Out of Character Behavior

I think taking the door off is a great idea. Also, depending on how long it continues and how bad it gets, take some or all stuff out of his room. What stuff is he peeing on? Maybe for each thing that he pees on, take something else and throw them both in the trash. Let him know that it's completly unacceptable and don't treat it as a phase, or as a boy being a boy. I just caught my 5yr old peeing in the bathroom trashcan this past week-it's right next to the toilet!!!! I made him clean the trashcan, the floor, and the toilet and told him that if he did it again, then I would have to walk him to the bathroom when he needs to go like a "baby" and supervize.

I have a son who also did this. He told me he didn't want to miss his shows.After the third time I took his door off. This seemed to work for me. I left the door off for a few months just to make sure. Good thing is, this may not be because of the baby! Good luck!

S. it's quite natural for children to regress, a bit. First of all be sure to reinforce all of the positive behaviors your son has. It sounds like he is truely seeking attention. If he isn't able to get it in a natural way, a behavior as such, will get him attention. Though it's in a negative way. Include your son in having him help with his sister and you need to take time for just him. Make a special time for just him and you. It can be talking, going for a walk, playing cards, etc. I can promise you this troubled young man's inappropriate behavior will disappear. Good Luck. Mom of grown up kids - four boys and our daughter. There are 6 years between the first two and the same for the last two. We adopted our daughter however, we made sure to include our children, nieces and nephews to help out. It's a new adjustment. With your working part time, doing online classes and having a business. You're overwhelmed with trying to manage your time and trying to be 100%, perfect. If dad is there with you, he needs to pitch in and help also. He can take the baby, help in the house or whatever to free you up, for the time with your son. That also goes for dad, he too, needs to take time for your son. Good luck and God Bless, just remember to let your son know how much you love him and just how important he is, to you. Remember he was an only child for almost 7 years.

This would never fly at my house. I would take everything he thinks is special and he wouldn't get it back until I felt he fully understood that you don't ever use your room as a restroom. He would have no TV, no computer, no games, no toys,.....nothing. The best gift you ever gave him is his sister. Have him show her off. I always made it sound like the baby belonged to their older brothers and sisters. They were so proud of the baby that they never got jelious. To pee on things in his room is not some little thing. That's just nasty.

It sounds like he's a little jealous of the new baby. I know it's hard when you have a little one but maybe spending more time on the positive things you do with him may help curb the behavior. He knows it's wrong but doing so brings him more attention. My son started acting out this last two years. He's 8 1/2. I think it's part of a phase. Focus on all the times he doesn't go all over the place. Praise him for all his good behavior and maybe that will help. Good Luck!!!

I havent had to deal with this personally, but my nephew went through this and he was told that if it didnt stop he wasn't going to Disney world for their vacation and he stopped. maybe try taking somehting he really likes away. hope you solve your problem!@

S.
Kids are not easy to raise and do not come with instruction books(unfortunately). I think a lot of it is sibling rivalry because most of your attention is going toward your baby now he is crying out for attetion in whatever way he can. The problem with this is that if you give negative bahavior attention it will continue.Be sure to recognize and encourage the positve in as many ways as possible. Years ago I helped with a special ed group (for the summer) housed in the dorms. There was a young boy about 8-10 years old who decided one day to cover all the walls of a classroom with urine. Afterward he was given a bucket and scrub cloth and asked to scrub the walls. You can probably guess that he never did that again. Sometimes hard lessons stick with us the longest. If your child continues this behavior, you might want to try something like this. Good luck.

My son did the same thing at about six. The peditrician said the same - boys are boys. I just made sure he was the one who had to clean it up. Once in a blue moon he still does it (he's 7 now) - usually after a bath and when he's mad at me for something. He cleans it up, and then we deal with the issue of what he's upset about.

D.

Oh that is so frustrating! I am sorry! My daughter waited several months after our baby was born to "act out" too. Make sure that you and your fiance are taking out special time for your son. Assure him that he is not being replaced by his sister. A lot of the acting out is the fear that you will love the baby more and forget about him. So they do these negative behaviors to get a reaction! Take time out each day (or more than you have been) with him. Also, let him plan some fun traditions (pancakes on Saturdays or going to the movie with mom once a month). It really helps them to feel like an important part of the family even though the baby takes a lot of time and gets a lot of positive attention. Good luck!

Dear S.,
It seems to me, that he is just crying out for attention! He is obviously old enough to know that peeing on things is unacceptable. I am thinking you need to sit down with him and talk to him about what is bothering him. If he isn't much of a talker (because he is a boy) then you really should take some time to sit one on one with him and play or just read stories or something. without the baby of course. I know it is tough, especially since you seem to be a busy woman, but he just needs his mommy back!
I really think the bad behavior will stop when he gets the attention he so deserves.

S.,
My son did the exact same thing when he was about 6. I had no idea that he was doing it of course until I smelled it in his room. I don't know what caused it but it was just a phase and he did get over it. (Thank God!!!) I made him help clean the carpets when I noticed it. He told me that he didn't know why he did it. When he peed in the bookshelf he had to go through it with me and throw away all the books that got wet. There were some that he really liked and I just kept saying how sad it was that we had to throw them away. It really was just a phase and he stopped in about a month. GOod luck to you. Just be patient and he will stop.
J.

Hi S.~
I completely disagree that this is b/c of baby. I think it's just a coincidence that the two are timed together. Boys learn early that they have the physical ability to pee anywhere, even though it is totally unacceptable to you. He has no clue what affects peeing on things will have down the line. Definitely go to extremes so you can stop it now! Nobody needs to tell you how fast that has got to stop...lol!! I advise not making threats to him that you can't follow thru on...such as the Disney trip. But I do think that once he sees the things he loves going in the trash soaked with pee he'll get the idea. We don't allow video games, but I def. think brining it into your supervision was good move. Good luck on this one!
~L.