Why do we teach them THAT?

That is an excellent question. One that I haven't ever considered before now.

But being the mother of two little boys has made me question a lot about the male gender. You would think that since I have two older brothers I would already know a lot. And my sweet husband has even asked me if I wasn't paying attention when I was growing up. I told him of course NOT!! So, some of these things I am learning have caught me by surprise.

One such thing---bathroom behaviors. When we were potty training I learned that teaching them to stand seemed to motivate them a little. But now, I believe that little boys should NOT be taught to go standing up!!! It is messy. And it encourages behavior that is socially unacceptable...first of all, like going in the yard. Andy (our 3-year-old) goes in the yard frequently these days and we when try to talk to him about it, he says he is using the "baseball field restroom." Of course when he does this Nate is playing baseball in the back yard. And we appreciate his cute little imagination, but Andy ends up having to have his clothes changed!! Yes, all of his clothes! And a couple of weeks ago Nate showed up at the back door all wet. When I asked him what happened he said he didn't get his pants down far enough!

Another socially unacceptable behavior that standing encourages is MISSING!! Aim isn't so good when you are little...especially when you are NOT paying attention. (which is almost always for my boys)

UGH! Boys, aren't they FUN? and messy! Good news is: they don't care! And they don't seem to be any worse the wear for it. This is obviously a mommy-issue however, I have decided that standing up to go only comes in handy when in public restrooms.