To think that parents shouldn't let their children use the bushes in the playground as a toilet?

[CharlieMouseWillDoIt]

There's a hollowed-out bush in our local children's playground that children use as a little den to play in. That's what I thought it was used for anyway.

Most times when I visit the playground (several times a week) I've seen parents allowing their children to use it as a toilet. It's not just the occasional potty-training toddler who is obviously desperate to go; I've seen/heard older children (perhaps aged 5 or 6) saying to their parents "I'm just going to go to the toilet now..." and head off over to the bushes.

I know I'm not the only parent to find this pretty disgusting - I've heard other parents warning their children not to go in the bushes as other children use it as a toilet. Surely once children are old enough to use a toilet properly they should be told that there are appropriate and inappropriate places to go??

It sounds horrible and I sympathise - But - All depends on where the nearest public loo's are and what the surrounding area is like - if there is no where else suitable for 'miles' around then the parents in question may prefer to use a bush that is closer and 'known' as a place used for a wee. Or there is a nearby public loo and many, more distant, suitable bushes, so the parents are all lazy and disgusting.

Perhaps a strongly worded plea to the Council or a campaign to install public loo's is required - you can start a petition all the bush users will sign for sure.

No, that's not very nice, although I was a bit this week when DS1, not quite 5, stopped and had a pee against a tree in the park on the way home from school.
He was a bit ahead of me so didn't realise what he was doing until too late. And, IMO it was preferable to him wetting himself.

I think it is ridiculous how many parks with children's play areas have no public toilets. What are parents supposed to do? As an adult I don't like to be somewhere with no access to toilets for more than a couple of hours - how are children supposed to cope?

Some times with young children (and 6 is still young) when they need to go they need to go. If there are no other facilities what do you suggest they do?

Tough one. Our local park has no toilets and so if one child needs to wee then it's either find a spot or drag everyone home. I try to find a discrete place where foot traffic will be minimal, but even that is sometime difficult.

To be fair if it is just urine then it's (assuming no infection) a sterile liquid and shouldn't do any harm.. My grandad used to pee on the roses when drunk for fertiliser.. Generally the only issue is decency (i.e. being seen) and the smell can accumulate but if done in an area out of the way it shouldn't be too bad - I've peed before in woods/beaches when I've had no other option (e.g. overnight hike with no toilets at all)

If there's another option though i.e. nearby loos then it isn't great - maybe best to look into petitioning for a toilet..

We have to be inventive with my 7 yr and his very weak bladder. Out today involving small train stations, park, moors and not a public loo around when we needed one.

Now my DS2 has just got the hang of wearing big boy pants and gave a fantastic demo of how to wee standing up in his big brother's school playground last week.

As said by others, depends on if there are accessible toilets nearby. DD is almost 6 and can now hold herself for quite a long time, after going before we leave the house/the last place we can use the loo. But, even now she gets caught short occasionally so when that happens she goes somewhere discrete, and bushes are ideal unfortunately. DS is 3, potty trained and his bladder is not so strong, although pretty good, but he will even go in a curb/behind a tree/near the car door if necessary.

I don't allow them to use their bowels, if they say they need to have a poo we leave and find a toilet/go home. Unless the alternative is an accident in their pants and then I clean it up.

The good thing is that you know it is used as a toilet and cans stop your child(ren) playing there.

Sorry last sentence makes no sense really.

What I mean is if there's a reasonable option to it noone should pee in the bushes...

If there isnt an option then petitioning would be an idea..

Yabu! There are no public toilets where our local parks are, no shops near by with them and we live about a mile from the parks. I can hold it but I wouldn't expect ds, six, to struggle.

I don't find children's pee worth getting upset about.

Up to about the age of 5/6 I let mine pee out and about, usually due to a lack of public toilets. Some people seem to find urine repulsive though, I personally find that more strange.

I find it odd parents who march their young children for miles looking for a toilet. Oh just let him/her pull down their knickers and go will you! [hsmile]

there is a particular park area with a lovely, huge play area and huge fields to play games in/ride bikes. no toilets apart from one in the small library right next to it. They don't allow the public to use their toilets under any circumstances. DD developed a sore tummy and needed to have a poo quickly and urgently once so we ran in and they said no, even though I explained she was not feeling well.

Luckily, we don't live far from home and jumped in the car, all of us, back home, in time. But it could have been Very Messy.

They definitely need more clean and usable public toilets in park areas.

on the streets i look around then i say ready go, my four year old just whips it out and wees. No harm done . Or should i risk knocking on a random door NO way.

I figure that no one minds that dogs do this; why not the occasional 3yo? I agree that it's a little yucky in a bush right in the playground area where children play in the bushes (and where presumably dogs aren't allowed, probably for this reason). But some other bush or tree? Why not a desperate small child if it's ok for every dog in the neighbourhood?

I think it's all part and parcel of growing up.

I guess as it seems to be sort of "known" that some children use the bushes as a toilet then it isn't so bad, but I'm sure there are some unsuspecting children who just go in to play and sit on the floor. Today a little boy had a wee just in front of the bushes on some bare earth and a few minutes later another child crouched down in the same spot and started raking up the earth with a stick.

My DD is still in nappies so I haven't encountered this problem yet, but I do appreciate that some people, especially children, are unable to hold on when they need to go. I don't think there are any public toilets nearby (certainly aren't any in the park), so perhaps I should be a bit more sympathetic.

There is a group of volunteers who run occasional events in the park, so I suppose it might be worth contacting them. Only problem is, I'd quite like to stay anonymous when I put my concerns to them, but the only contact information they have is their Facebook page.

There used to be public toilets in parks. Most of them were used by drug addicts and vandalised so they were demolished.

What about contacting your local councillor(sp?) and asking them to raise the issue on your behalf? That way you can stay anonymous and it can be raised with the right department(s).

DS is 3yo and more or less potty trained but, like all young children, gets caught short now and then. Unfortunately I'm one of those parents looking for a discrete bush, tree trunk, drain, etc but as someone upthread said - dogs do it, so why not young children in desperate need? So long as it's done out of the way of where people are then it's not a big deal, I don't let him poo outdoors though!

YABU, if there are no toilets at hand. Can'T really see why you have a problem with this. Kids have always done this.

Almost every public area in which you children play has been peed on by dogs. So whilst it's not nice for a child to be playing on the dirt recently peed on by a child it's no worse than what their hands are touching when they do Cartwheels on the grass.

No, it's not ideal but when kids have got to go, they gotta go now!

Not one of the four childrens play parks in my town has a toilet block, and only one is near any other useable toilets - and those are a full five minute walk away inside a supermarket. So if we want take a picnic for lunch and plan to be out for two hours or more then bushes it has to be, I'm afraid!

Yabu - dogs can wee there, why not children?

Urine is only sterile when it's inside the bladder. Once it starts to make its way out of the body, it is contaminated by bugs from the genitals. Not particularly relevant in this scenario I know

Yanbu - huge difference between being 'caught short' and kids being allowed to use a specific area as a toilet. Grim!

Outside of our vaire posh Montessori nursery boys were often encouraged to have a 'camping wee' as if that made it not 'pissing on the road'. They had just left the bloody nursery with toilets!!!

YANBU