OPINION: ‘Just because little boys can pee anywhere, doesn’t mean they should’

It's unhygienic, it's illegal, it's rude and it's got to stop!

Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up with brothers.

Perhaps it has something to do with myself, a female, not really having the option to.

But nothing drives me more crazy than men (and boys) peeing in public.

Just because you can, absolutely doesn’t mean you should.

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The offending incident

Over the weekend, my family visited the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

In between patting ducklings and feeding sheep, we decided to take a break on the grass and sit for some lunch.

Just as I took a bite of my sandwich, a mum and her maybe four-year-old son walked past us, stood against the back of a building, pulled his pants down and let him pee right there, all of 10 metres away from us and dozens of other families eating.

What was even more frustrating was the building he was peeing on was the bathroom block!

I turned to my sister, and she was equally shocked and disgusted. 

When did this become ok?

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Parents weigh in

I recounted the story to a few friends the following day and their responses weren’t all totally what I was expecting. 

It seemed the mums of girls were equally horrified, but boy mums were totally unfazed.

Mum of three girls, Margaret said, “It drives me nuts.

“Of course, occasionally all young kids will have to do a 'bush wee', but I think boys get away with it so much more just because they can. 

“It has to be really dire straits for one of my girls to have to do a wee in public, but I see little boys do it all the time.’

She went on to tell me a recent story with a friend, “My friend had her boys swimming at my mum's pool, and one little boy just got out and weed in the garden and then hopped back into the pool, whereas I would always take my girls inside to the bathroom. I do think there's a kind of 'ehhh, it's fine, you can go wherever' tolerance, which I don't really agree with.”

Hayley is a mum to two girls, and she told me nothing drives her more crazy. “Do people realise it’s wee? Like a bodily fluid that can be smelly, and they are just spraying it all over the place?”

However, the boy mums weren’t so bothered.

“It’s essential,” said mum to three boys, Joanna. 

“My boys are notorious for inopportune bathroom breaks,” she added.

And Naomi, the mother of one son, said it depended on age: “If they're still referring to it as a ‘pee-pee’, it's okay. After that, put your manners back in.”

RELATED: Why you need to stop peeing in the shower

Stop making peeing in public a thing! Source: Getty

It’s not just gross, it’s illegal

If we’re getting technical, according to the law (which varies from state to state), it is a criminal offence to urinate in a public place (other than in a toilet).

For those of you ready to come at me with the argument that urine is a clean liquid, well, you’re wrong.

Healthline is here to kick that argument to the curb; “Despite the rumours, urine is not a sterile substance…[and] naturally contains bacteria.”

And while “The pee itself won’t do anything to you, even if you were to get it on your hands and transfer it to your face,” says microbiologist Philip M. Tierno, Jr., a professor of microbiology and pathology at NYU School of Medicine, it doesn’t make it any less gross.

RELATED: Melbourne man catches stranger urinating on his $80k BMW

A man caught urinating on a stranger's car in Melbourne. Image source: Instagram/leoalhalabi

It’s also confusing for your kids

Teaching kids proper bathroom etiquette is crucial for their development and hygiene. 

While exceptions exist for outdoor scenarios like camping or emergency road trip stops, allowing public urination can confuse children about appropriate bathroom locations, leading to more accidents. 

Critics argue that it reflects poorly on parenting and undermines efforts to instil hygiene habits. 

Encouraging responsible bathroom habits instils consideration for others and sets boundaries for children's behaviour.

I don’t know how much more I can say other than if there’s a bathroom close by, it isn’t an emergency, or it isn’t within 10 metres of eating their lunch, for goodness sake, use a toilet!

Originally published as OPINION: ‘Just because little boys can pee anywhere, doesn’t mean they should’