It can be tricky for boys learn to aim when weeing standing up. Here are a few activities that help them understand where they want to be directing their stream.
It’s important to remember that:
- You don’t want your little boy to hold or angle his penis while having a wee. Instead, he should be able to stand and go, or slightly push his penis down if needed. But he shouldn’t be pointing it, as that just gets messier.
- The height of the toilet and your child matter when doing a standing wee. Adding a stool or step can make it much easier to direct wee into the toilet bowl without trying to ‘aim’ with a hand.
- Get as close as you can to the toilet bowl. To do this, you can mark where your child’s feet need to go or use a mat to show how they need to get their feet either side of the bowl.
Practicing
Modelling
Watching someone else (i.e. parent or sibling) complete a task or routine correctly can be a useful way to learn. However, make sure you focus your child’s attention to the parts of the task you want them to copy.
Games
There are a number of games that can help your child practice aiming:
- Cheerio in the toilet: Try tossing a Cheerio in the toilet and asking them to hit it with their wee. This can be challenging but helps with paying attention to the wee.
- Food colouring: Adding a bit of colour to water can keep the task of weeing interesting. Think about the colours you add. If you use blue, the colour will change to green as your child wees, and that can be fun.
- Sticker in the toilet: Place a sticker towards the back of the toilet bowl, but above the water line. See if your boy can aim for the sticker.
- Popping bubbles: Add a small amount of soap and flush the toilet to create bubbles. Ask your little one to pop the bubbles with their stream.
- Light target: There are even light-up targets you can put on your inner toilet lid