We are dealing with a problem in our home that is not unusual from what I hear. Our son, nearly 5, has decided that he can avoid a lot of hassle (flushing, washing his hands, etc.) by going to the bathroom in the yard somewhere rather than coming inside to go. Yikes. As a girl, I cannot understand this. It would never have occurred to me, even as a child, I am sure, to pull my pants down (in the front yard no less) for all to see, and potty outside. I love indoor plumbing. It is probably the single thing holding me back from developing a time machine to transport me to "Little House" days. (Well, that and air conditioning.) I don't even like to use a port-a-potty! Obviously my son does not share my love of privacy and comfort and all around decency. My dilemma is in how to deal with it. We have tried the Consequence Jar and standing in the corner in addition to cleaning up his mess and washing his hands, but I can tell we aren't making a difference.
Does anyone have any great ideas on how to curb this behavior? I would love to have some more options.
Sorry, no advice here…..I wish my boys *would* do this when we are travelling and can’t get to a bathroom
Well, I’d rather have that problem, I think. It was so embarrassing the first time Bud did this — at the park right outside the tent where our church was holding its Easter service. I’ve never been so mortified in my life.
Thanks anyway!
In my experience, being the only girl in my family, with my own son, and with all of my nephews….all of them grew out of this facination with going to the bathroom in public. I noticed that two of my sisters in law had a more difficult time breaking this habit in their boys – they tried everything they could think of to break this. Another sister in law was pretty laid back about it – she did tell him that this was not acceptable and there were small punishments but it really didn’t become a major problem. I took my cue from her and it was never a major deal with my son. whether it was the approach in dealing with it or the personality of each of the boys I don’t know.
Thanks, for the input, Jipmeister. It is hard to know when making a “big deal” out of something will make it harder to break or if it will be exactly what is needed. I will pray for wisdom on that one.
Please check out http://www.momsofboys.org There is a message board there that you might want to post something on about this problem.
Thanks!
Sharon