Not up to toilet training yet but dont want to make him scared of the toilet...

DS often comes into the bathroom when I go to the toilet -something that I dont discourage as I dont want the toilet to be something that scares him - DH does the same thing. BUT, what I'm not sure about is the touching of the toilet seat...

My automatic reaction to him touching the toilet seat after I 'rise' is to say 'no, dirty', But I realise that this is prob negative and might set us up for probs later. I wash his hands after he touches the toilet, so I'm just wondering if I let him touch it and watch the water go down and then just wash his hands, or should I tell him dirty and try to get him to stop touching the seat.

To be really honest him touching the toilet does not really worry me as long as it is supervised and we make sure we wash his hands - but is this going to be a good or bad thing when it comes to toilet training (which is a bit away still).

Advice?
Thanks
FG

I found it a good thing. I put a potty in there and Miss J could sit on it if she wanted while I was using the toilet...took away the feeling of having to learn to use it... the curiosity got the better of her.

I never actually thought of it this way.... but what about saying no touching, that's for bottoms not hands

Ive always had the same reaction with my 2 and neither are scared of sitting on or using the toilet. Maybe as he gets older you will be able to explain a little more that touching the toilet with your hands and not washing can make you sick. But you also might find using a potty easier at first if he does.

Farmgirl - I had a bit of a chuckle at your post. I'm on my phone so I can't see how old your son is. Mine is 14 months.

My DS is obsessed with the toilet. He loves it. Tries to hang out in there, chucks stuff in it, opens the lid, closes the lid, bangs the lid. My mobile phone almost went in once. You get the idea. We would be hand washing all day if I washed them every time he touched it.

I just clean the toilet every day. I figure it's a good compromise. I don't want to tell him no for the reasons you outline. If I were to try and stop him I'd be at it all day. I've got bugger fish to fry - like his other favourite thing the oven. Grrrrr. By comparison the toilet is not hurting him.

It's probably not ideal but given he eats dirt / a snail once / it's the best we can do during this phase.

I usually dissuade P from touching the toilet. I am getting into the habit of sitting her on it every now and again with lots of praise etc, but I don't allow her to touch it because before I know it she'd be climbing in there and I couldn't cope with that.
What I would do is, if he reaches out to touch it, I'd be (happily) saying, "we don't touch it, we sit on it" and put him on, even just for half a second. Fact is, toilets are dirty and they're for sitting on, not for touching/playing with.
I think it is a jolly good idea to let him see you on it though. Although I am yet to come across any parent who can escape their toddler long enough to go to the toilet in peace sans audience! LOL.

Definately put a potty in there.

One thing that might make you smile is that DS has been playing with his toilet seats too, well, until yesterday when he dropped it on his bits. Now he's stopped cold turkey ...

Ok - so next stupid question - a potty for boys?????? Tex is short but I was still thinking just steps up to the big toilet???? DH and I gave each other blank looks at this - how do you potty train a boy???

LOL about bottoms and hands - we had our 18mth maternal health check up today and :wall: no one told me they quiz him on how many body parts he knows - this week I'll have to teach him bottoms and hands...

Kazbah - you made me LOL and DH cry (well nearly)

FabFiona - Tex is facinated by toilet paper - is not yet putting everything down in the toilet but I'm sure that is coming...pity we have a septic...and yep, given that I take him into the bird aviaries, who knows what he is putting in his mouth:shakehead:

Thanks everyone for the advice.
FG

My DS is curious about the toilet and watching us too......we just got in the habit of washing his hands everytime we washed ours and now he expects to wash his hands even if he didnt touch the seat.....hearing the loo flush means wash hands to him lol. He has the toilet paper fascination too but thinks its tissue so he wipes his nose and puts it in the bin lol

As for potty for boys.......I have no advice what so ever sorry....in fact I will be coming back to read others responses :) DS is our first and other than pingpong ball to aim at in the grown up loo I am completely clueless!!! I bought a potty but am now wondering if those step thingys would be better!!!

My DS is 17months and completely obsessed with the toilet too. His favourite thing to do is to stuff it with toilet paper. Also lost a bottle of shampoo and his sisters hair clips!

I tried putting a potty in there but he's much more interested in the toilet of course! I just keep re-inforcing that we don't touch or throw things in but we can sit on it, hopefully it sinks in soon before we lose too many more things to the loo!

DS was similar at about a year and a half. We just wash hands after going to the loo. Given how clean we keep the bathroom, the loo seat is safer than the front door handle, germ-wise! (I recall reading that it's more hygienic to eat off the loo than from a kitchen bench, as we're far more fastidious as a species about cleaning our loos.)

I just talked to him about what I was doing and he just trained himself through watching me and his friends. OK, so he was three and a half before he decided he wanted to go to the loo (just one month earlier he would sit on the potty for 3-4 hours, then ask me for a nappy so he could wee). He is four next week and has just decided he wants to poo on the loo. He does know his own mind! But explaining that pets and loos mean washing hands afterwards cannot start early enough, IMO. FWIW, he never liked using the potty. Always had to be the loo, and without the childseat if possible. I guess I could have saved myself some money there!