Should "Toilet Talk" be encouraged?

[sugarapplelane]

Please shout at me if you think I am a prude here, but I feel that "Toilet Talk" should not be encouraged. It should be either ignored or discouraged.

My 5 year old went through a wee, poo phase a couple of years ago. I ignored it and it soon passed. However, recently she has started again! When I sat her down and asked her why she keeps on saying these words, she said that her cousin does so she can too. Her cousin will be 4 soon(and a boy!!) and I know that he is actively encouraged to talk, sing and make up rhymes about pooing and weeing by his Father. I know this as I heard him using "Toilet talk" a lot on holiday and he told me that "daddy thinks it's really funny to sing songs about poo"!

What would you advise?

It is funny singing songs about poo though. :)

I think kids love talking about poo and wee because they sense it's taboo, and they know it will get a reaction, whether it's laughter or embarrassment. I remember when I was a kid, a friend of mine had a poster of differnt poo types, and I thought it was the funniest thing in the world. So, if you tell your daughter not to do it, you're just reinforcing that. The only thing you can do, in my opinion, if it bothers you, is ignore like you have been and hope she'll get bored of it again. Or perhaps agree that she can do it at home but not in public?

My partner is already singing our 6-month old boy songs and replacing every other word with poo. Maybe it's a boy thing. Luckily I have a very childish sense of humour and find it funny. :)

Maybe I am being a prude about this :)

I am quite open to a lot of things, and certainly not a prude most of the time but I'm really bothered by this!!

Ignore, ignore, ignore is probably the best way to deal with this.

Thanks for your reply Emzar.

They all talk about poo. Talking about poo is fun and helps them to know that everyone poos and wees and to feel happy and confident about going to the toilet. There is nothing wrong aobut instilling manners in a 5 year old though so telling mummy a joke or singing a silly song about poo is fine at home but talking about poo at the dinner table is rude.

The poo chart is called the Bristol Stool Chart. Have needed to use it at work to classify different poos. At 31 I still find this pretty funny.

So I can't blame kids or adults for finding toilet talk funny. I guess it's about knowing when it's appropriate.

It is funny, my 3 year old DS signs little poo songs and calls me a smelly poo head, this is not something he has been taught but is his way of raising a smile and finding his voice. He is a funny little creature and I don't discourage or incourage his little quirks.

I wouldn't worry about it, I very much doubt she will be talking about poo during her first date or job interview.

I think you are being a little bit of a prude, sorry. Talking about poo and wee is funny (although not "piss" and "shit" obviously).

I have a boy and a girl (5 and 3) and they both think it is very funny. When DS was struggling to learn his more difficult sounds (the double letter ones) at the start of reception, I challenged him to make the words "poo" and "wee" from letter cards. He thought it was hilarious and never again struggled with double letter sounds.

My kids call eachother "pooey pants" sometimes and think it's funny. They are not being nasty, both are laughing.

I think at this age, it's about teaching them when it's ok to be silly and when it's not (as Indith mentioned this above I think), however, being prudish about this kind of thing is unhealthy - you'd want your DC to tell you if they had a problem/blood in their poo etc. and you definitely don't want them thinking that poo/wee/bodily functions are something naughty or bad to talk about and being scared.