Teaching Boys to Pee Standing Up or Sitting Down

Pee Controversy: Sitting Lessens Mess or Emasculates Boys?

June 30, 2010

Potty training is messy business and hits and misses are part of the process for lil boys. Though 73 percent of LilSugar readers said they taught their sons to pee sitting down, their reasons varied.

Several moms instructed their lil ones to sit, but then had dad demonstrate the standing technique. Other mamas told their tykes to pop a squat (like Kate Gosselin did), to cut down on cleanup. Then, there were mothers that taught their sons to stand since they believe that it is "emasculating to make a boy pee sitting down."

Do you think the way a child urinates affects his masculinity?

Source: Thinkstock

7 Comments

AbbyHintz 2 years 46 weeks

I live in Ohio, which is pretty conservative, but this very topic came up at lunch. I eat lunch with about 8 well-educated men. They laughed their butts off about men who pee sitting down. They felt it was something to be ashamed of and not something to teach your son. I know some of you are coming at this from a logical, progressive standpoint -- but there is a chance that if your boy goes to school and doesn't know how to use the urinal, he may feel embarrassed. Incidentally, I think I am the one who was quoted as saying it is emasculating. This is not what I said. I said it's reasonable to teach a 3- year old to pee sitting down; that just shouldn't be the end state.

2 years 46 weeks

Well, at 2-1/2, my son is just too short to pee standing up, so he sits down. Once he gets a bit older, my hubby will teach him how to pee standing up. That's how we potty trained his two older brothers. I honestly don't understand all the fuss over this.

psterling 2 years 46 weeks

I didn't even realize this was an issue...who cares how you pee?

2 years 46 weeks

Ok, really? Emasculating? It's not because we want our sons to pee like us, it's just easier! And honestly I have a really tall toilet, and so he's too short to stand to pee in it and he hates the little potty. He has to use the big potty like Mommy and Daddy. I think at 2 and 3 years old you have bigger issues then wondering how masculine your toddler is!

Roarman 2 years 46 weeks

My brother-in-law sits down most of the time. If you think standing while peeing makes someone a man, you have issues.

2 years 46 weeks

There's nothing emasculating about learning to pee sitting down! I agree that if you're forcing them when they're grown, that's different, but our son can make the choice himself. We do ask if he would sit first thing in the morning as he's not really awake of paying attention, but he's also 7. Honestly, my husband also sits probably 1/2 the time. He prefers it when he's tired and been on his feet all day. He says it's nice to not have to think about what you're doing!

2 years 46 weeks

I guess if your son is 15 and you are still demanding he sit down to pee, that would be emasculating. But as a toddler, there is no such thing as emasculating! They are learning a new life skill- HOW they go about peeing in the potty in a few years isn't something that has to be decided when you are teaching them to use the potty...

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