“Not my phone!!” What it means when your tot flushes things down the toilet
Kids have a fascination with the loo, so much so that it’s a pretty common story when they’ve flushed something or other down the toilet.
In fact, plumbers have a wealth of stories of random stuff they’ve been asked to retrieve from the pipes because a little person got their chubby mitts on it and sent it for a “slippery slide!”
But what does this obsession with the loo mean?
Well, a few things, actually.
1. He thinks it’s fun
First up, if your tot enjoys plonking his toys, your keys or even wallet (“noooooooo!”) in the toilet water, he probably thinks he’s come up with the world’s most fun game.
Especially if you react. Whoops.
When he discovers that pushing the button makes a flushing noise and sends the water all crazy in there, well, that’s just upped the ante.
2. He’s learning cause and effect
Remember when he’d drive you bonkers by dropping things off his highchair table and watching it fall to the ground? He’d giggle as you fetched it for him, only to have him drop it again? Well, that was actually him learning about cause and effect.
So when he drops his favourite car in the loo and hears and sees a splash, it’s a reaction. The same can be said about pressing the flush button and seeing the water rise, swish and gurgle.
See, it’s all just about learning!
Never mind that he’s just flushed your latest model iPhone down the loo … gulp.
3. He might be ready for toilet training
Childhood experts also say that a toilet interest/obsession is healthy in a little one. He’s learning about this fascinating seat in the house that does stuff. And, it can even mean he might be ready to start out on his toilet training journey.
But that said, little ones can find the big toilet scary, especially if they have watched it swallow up ‘stuff’ they have thrown in it, like your lip balm and the TV remote.
If your little one freaks out when you sit him on the big seat (even with one of those toddler seats that you place on top), you might be better buying a potty, that is if you think your little one might be sending you a message that it’s time.
4. Oh, and you should probably shut the bathroom door
So unless he IS actually ready for toilet training (and you have a potty in the bathroom), it might be an idea to keep your bathroom door shut. That and also having a chat with him about what actually goes in the loo (gross, but kids love gross).
Until this stage of throwing anything and everything down the loo passes.
And it will.
Nothing lasts forever.
Good luck! But maybe keep your valuables up high in the meantime.
