Farting by 11-Year-old Boy

Updated on January 12, 2011
A.B. asks from Saint Louis, MO
20 answers

This is admittedly a strange question, but...what rules do you have around your kids' farting? Our son farts liberally and loudly, and often does so during meals. We know he can control this, because he doesn't fart liberally or loudly at school; "I don't want the kids to make fun of me." At home, we've told him to go into the bathroom to let out gas, but, like many 11 year old boys, he thinks it's really funny and just laughs about it. It drives my husband crazy. I myself don't know if it's a realistic battle to fight. So, how do you handle this with your own kids?

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

Featured Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

N.B.

answers from Toledo on

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but boys don't ever outgrow thinking farts are funny. They love rude noises and rank smells, bugs, and dirt. A few rules about when and where is the best you can hope for. I like the "not at the table " and "not in the kitchen" rules because they set boundaries without punishing the unbridled joy of farting.

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.L.

answers from Orlando on

LOL what a funny question. Ok so I have an 8 year old girl. She might not be as bad with that as a boy ... but sometimes she does really get going and also thinks it's hilarious. Since she doesn't do it "all the time" sometimes I just say gross and what do you say? Then she'll say excuse me. If it gets to be too much and I know she's just doing it because it's funny (Yes I think they can control it sometimes lol) then I tell her to go to her room until she's done (as a punishment pretty much) that doesn't happen too much though. lol .. ugh. I'm sorry I don't have better advice. I guess just if he does it over and over again and is laughing make him leave the table and go to his bedroom.

3 moms found this helpful

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.S.

answers from Chicago on

I have 3 sons and let me tell you nothing worse than a farting contest. The rule in our house is no farting in the kitchen. and if you have to fart try to go to the bathroom. I don't really comment on it anywhere other than the kitchen but will yell about that. I also yell when I unsuspectingly walk into a big fart in the hallway or another room. I tell them to get the spray. But they are boys (men now really at least the older 2 are) but it is still hilarious to them.

I do sometimes take them a roll of toilet paper and say "I thought maybe you needed to wipe" or "thought you might want to put on some new boxers since you just crapped in those"

6 moms found this helpful

A.W.

answers from Kalamazoo on

Oh boys! Well, actually my daughter is the gassy one! Ha! My rules are - no farting in the kitchen - this goes for everyone. This rule was put in place because of hubby farting while I'm cooking dinner and it just ruins the good smells with bad ones! Also, no farting at the table. It's just good manners. Now, obviously accidents happen, but you can usually tell if it was an accident or not. And of course, no farting on other people - it's sad that we must actually have rules like this, but Oh so necessary!
So, like any other rule, if these are violated on purpose it will result in punishment.

5 moms found this helpful

S.H.

answers from Spokane on

My almost 7 y/o is very gassy. I also have the rule there is no farting at the table or around food. It's rude, disgusting and it ruins a good meal! There have been times where this rule was broken (on purpose) and he has been excused from the table. If it's in accident (and you can tell) he says excuse me then he always apoligizes to me. I never make a big deal about gas but gently remind them (hubby, older son and 2 y/o son), if they forget, to say excuse me. The bigger deal you make of it the funnier they think it is.

5 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.L.

answers from Philadelphia on

Choose a time when you are not at the table and have a chat with him a ou what your expectations are at the dinner table and why. Let him know what the consequences will be if he violates your rules. I feel for you. I have 2 boys. They just think farting is hysterical!

5 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

W.H.

answers from Phoenix on

He doesn't want to be made fun of at school. Hmm. Give him the same thing at home?? (I'm not wild about that idea as I think home should be a safe place and a breeding ground for respect and courtesy, which the world has too little of today.)

Or if he has an allowance, every time he farts, he has to pay you whatever amount is a bite out of it, ie 50 cents or a dollar. If he enjoys having his money to spend then this will curb it pretty quickly I'm sure.

4 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.A.

answers from Chicago on

Well, my husband is an adult married man and he still thinks its funny to let one go in my path. If I'm being honest, so do I LOL. C'mon, farts are a part of life--they aren't death rays or something. I agree that men and women should maintain some manners at the dinner table (thats a fart-free zone at our house), but if you are relaxing on the couch watching a movie, I wouldn't expect my kid to jump up and run to the bathroom to let it go. Hell, I may never see my husband again with that kid of rule! I think saying excuse me is what I expect and not purposely farting your name or something would be appreciated. We are pretty laid back at our house. Actually I was raised in a house of farters and still use my dad's old stand-by on occasion--"oops I think someone stepped on a duck!" This is not a big deal imho.

4 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.R.

answers from Chicago on

OMG- my 11 year old son is so stinky now!! Seriously, on car trips, the back of the car just REEKS- but he is more 'silent but deadly' so all I can do is call him on it AFTER he's already done it.

On one hand, this is a natural function of our bodies. Everyone does it sometime or another. But- I always tell my son that if he KNOWS he is gassy, it is his body telling him he needs to go to the bathroom and that is where he needs to be! It is much better to go and - pardon the expression- 'fart it out' in the bathroom and see if you have to go, than to keep sitting in the living room watching TV and doing it.

He also seems to be under the impression that no one else in the room knows he is doing it!! I tell him that we can all smell it and tell when he has passed gas, even if it wasn't noisy. I tell him that you should always just say "Excuse me" or "pardon me" whether you think people heard it or not.

If he does it and doesn't excuse himself, I call him on it right away. We are dealing with some hygene issues now, and this seems to be part of it. I am talking a lot about how if you don't brush your teeth every morning, clean your fingernails, clean your ears,etc. - PEOPLE NOTICE IT.

The whole 'farting is hysterically funny' thing seems to go along with this. I will send him for a 'potty- time out' if he does it! Its sort of embarrassing and I tell him that we don't want to sit there smelling it and if he thinks its so funny, he can go laugh about it to himself in the bathroom!

We've also been talking a lot lately about 'just because your friends and you think something is funny, that doesn't make it 'MOM FUNNY'. I tell him he is plenty old enough to know how to behave different ways for different occasions and places. For example- he would be horribly embarrassed if he farted in front of his teacher, or at a fancy restaurant with his grandma. So he can learn to hold it or excuse himself in front of adults and keep the potty humor for his pals who appreciate it.

hope this helps- it seems to be an ongoing thing here!! Good luck!

4 moms found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

E Gads! Thank goodness I did not have boys.. Lol,, We were just speaking about this the other night.. We were in the car for about 2 hours after eating dinner. At one point my husband staopped the car and said he needed to check something.. after a few moments behind the car, our daughter asked me, "What is he doing out there? " I laughed and said, "probably trying to pass gas"..

I told her when we were teenagers and dated, he did this a couple of times and I finally asked him what he was doing?.. He admitted to me (with lots of blushing) that he "did not want to fart in front of me!"..

I had always taught our daughter that "everyone passes gas, but in polite society, we excuse ourselves from other to do this."

So we go to another room or outside..

3 moms found this helpful

S.H.

answers from Fort Smith on

Oh the joys of boys!! I WISH I could enforce no farting zones in my house!! My 13 year old son got an app for his i-pod recently that is nothing but farting sounds!! That was bad enough, but my HUSBAND got the app too! Now, they go around playing those sounds over and over!! How mature!! I do have to admit though that the "pants stainer" sound made me laugh so hard I peed in my pants!!

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Sorry--still rolling on the floor laughing....I have an almost 8 yo boy so I feel your pain!

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.B.

answers from Stockton on

While it's normal and age appropriate for boys to find it funny, he's openly disrespecting you and your husband. Tell him he can do it around his buddies all he wants and they can laugh to their hearts content but he needs to respect those who don't find it funny. How do you treat other ways he is disrespectful? I would treat this the same.

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.W.

answers from Philadelphia on

Tell your son to go into the bathroom and eat his dinner in there if he can not act properly at the table. I would tell him that is not good manners and it is not acceptable behavior when people are eating dinner. I would not focus too much attention on it when not at the dinner table. I would ignore him otherwise and when he sees that you and your husband are not laughing or responding to his negative behaviors he will stop.

2 moms found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

We all go through periods when the gas is just smellier than normal. When that happens I have the offending party take some activated charcoal caplets for a few days and the smell vanishes. I also try to up the fiber intake. If food moves through a bit more quickly, it has less time to develop gas.

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.F.

answers from Philadelphia on

I have all girls ages 10, 8, and almost 7 and I teach my kids to go into another room or the bathroom if they can. I think doing in on purpose and loud is nasty and it's a bad habit to let them get into. The same as burping, the sound makes me want to vomit so I get mad. I realize boys will be boys but there is a time and a place. I think it is important to teach manners because not everyone thinks the child is funny or cute.

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.A.

answers from Minneapolis on

We just had this conversation last night with my 10 year old. We gave him a fart jar ( that sounds funny) He has to put money in it every time we hear him fart. Kind of like a swear jar. We will see how it works tonight. My husband thinks it is funny, that is my problem. He thinks I am too much of a prude. I understand the occasional slip up, but when he is deliberatly pushing it out, I have a problem. I am hoping he changes soon.

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.G.

answers from Kansas City on

My kids are much younger than that so I haven't had to deal with it yet. I think I would absolutely draw the line at farting at the table. My kids are 6, 4 & 2, and for my older two, if they're rude/inappropriate at the table they get one warning, and after that their dinner is over and they don't eat again until breakfast. I would definitely not tolerate farting at the table. Not sure how much I would fight the battle otherwise, but I LOVE the idea of a fart jar.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.B.

answers from Redding on

It's true....boys find this quite funny and they don't really grow out of it. I'm still waiting for my son. He doesn't do it at the dinner table though. I definitely draw the line at certain things.
If he gets cuddly all the sudden and wants to sit by me, I usually think something's up.
I keep waiting for him and his friends to be too embarrassed to share how gassy they are, but it hasn't happened yet.

1 mom found this helpful

M.D.

answers from Dallas on

boys will be boys, and farts are part of it... My older son taught his younger brother how to fart when he was 3 1/2... and my baby even though he's only 4, can do it when he wants too and thinks it funny. The main rule is not when someone is eating, that plain RUDE and UGLY! Good luck, I don't think they ever outgrow it...

1 mom found this helpful
For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions