We are not experts, just parents.

Our bathroom reeks. Seriously.

The boys and I gave mom the second bathroom all to herself. The main bathroom is shared between a man plus five boys between 5 and 11 years old. This is a place where even the flies take care in where they land.

Fragrant.

One of the most common causes of bathroom odor is when urine goes to the side or behind the toilet. In some cases, the quarter-inch of space between the tank and bowl is hit perfectly on target. This is more than difficult to clean and begins to starting leaving a funk almost instantly.

Solution. He needs training on his aim.

In our house, there are three steps to his aim.

Adjust. Teach him not to be in a hurry. I showed my sons that they need to pull their pants down a little as opposed to watching dad. The younger your son, the more likely he needs to pull down as opposed to mastering the art of zipper only. Instruct him to pull his pants and underwear down slightly by about 4 inches. This will help him so he does not press against his private and affect his aim. I have also seen where pulling down only the top of the shorts or pants will affect him. Basically, nothing should be pressing against his private when he is peeing.

Inspect. Before any marksman, basketball player, baseball pitcher, airplane pilot, or any other person who needs to deliver something on target begins their action time is taken to decide the setting. Translation = Raise the lid. Don’t let him off the hook on this one. Until he is a pro, and even then it still happens to some pro’s, have him raise the lid.

Make your mark.  Instruct him to point down toward the hole where the water empties in the bowl. This is the very center of the bowl as shown below.  While it did not work for us, I have heard of other families placing an object in the bowl for him to aim at such as cereal. My experience is that these float and move, causing him to chase for it and lose his mark. I have seen that get messy.

Finishing Up. Build his common sense and teach him to clean any mess,  flush, wash his hands, and turn out the light.If he did a good job in aiming, show him how time can be saved by avoiding any mess. Make him come back to the bathroom if the mess is not cleaned up.

Don’t Give Up. I have been at this for years. Some get it quick, others bloom late. It is not for lack of instruction, but rather for laziness. If you are having problems with a mess and you have taught your son these steps, then it is time to talk about laziness and the effects of doing things too quickly in order to hurry back to whatever they think is more important. Cut them some slack in the morning since they are normally half asleep or their penis is erect when they get older. Let him know it is more than ok to sit on the toilet as opposed to standing to pee in the mornings and that this is a good rule of thumb.

If you are just starting out, check out the How to Potty Train Your Child article at WikiHow.

So how did you pull it off in your house? Do you have advice to share or a patent on an invention to catch the missed shots around the toilet from repeat and blatant mistakes!

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