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Boys and potty training can provide quite an adventure. Some experiences are common for girls and boys, while other matters are particular just to boys. In most cases, when you're dealing with a boy, you have to do certain aspects of the potty training twice. Girls can be taught both urination and defecation while sitting down. But whether you initially teach your boy to urinate while sitting down, or try to teach him standing up from the beginning, potty training a boy will involve both postures. So that's the first question. Will you begin with him sitting down or standing up?

General potty training advice seems to be that it's wisest to start the boy sitting down for both functions. This has nothing to do with his being a "sissy" or learning to "pee like a girl," and should never be thought of that way. Remember that the entire process of learning to use the toilet is already a big thing for boys, and potty training only becomes more complicated if they have to learn too much at once. Learning to sit for bowel movements and then stand up and aim for urination may simply be too many new tasks to absorb at the same time.

People often suggest that even though a potty on the floor is convenient for a boy who sits for both functions, it may actually be smarter instead to use potty training seats with a hole reducer on the actual toilet. This would get the child used to using the larger fixture, which he's going to have to do anyway once he finally starts standing up. But there are also products particular to boys and potty training that provide a urinal on a stand, if you'd rather work your way up to the toilet more slowly.

You can seek potty training advice from several sources, checking with experienced relatives, your daycare workers and your pediatrician. But you as the parent are probably the best judge of whether the simultaneous sitting/standing method would be too confusing for your child, or whether he could handle it easily. With boys and potty training, no one method works for every single child, and parents have to tailor their approach to the specific needs of their own son.

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