Pissing in bushes: When should this stop?

[morningpaper]

Before children I was always HORRIFIED when I witnessed small children peeing in public places. I still find it a little bit indelicate and I've never encouraged my children to do it.

Do you let your children pee in bushes/kerbs and at what age do you stop letting them do this?

I've had to do it twice with ds recently (he's 3½) and I think only once with dd when she was a similar age. She would rather than die than have to do that now.

dh still does it occasionaly

Well, I did stop letting ds (4.5) do it, then he wet himself while I was looking for a toilet.

So I won't be making him wait again.

its not the children doing it that bothers me.

I was sittinh outside botanical gardens having lunch last week and a couple let their so about 4 piss inthe bushes - only about 10m away from the toilet... I was , I think the woman saw my face and said in a loud voice to her son "its ok to wee on the flowers as it helps them grown doesnt it" Lazy cow

Oh I'm not getting involved in this.....well ok I will, posted this summer about being my SIL encouraging her DS2 to "water the lawn" right infront of where we were sat eating lunch, and I had provided a potty.....the general concensus was that I was "Hyacinth Bucket" !

I thought it was illegal after age 7, but that might be an urban myth.

Ds is 5 and still struggles, so I imagine it's bushes and kerbs for us for a while yet

I think it has to stop by the age of 65.
And you're only legally allowed to piss on another person's shoes until you're 9.

THere is no loo in our local park. we regularly go to saod park after school. I do encourage DC to go before we leave school, but they do sometimes need to 'go' and the bushes are he only option.

I think for emergency is okay - children can be mortified if they wet themselves!

DD's little friend has emergency wee's behind tree when he's out and too far from home, at first I was shocked, but then thought okay - is desperate.

However after DD (fully potty trained and dry at night) wee'd in the garden on Saturday, because same friend does it in his garden I was not impressed.

Yes he has a bigger garden than DD, but not quite an emergency.

So like anything for me it's only in the case of an emergency!

Both mine (6 and 4) do, I encourage them to wee in drains if they have to. They normally come out of school desperate, i don't think they like to at school. Don't blame them the toilets stink!

aw humphrey, cant we let them do it again after age 75?
jusst not between age 7 and 75?

Oh yes, we do bushes (well, ds's - 5 and 3, not me and dp) all the time. The worst thing is ds1's interpretation of going somewhere private - he usually manages to find the bit between the trees and expose himself to horrified onlookers/Mummies...

Had to resort to the bushes myself on a dark night on the way from Wexford to Meath recently!

My ds is 5 and he does it ocassionally if caught short.

I had to do it once on the hard shoulder of the M1.....

If an effort to hide from public view is made, it shouldn't be a problem. I recently read an article which stated that children being made to wait to go to the loo is responsible for a large number of urinary infections and constipation, so they really need to go as soon as possible. If school toilets are an issue, make a fuss to the school via the parents association about their condition/cleanliness, and come up with a solution to make them more pleasant to use.

I take a porta potty with dd (2.4) to the park, but if I'm out with the dogs she just squats and we've had to do that in a couple of laybys too and will do this until she can hold it. Was shocked the other day in our local country park when a lady told her son who was about 10 to wee in the bush, right in front of us, toilets about 100yds away! Having said that I work as a Countryside Ranger and when outside all day occasionally have to pop behind a bush, well out of sight though, it was worse at 8mths pregnant, not easy to squat behind a bush at 8mths!

I take a cheap potty everywhere DD1 has a v weak bladder.

I STILL do it, in fact, sometimes i prefer a handy bush to a public toilet, but the public toilet is usually closer But i have no problems if out on walk with dog etc and im fairly sure no one around.

Ive just started potty training dd 2.2. She sort of started it herself by asking for potty when i was on the toilet. I just keeping her nappy free in the house (but not this week as she has diarreoh) she does seem to have control over poo, but not urine yet, she does ask, after her accident