2 year old having a wee outside. Neighbour related.

[StrawberryCheese]

I live in a new development of flats which has a courtyard area in the centre. There aren't many children in the development, a couple of babies are all I've seen, but recently a family moved in with two young boys aged about 2 and 5. They are quite often in the courtyard running around, being noisy. It doesn't bother me because I'm as broody as anything right now . Other neighbours aren't too happy though and when one of them caught the youngest of the boys having a wee in a bush, she marched him to see his mum. Mum's response was apparently 'Oh it doesn't matter, he is only little'.

This story has all been told on the development's Facebook page. Everyone is up in arms about a toddler having a wee in the communal area and about the attitude of the mum. They don't understand why he couldn't just go to the toilet in his home. Someone even suggested reporting them to environmental health

AIBU to not understand what all the fuss is about? Surely a 2yo isn't quite at the stage where he can think - right, I need a wee, best get back home to go to the toilet? I imagine he would just carry on playing and then get caught short. I don't have DCs yet but my friend's 2yo is being potty trained right now and has the occasional accident. It's just part of the course surely. Some of the neighbours are being quite harsh about this little boy, labelling him a 'problem child'. Do they have a point? Am I a bit soft in my ridiculously broody state? Over to you...

environmental health - OMG!!
What about cats, dogs, birds, and all wild animals? Would they be reported too? They wee and poo everywhere!!!
YANBU, the neighbours are definetly BU.
2 year old usually cannot hold it long and occasional wee in the garden will do no harm to anybody. It was in the bushes not in the middle of the lawn, it will do more good to bushes than bad.

Revolting. It is a public area, shared by other families, and they clearly don't like it. If it is your own back garden then that is your choice, although I still think it is revolting.

Are dogs/cats allowed in the courtyard?

I have a policy that if it is an area where dogs are allowed then I let my toddler ds be naked and wee where he likes.

Even if dogs are not allowed there will still be bird poo and wild animals poo and wee in the garden.

Huge overreaction.

Yes dogs are allowed in the communal area, in fact another thing that neighbours are complaining about is the dog mess which isn't picked up. This is justified obviously and I'd be more worried about a toddler playing around dog poo than him urinating where he shouldn't.

The roses will love it, a bit of free nitrogenous fertiliser.

It wasn't something I encouraged when my children were younger. The odd emergency happens. I don't think it's on to be so laid back about it if it's a shared garden. I wouldn't really like a random toddler thinking it's ok to wee my garden whenever he or she wanted.

I think it's rude to allow a 2yo to do this in a communal garden.

I allow my dc to wee in the garden like this but it is not shared.

I would say it's not on for a 2 yr old to be playing unsupervised in a communal garden. He should be supervised and also encouraged to wee in the proper place. An accident is one thing but letting a toddler piss in a shared garden because you can't be bothered to supervise him is really crap.

Blimey it's a tiny kid having a wee! The neighbours should shut the fuck up

As dogs are allowed they are being ridiculously unreasonable! If I lived there my incontinent 1 year old would have no nappy on whenever we were outside.

How can toddler wee be more offensive than dog wee?

If he's only two he's probably in the middle of potty training so I wouldn't be bothered - if the 5 year old peed in the communal bushes I would be a bit annoyed.

YANBU. I can see why people don't like it happening but I my kids are two and they would struggle to understand why going in a bush wasn't allowed. Mine aren't in any way toilet trained (at 2y 1m) and that's fairly standard among families I know.

Oh the poor mum. She's probably really happy to have some safe space where the kids can run about and let off steam and now there's a whole bunch of people complaining about her behind her back :-( Mind if that was me I'd not care as long as they didn't make me do anything about it!

They sound awfully bored. Can you imagine if something actually happened?

The facebook page would implode and a riot would break out in the courtyard.

Silly people.

My db and little friends used to wee in the ditch at the bottom of our garden when playing in the garden in the summer - they often ran round naked when playing in the paddling pool - but the garden backs on to a field with cows in and it was our own garden - as this is a communal space and a courtyard it would be better if she had a potty to hand and more respectful to other users who have an equal say and have expressed that they are not happy. It is part of living with a communal aspect such as a communal garden.

Ps scratch that - if dogs are allowed then so should a toddler - I would add that comment on to this fb discussion

Maybe not very nice in a communal courtyard with the tootle in easy reach. But bit hypocritical because when I was little out playing with my friends in the nearby field and woods we would have a wee in the bushes.

If we all weed in the street they would be like open sewers. I thought we had moved on a bit from medieval times.

Yes, however we are talking about one little toddler piddling in a bush not mass urination.

Fear not!

My 6 and 8 year old wee outside all the time.
People need to lighten up.

Possibly not to be encouraged but if he has to go he has to go. DS2 (3.6) and I were walking home the other day and he starts jigging around holding his penis 'do you need a wee' yes mum, so there we are having a pee in the gutter of a quiet residential street. Not my proudest parenting moment but it was that or him wet himself. With time kids get the idea of planning when they need to wee and searching out the loo, but when they are little they got ago and go now.

I also think at 2 if it's a rare occasion I wouldn't mind so much as long as it might be out of sight or in the way where someone might walk in it. Older than that they should be able to make the toilet. My two dc are quite fond of two kids down the road from us. They have awful toilet habits, I was a bit freaked out a while back when my ds started copying the boy and pulling his trousers down in the garden for a wee. I put a stop to that quickly.

I'd hate to think of what your neighbours would make of the family of 7year old triplets that live in the same road as my DMA. They have been known quite often to drop their trousers in the street and have a wee in the road, if you say anything they tell you to fuck off! Sadly the mother just takes the line 'boys will be boys'