how do you handle hands in the trash can / potty etc?

peapod8 · April 2010

I'm reading up on discipline - reality discipline to be precise. but haven't figured out what to do about the more benign things like putting hands in the trash can, putting hands in the potty, eating dirt/sand/etc.

ideas?

peapod8 · April 2010

ps - here's a link to an article talking about reality disciplne if you haven't heard of it. https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/effective_biblical_discipline/why_kids_misbehave/the_wonders_of_reality_discipline.aspx

franciscaz · April 2010

We have really serious discipline issues b/c Harm has special needs. I've learned not to sweat the small stuff. If I catch him touching something gross we hit the sanitizer right away. The trash can out of reach. We lock the bathroom so he only is around the potty if he needs to go. We wash after he gets back from outside. etc. Sanitizer is your friend! That is my motto.

neverblushed · April 2010

I handled this by being very dramatic, kind of like you teach "Hot!" to a younger toddler.

Mom: [makes yucky face] Eeeww! Yucky! We don't touch the trash can! Yuck! That's stinky! Let's wash our hands now. Yuck!

If I saw my kids heading toward a yucky thing, I'd start with my "Eeww Yuck! No touch! That's yucky!"

I was less proactive about situations that were less germy, like sand at the beach or dirt in the yard. I figured a mouthful of sand isn't all THAT germy, being scoured by salt water and sun all day, and that getting sand in your mouth is kind of a self-correcting behavior. Ditto with dirt. My kids really only had to try this once each to figure out that sand and dirt may feel great in the hands, but they're unpleasant in the mouth.

ToBeMrsT · April 2010

our trash can has a lid with a step to open it. We taught ds how to use it and ever since then he's never tried to put his hands in or on the dirty part of the trash can.

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=15909765&RN=1020

We usually keep the bathroom doors closed, but even if we don't the toilet lid is always down so if he touches anything it's just the lid. I clorox wipe it often so that if he does touch it I don't worry too much about the yucky bathroom germs.

ds doesn't try to eat dirt or sand anymore, but when he was younger he did. We just had to always tell him no and he eventually stopped. Now he just plays in the dirt and sand without trying to stick it in his mouth.

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