Pre-School and Daycare
CD+AL
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How to teach DS to pee standing up?
CD+AL
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I think DS is ready to learn to pee standing up, which will come in handy when he starts preschool in the fall, but I'm not sure how to go about teaching him. As a general rule, boys don't pee standing up at our house, including DH, b/c if there's any lapse in aim or deflection it's just such a mess, but I'd like DS to be able to do it at school and other public places for convenience.
How tall does he have to be to be tall enough to aim over the side of the toilet? Can I/we teach him to do it w/o having to do it at home too? Can I help him, or is it a DH job? Where do I start?
I know I sound clueless on this one, but this is brand new territory for me.
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Re: How to teach DS to pee standing up?
I'd think the taller the better - though with my son being pretty young this is just me thinking aloud. I doubt the average urine stream is really strong enough - especially with young children - to get much height/arc, so really he'd probably need to be at least as tall as the toilet to make sure it all ended up in the toilet and not on the floor (or his shoes). Or rather, his crotch needs to be at toilet-height or a little higher.
I think you can probably help teach, but honestly, without the equipment, you're not really going to know exactly what to tell him. It might be best to work on it with your DH, and only help him (DS) along if you're out in public without his dad. If he seems to be having trouble practicing just away from home, you could always do it at home too. I'd rather clean up a minor mess in my own bathroom than clean up a public one - or be the jerk who leaves a puddle on the floor.
Oh, and please teach him to wipe the seat if he misses in public. Nothing nastier than going in a bathroom after a little boy and seeing pee all over the seat.
Mes Petit Choux
I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person then. ~ Alice
We taught DS by putting a Cheerio in the toilet and told him to try to hit it with his pee. He loved it.
DS is tall enough that when he stands at the toilet his penis is a few inches above the rim so he just stands and goes. Our Friends DS (who is a few inches shorter than DS) has to stand on a stool which IMO is a lot harder to try to aim from.
Don't forget to teach him to lift up his shirt. DS used to forget and he'd end up peeing all over himself because his shirt was in the way. I also still remind him that his goal is to hit the water and make it yellow.
You'll have to let him learn standing at home but you can probably explain that it's for when he's at school and out in public.
Aiden 10.17.07 Emma 07.15.10
For the record, we made the decision together, and the choice was his. Either he could be responsible for keeping the bathroom scrubbed down all the time, or I can take care of the bathroom but he sits. He chose to give me bathroom duty, and I was fine with it as a compromise. It works for us.
I guess I don't see where the shock and awe comes in. He can't aim and doesn't want to continuously clean the bathroom, and neither do I. Someone has to do it or something had to change. His manhood isn't tied to his ability to eliminate his bladder while standing, so I don't understand why this is such a big deal to you.
Regardless, in our house, it works, and that's all that matters. I'm sure there are probably compromises in every marriage (including yours) that would seem odd outside of the context, but it is what it is. FWIW, I personally know other people IRL that have a similar "rule," so it can't be that completely unheard of.