My 6 year old son does not pee standing. He's going to 1st grade soon - how can I get him to try it ?

Question

He says it's easier to sit and that it's too hard to aim it in the bowl. Any advice from fathers out there? Should I just leave him alone about it?

Answer 1

put a small boat in bowl and tell him to try to sink it. Other than saying hey buddy why don't you start peeing like a big boy and showing him how I'm at a loss.

Answer 2

My answer is long but serious. I'm 45 years old and my dad did not teach me this kind of thing. I was brought up basically by my mom & sister. Because standing & peeing was sloppy, they sat me down early on. When I entered school where they didn't have individual bathrooms (1st grade), I was truamatized...shamed, embarrassed. I had never seen a urinal or peed with someone else in the room. And here the whole class had to trot down to the restroom all at once, and--c**p--they stood next to each other to pee!

To this day I can barely pee with anyone else nearby. For decades I've had to wait or find privacy or sometimes I could just use the stall. Imagine how stressful constant avoidance and compensating for this social phobia would be. Imagine the limitations as far as going to movies, restaurants, fishing trips, road trips, etc.  By the way, this condition is called paruresis* (street name: pee shy).

WHATEVER you do--and I imagine it will be more loving & gentle than the advice of the redneck above advised--impart confidence in this area or your son may have decades of hanging his head (yeah that one too) in shame. Of course don't tell him any of this--but if you were to imagine the consequences of being distant and letting things play out (like my dad did), my story should be the Worst Case Scenario of your passivity at this juncture.

Answer 3

Don't worry.  Once he sees his male classmates using a urinal, he will either do it or come home crying to you about it.  I'm sure he will want to imitate the other guys - as that's part of being a 'big boy.'

Answer 4

Try taking him outdoors, hiking or a nearby woods and have him pee.  Either pee next to  him and show him about aiming and hitting things or stand near him while you pee.  Don't make too big a deal over it, but give him the opportunity to feel OK to pee standing.  After the outdoors, either use cereal or they also make aiming toilet paper with bulls eyes you can float in the bowel and aim at.  Take him to a public bathroom, empty if you can, and show him a stand up urinal.  My son had a problem with the hard snap on his jeans, and  would only use a stall because he had difficulty getting himself out of the fly.  So make sure he can operate himself and his pants also.

Answer 5

Here's another point of view.  I live by myself in my own home and have sat to pee almost exclusively.  I've experimented with peeing standing up at the toilet, and it makes my bathroom smell.  When I stand at the toilet, I can feel p**s spray all over my legs and feet even when my aim is dead center.  I'm the one who cleans the bathroom, and  I don't want to do it more than once a week.  When I go out to a public restroom, I'll stand at a urinal.  Otherwise, it's no big deal to sit.

Answer 6

tell him to keep trying until he gets the hang of it and tell him public toilets are usually dirty and ifhe wants to stay germ free as much as possible he has to learn

Answer 7

put Cheerios in the toilet and tell him to aim for them. If this doesn't work tell him big boys stand up like daddy and pee and he will want to be like you.

Answer 8

I agree with the boat thing. good one!

Answer 9

I would say this situation will straighten itself out with time.  Boys and men stand up to pee because it's quick and convenient.  For your son it's more convenient to sit, at present.  When he goes to school and sees the urinals at just the right height for him, and sees the other boys peeing there while standing, he'll want to imitate them.  And as he grows taller and more sure of his dexterity, he'll be more encouraged to try the new way, and when he finds how quick and convenient it is, he'll want to do it that way nearly all the time.

Answer 10

Put something in the bowl that floats and get him to try and "bomb"  and sink it.

Perhaps fruit loops or cheerios or something like that