3 Year Old Peed down Our Vent?!?

if you treat Dad's change of schedule .....matter of fact - then the kids will, too! My husband had a shift change when my son was a toddler & we did fine.

As for the peeing, it was an "off" day. No need to freak! We all have those days. The trick is to not make too much of it.....again, don't create angst where none needs to be. You had him help you clean it up, you talked about it....that should be the end of it......as long as you don't make too much of it & it does not repeat itself!

OMGoodness! My daughter did the same thing!!! I didn't think anyone on earth would do such a thing - but alas, we are not alone! LOL! Luckily she did it in her own room. She was 4 when she did it. I was very upset with her about it, because when the heat came on her room smelled like pee. I sprinkled baking soda in the vent and it helped somewhat. It took like 2 weeks for the smell to completly leave. I took TV privleges away from her for 48 hours for it. She didn't do it again.

Hopefully you can get the vent cover off and sop of as much pee as you can from the vent. You may be smelling the after affects of this for a while. Try some baking soda.
I don't know why your husband changing shifts would cause your son to do this on the first morning that he's home. Have you been talking openly about what a major change this is going to be for your family? Is he afraid daddy being home during the day is because of something bad?
It really doesn't matter why he did it. The vents aren't toilets or port-a-potties. We don't pee on the floor, we don't pee in the vents. It's not funny.
He needs to know it was naughty. Pee goes in the toilet. That's it!
(Hopefully he won't try peeing on an electrical outlet or something).
You'll just have to really keep an eye on him. If he's acting act and this is the way he's choosing to do it, you're going to have to stay on him so you can put a stop to it.
Little kids don't often know "why" they do things and even if they do, they can't express it clearly anyway. Don't focus on why he did it, just that he can't do it anymore.
Also, make sure you yourself aren't expressing nervousness over the change in routine. Little kids can really pick up on that.

It's not the end of the world. Some kids get creative with peeing here or there. They just need to know it's not funny and it can't happen anymore.

(You can all laugh about it later when he's older).

Best wishes.

I'm sorry S., I know this is just frustrating but it made me chuckle. Mine peed across the bathroom wall above the toilet and across the tub one day just to see how far he could "make it go". Sometimes I think that little boys are just fascinated with where/how they pee.

Okay, being serious now - does your vent unscrew and come off? If so, wipe it out and do use Erica's baking soda suggestion to eliminate any odor. I take it you have told your son that he needs to be extra quiet during the day since Daddy is sleeping? He may be afraid to make any noise, hence his "relapse". To help Dad sleep you may want to invest in a white noise machine, blackout curtains, and earplugs for Dad so that he will not be bothered by small household noises. Also, weather permitting, spend more time outdoors with your children - though maybe not playing Red Rover under the bedroom window. Depending on the layout of your home, try and move the childrens' activities to the other side of the house, or move the sleeping Dad to the other side of the house. :)

Try and make it fun for the children - Daddy's gone topsy turvy - cook breakfast for supper once Dad is awake, and keep explaining to your children that although Dad's schedule has changed their schedule will remain the same. Make sure Dad has some time before he goes to work to interact with them - if he can, maybe he can read the bedtime story and tuck them in, then assure them that he will be home for "their" breakfast.

Ultimately, your children where adjust. Many parents work crazy hours and kids are resilient.

Good Luck.

It doesn't matter why he's doing it--most kids stop and start a few times before they are totally reliable. If he's been trained for awhile, it's deliberate. Easiest way to stop this is to make him totally responsible for the clean-up. (Don't bother asking why he did it---he truly can't explain it.) Have a talk with him, and tell him that he can pee whenever, wherever he wants to(he can). You just aren't going to clean any messes anymore. He has to clean the floor, take off his wet pants and jeans, put them in the laundry hamper, wash his butt (wet pants make pee all over your butt), and put on clean clothes---all by himself (with your supervision). Then, just do it. You have no need to yell or fuss, just get him busy cleaning up his mess. (It's actually kinda funny to see them do it, especially washing out a pair of poopy pants!) He won't do it too many times before he realizes that he's spending ALOT of play time dealing with his decision to not use the toilet.

I know folks are giving lots of advice about how to handle it...but that applies if he does it again. By now it's over and done with, and at three years old, if you try to discipline him now for something he did 24 hours ago (or more) he's just not going to connect the discipline with what he did. Older kids would, yes, but he's still young enough that he probably won't fully connect the behavior with the consequence unless the consequence comes immediately or very soon after the behavior. So at this point I'd drop it other than getting him to the toilet at regular intervals even if he says he doesn't need to go (as someone else suggested). Give plenty of praise when he goes there. This may have nothing at all to do with the disruption of your husband's schedule; it may be pure three-year-old experimenting. Think of the world as your son sees it: "Interesting hole-like-thing in the wall! Cool! Hey, I've got to pee. I can aim this stuff! What if it went down that hole, what would happen?" ....Of course you don't want it happening again, but at this point if you keep bringing it up to him, you may just give him the idea again....Be ready with what you'll do if he repeats it and be calm if he does. Good luck!

of course it's just a reaction to the upheaval - but that doesn't make it okay. you can treat this like any other misbehavior - he knows better, therefore he gets disciplined. not in anger, not punishing him (which will make it worse), but calmly sending him to time out. he is three years old. he told you himself that he did it because he wanted to. that should have been his first warning. do it again and go to time out. it's not okay to act out just because things are a little crazy right now. he still needs to behave.

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First--dump some baking soda water down the vent where he peed. Yes, he is doing this due to the schedule change. Let him know his behavior is unacceptable and there will be consequences if he continues to act this way. Choose something that will make him think twice about doing this. Follow through. GL

He may just be trying to get your attention because dad is sleeping and can't give it to him. You never know what kids will do next. Keep a close eye on him so that he doesn't pee on the floor again, be calm if he does and just tell him to use the potty and then make him clean up his mess-as best as he can. He may just want a reaction from you. If it continues to do this I would consult with a professional. Good luck.

Well that is just hilarious from this side of the fence and you will agree when he is about 15. Until then, since he is in early stages of potty training, why not make him sit on the potty every 20 minutes? I wouldn't bring the incident up again so maybe he will forget the attention of it...until he is 15.