Potty Training: to Stand or to Sit????

so many brothers and sons here! i've never dealt with a little boy peeing sitting down. my jaw is on the floor that it's apparently so common.
who knew?
(apparently everyone but me!)
:O
khairete
S.

We started with sitting--first because with the potty chair, standing would have been a large PITA to clean (splashes/aiming/etc.) Then we went to a potty ring on the large toilet so sitting there too (gotta teach about using a finger or two to push it DOWNWARD!) and eventually he graduated to standing--when he could stand and aim it "down" at the bowl.

Updated

We started with sitting--first because with the potty chair, standing would have been a large PITA to clean (splashes/aiming/etc.) Then we went to a potty ring on the large toilet so sitting there too (gotta teach about using a finger or two to push it DOWNWARD!) and eventually he graduated to standing--when he could stand and aim it "down" at the bowl.

honestly, i am a girl, i never saw the big deal about training my son to stand - i figured sitting, there was less likely of spraying it everywhere...! i never addressed it with him and then one day, not long after he started preschool, i heard, "mommy, look what i can do!" and there he was, standing up, proud as can be.

My stepson and two sons were both over three (3 yrs 3 mos, 3 yrs 3 mos, and 3.5 years) when they were potty trained. My 2.5 year old son is NOT interested yet. I would SO MUCH rather change diapers than clean up soiled clothes because of trying to train too early. With all three of the older ones, when they were ready, it just clicked and only took a couple weeks. My 2.5 year old will be going to preschool in the fall, a week shy of his 3rd bday, so we'll be training this summer. All three so far have been trained sitting down. At first, they were scared to stand up and just wouldn't do it. It took between 3 and 6 mos to get them to go standing up. The only time that sitting was a pain was in public--but, thats what girls have to do! Most, not all, of the moms of boys I've known have trained their boys sitting down and gradually moved to standing. Good luck!

I just taught mine to sit. Right with Denise P (gotta use the finger to push it down, otherwise it shoots out between the seat and the bowl and the clothes are soaked - or YOU are, lol). When he mastered sitting, and I mean mastered. He did EVERYTHING himself (except reach far enough to get the soap and the water turned on) then my husband started taking him with him into the men's room in public places sometimes. Once that started, he naturally started standing without ME having to have any part of that business.

Frankly, I think it is helpful for them to sit in the beginning, b/c when they are trying to poop, often a little pee comes out too. If they sit to pee, then they have 2 successes and no accidental squirts out the front of the toilet, because they already know what to do to prevent that. ha ha ha

We had to back off a bit with my son and then we bought a DVD called Potty Power. He watched it several times and then became interested in trying again. He did great the second time around! He started off sitting to pee, but now he wants to do it like Daddy and stand. Which is making me insane!! I know he has to learn, but I'm so tired of my bathroom smelling like a truckstop bathroom! He sometimes aims fine, but other times get distracted and it goes everywhere! Wish he would just keep on sitting :)

I taught my boys to sit. I think it's easier when they're learning #1 & #2. Eventually they both started to stand (my middle son just turned 3 and he sat for the first 4 months or so).

My 2/1/2 year old has been working on potty training for a few months. When he gets home from school I put him in underwear for the rest of the day. With an occasional accident here and there, he goes pee and poop on the big potty. My daughter was a little over 3 when she was totally potty trained. I'm super lax with their training and kind of let them do it when they are ready.

I have taught my son to pee sitting. But, he has seen my husband and occasionally stands. I'm not ready for that, but whatever. Our toilet works fine for standing because he can rest his Hi Hi (that is his name for it) on the seat. THe teacher I work with said her grandson's school has taught him to stand on a stool and lean forward and put his hands on the top of the toilet.

Anyway, good luck...he will be potty trained before you know it :-)

My 524 month old still sits. I told him he would NEVER have to clean the bathroom IF he never stood while peeing. Yup, that 43 year old has never touch a toilet scrubber in his LIFE!

I didn't use those little potty chairs because a wise mom before me said you would just have to retrain them on the big potty. so we got those little foot stools and both my son and daughter used those to use the big potty. I also taught my son to stand up since that's what most men do, right? Didn't want him to learn sitting down and then I say...just kidding...now lets do that standing up!!! Good luck!!!!

sitting at 1st, don't push, boys take there sweet time when it comes to potty training, and later you could always try the cheerio trick, where you put a few in the toilet water and they try to hit the target! LOL

Both of my boys were taught sitting first...then standing. As a side note...DO NOT buy a potty chair shaped like a dinosaur. LOL I had one for my first son and the dinosaurs neck and head stuck up between his knees, which I thought would be good so if he forgot to push it down, and it squirted forward it would hit the base of the dinosaurs neck and run down into the chair...which it did, but he had to completely take his pants and underwear off (not just pull them down) any time he went to the bathroom because the head was sticking up there. Somebody obviously didn't think that idea through entirely. Good luck to you. And he will get there when he's ready...I didn't think my youngest was ever going to get there, but he finally made it. :)

If you really want to potty train I wouldn't put Cheerios in the bathroom to entice him but just say 'today we are going to be potty trained'. Get a timer and set it to take him every 15-30 min. and have him sit on the potty, big stool if he is comfortable up there, and then if he doesn't go try when the timer goes off and don't quit or stop until he goes. Then you can give him a reward or treat or whatever you choose. The key is to be consistent and not to stop and start and for you to be in charge and not let him decide if he wants to wander in or not. Otherwise it will not go as smoothly. My boys, 4 of them, all sat for a time and then stood when completely potty trained and comfortable standing. Be careful if you have stool lid covers as they can make the lid not stay back sometimes and that's 'scary' to them. Also be sure to stress the fact that it goes in the potty and not on the lid, floor or other places to clean up.

We started my son sitting. A few weeks after he was confident with that, he actually told us that he wanted to stand like daddy. So now he stands. We have to hold "it" for him still. But recently has been interested in doing it himself too. He's been potty trained for about 9 months or so. So we'll probably work on the cheerio trick soon.

Just my two cents from being the potty training/two year old teacher at a day care, I taught the boys to go potty sitting down at first so we didn't have to worry too much about aim at first. (make sure he is pointing down, though, hold down with his finger)

Once they'd gotten the hang of that, it was easy to teach them they could standing up too and then just have to work on aim.

I think it depends on the kid. My son freaked out every time he was sitting and it sprayed out and onto his clothes. I wasn't super keen on washing all those clothes when he wasn't even having accidents. He's been a good "aimer" from the get go, so we just let him stand. Much better.

Good luck.