevented by special circumstances, a mother takes her baby with her wherever she goes, and women may be seen selling in the market, carrying burdens on the road, working in the fields, or dancing in ceremonial dances with their infants straddling their backs. A child is trained by the mother who, as she carries it about, senses when it is restless, so that every time it must perform its excretory functions, the mother puts it on the ground. Thus in time, usually two years, the training process is completed. If a child does not respond to this training, and manifests enuresis at the age of four or five, soiling the mat on which he sleeps, then, at first, it is beaten. If this does not correct the habit, ashes are put in water and the mixture is poured over the head of the offending boy or girl who is driven into the street where all the other children clap their hands and run after the child singing, Adida go ya ya ya ("Urine everywhere.")

"In Whydah, the child is taken to the lagoon and washed, this being repeated a second time if necessary. If the habit is then not stopped, a live frog is attached to the child's waist, which so frightens the offender that a cure is usually effected in. In Abomey, however, beating is the customary punishment.

Infant Potty Training in Nigeria - the Kanuri

Toilet training for the new infant is minimal. "The mother tries to learn when the child is likely to urinate. At first the child is merely wiped clean by the mother but as soon as it can sit up, it is placed astride her ankles with its back resting on her upturned feet. A little whole is dug on the sandy soil between the ankles and the infant then has a simple and comforting toilet ready made for it by the mother. Afterwards, its loins are washed and the hole covered up with sand."

"Toilet training is geared to the acquisition of walking skills. As soon as the child is able to toddle on its feet, the adult woman in whose hut it lives starts enforcing the rule that the child should go outside the hut, stoop on the ground and use only the left hand for any function having to do with toilet activities. Failure to learn these skills is met with more insistent pressure as time goes on. A young child only recently weaned who cannot accomplish facile toilet functions may not even be scolded, However, with increasing frequency; the child is told that it is dirty, bad, and that it must not do such things as urinate on the hut floor."

Infant Potty Training in Central African Republic and Northern Congo - the Aka Pygmy

"When a mother senses that her infant needs to defecate, she sits on the ground, holds him in position and has him eliminate next to her. No force used." "Stools are immediately thrown outside the encampment or village, When he's able to stand, move about and later walk, a child learns to defecate behind the huts or outside the encampment. If he goes in the wrong place, the mother or sister grabs a machete or large knife for scooping up the stools and soiled dirt, places it on a bed of dried leaves, then wraps it up in the leaves and throws it as far as possible into the vegetation outside the encampment or village. The rules are more strict in permanent encampments and shelters. The emphasis on toilet training is not as great among the Aka Pygmies as it is among the peoples of West Africa."

"In some other societies, a regular daily enema is given (via the mother's mouth or a device) for hygienic, therapeutic and preventive purposes. Once the cleansing liquid has been injected, the mother sits on a stool and seats the baby on her thighs above a receptacle."

"As in all societies, African mothers express their satisfaction with their babies. This is sometimes done in a different fashion than elsewhere, in that it is not always apparent to outsiders. In public, the mother is very reserved and adopts a mask of impassivity which conceals her satisfaction. This is done out of fear that too much praise of her baby will attract the attention of malicious and other jealous evil spirits. In contrast, the entourage of siblings and female neighbors never misses a chance to loudly acknowledge each new "performance" of the baby. Praise and approval are thus always present, though not necessarily displayed by the mother. "Mommies," "aunties," grandmothers or the entourage (especially women and children) play a preponderant role in teaching everyday social conventions. In this respect too, traditional roles fluctuate, delegating roles of authority to some and roles of tenderness to others.

"As for the role of the father, situations vary greatly, depending largely on his personality and on the status of the baby (first born, last born, boy, girl). There are societies where a father takes no part in the daily care of his babies and others, such as Pygmies or the Bassari of Senegal or in Asia, where the presence of men in their babies' lives is ubiquitous."

"In Africa, toilet training is completed at as young an age as possible. When ascertaining the age of completion, it is necessary to distinguish between bowel and bladder training, as well as between normal bowel movements and diarrhea (unfortunately fairly frequent in these regions)."

"In general, whether it be toilet training or its corollaries (for example, many cultures restrict wiping to use of the left hand), African cultures are very precious in this regard, with remarkable results. The early accomplishment of sphincter control corresponds to the rapid psychomotor development of babies up to 12-18 months and has been emphasized by experts in infancy. It is my opinion that this precocity is related to the incessant social stimulation to which infants are subjected, not only by their mothers until weaning/separation but also by the many other people involved."

Infant Potty Training in Senegal - the Wolof

Jacqueline Rabain told me that starting at the age of 2 months, a mother sits her infant on her ankles. She holds her ankles spread apart to make a place for the child to urinate or defecate. A baby can hold its head up straight at 2 months. The mother supports him in position on her ankles by holding his arms steady. She encourages the child to eliminate by making a whistling "sssss" noise. A mother does not compliment her baby when he has eliminated for her. She often passes the time chatting with other women during the potty process. This behavior is observed in 1965-66.

A child is not expected to be toilet trained before he can walk. Rabain states that she never saw children under 3 years of age being scolded for urinating on the ground. There is a lot of emphasis for the child to learn to defecate "in the bush" behind the home, This is learned mainly by imitating adults and older children; the baby is trained by their example.

"I made a field trip to the same villages and the same families in January-February 1994 and December 1998-January 1999. At that time, I observed that small plastic potties had been introduced and were available from the local street markets. They are fairly common now. I do not know if the pot is used as early sitting on the mother's ankles but saw it used by children from 18 months to 2 years of age."

Infant Potty Training in Tanzania - the Chaga

"The control of urination and defecation forms part of the child's learning. That it be done successfully is a constant concern of the mother. Indeed, the marriage ceremonies foreshadow this." Men are discouraged from making disparaging comments about a mother's duty of toilet training her young and are taught to be patient with their wives should they find their clothes soiled by a child.

"A timed habit, absent in the case of feeding, one would expect  to be inculcated only by women who have come under European influence. Some of these began to train their children one or two months after birth to defecate at a fixed time every morning. In the majority of cases, however, regularity is not insisted upon. The child lies on a piece of leather. Any excreta have to be wiped away with dry grass as soon as possible to prevent the rotting of the hide and a bad smell. As long as the child is carried about, the mother closely observes it and develops an almost uncanny knack of guessing its needs, Whenever it wakens, becomes restless, or, in the case of a boy, has an erection of the penis, it is held out....As the child grows up and learns to walk, it is taught to retire into the [banana] grove.

"Enuresis calls for a variety of measures. The steps taken with smaller children are magical. When a baby is about nine months old. Its mother collects drops of rain in the hoof of a goat or the involutions of a colocasia leaf. This she gives to the child as a medicine, saying, "Take and drink this drug. It will keep you from wetting the bed." A bigger child is shown the puddle and scolded....Some children never learn to control urination, though they are scorned for their deficiency and told that this will be an obstacle to their marriage. (Enuresis is a ground for divorce). In such cases a boy prefers to sleep with the hens in a corner of the hut, where he can pass water with impunity."

As in many other societies, Chaga boys have a sense of humor where urine is concerned. "It serves as an ever-ready lubricant when boys make models out of clay, and occasionally they will urinate on each other for fun."