Babies going diaperless all the rage in New York City

NEW YORK, April 24 (UPI) -- Having babies go without diapers most of the time may be the latest rage in parts of New York City, but it's raising eyebrows among some, mothers say.

"Elimination communication," the diaper-free method of child-rearing, takes the techniques of potty training -- observing children for signals they want to go to the bathroom and getting them over a potty -- it just does them much, much sooner, The New York Times reported.

Adriane Stare, proprietor of Caribou Baby -- a Big Apple eco-friendly maternity, baby and lifestyle store -- and herself a diaper-free mother said parents are drawn to the method for a variety of reasons. Some do it to help the environment from the mountains of disposable diapers disposed of in landfills, some want to get away from laundering cloth diapers, and some want to get away from diaper rash.

Some said they are rediscovering an ancient practice used in other cultures for millennia, but most say they like feeling more in touch with their babies' functions, Stare told The Times.

However, there are misses, but even cleaning up a small mess on the floor is easier than laundering diapers, Stare said.

Some pediatricians are skeptical children age 1 and younger can control toileting behavior.

"I've certainly heard in other countries that they do toilet train babies earlier," Dr. Robin Jacobson, chief of outpatient pediatrics at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, told The Times. "But from what I've heard it's at about a year of age, not at two months."