Are we teaching our daughters to hover in a public restroom?

It’s not good for pelvic floor to hover.

I don’t hover so I haven’t taught my daughter to either. For her it would be impossible to do by herself as her feet don’t touch the floor when sat on the toilet.

I get the ick, but I place toilet paper around the seat before I sit down if I feel its needed. Probably not the most eco-friendly but it's not often

Many places I go seem to have the toilet seat covers, I don’t think hovering is really practical for kids. Personally I sometimes hover unless the seat looks immaculately clean I’ll raw butt it, same with my kiddos😅 but honestly it’s really not a huge deal, we shower or bathe at the end of the day and the sun always rises just the same

Yeah, in a public restroom?? We definitely hover! If for some reason, she has to sit- we cover that toilet seat allll the way. To fathom sitting where a random’s behind has been is truly disgusting and disturbing. After the whole covid ordeal- I don’t trust anyone to be clean esp when strangers think they can do dirty things when nobody is around/watching.

I dont hover unless its a disgusting bathroom or someone has clearly hovered and peed all over the toilet seat and not cleaned up.

Im also not a germaphobe so I dont get the ick unless its truly warranted. And I have seen a pelvic floor physio in the past and would rather not have to go back...so I definitely don't hover lol

I physically can't, my legs are too short, and I find it tends to splash everywhere when you're higher up. I use the seat covers or give it a quick wipe with some antibacterial wipes from my bag, but hovering is just super impractical for me.

Omg I meant to vote no its truly disgusting altho i don't have a daughter but i was taught this and every woman i know does this and will def teach my future daughter to do this...

It’s not good for the pelvic floor so I’d say no

For me the hoverers are the ones who make it gross by spraying pee all over the seat!

K i gotta ask. What germs do you think youre catching from your butt touching a toilet?

I'm very pregnant right now, sometimes I don't even have time to put paper down 😂 Thankfully most public toilets I use are frequently cleaned so haven't had any issues finding a clean one

No child should sit on the seat so using seat covers is best until they can grow tall enough to reach the toilet to squat over it.

I cant tag you OP obviously. I understand your concern but I just dont relate to it. So just asking questions so you can understand why others dont agree with your perspective.

Personally I shower everyday before bed and wash my hands when leaving a bathroom so no I'm not concerned about others.

I can’t help to leave the toilet 🚽 better than I received it.

I wish others would do the same.

I dry it… clean away dirt and hair… spray antibacterial spray to kill germs and make it smell better…

I cannot find a single source that says you should hover. Everything says explicitly not to because it’s bad for pelvic floor.

https://www.healthywomen.org/content/article/sit-dont-hover-when-using-toilet

https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/our-stories/dont-hover-over-the-toilet-seat

I just want to clarify OP im not concerned about others not showering because I personally wash my body every night. If im walking in sand im washing my feet that night...lots of bacteria in that...same concept applies.

The ones that hover are the ones that make the mess and spray piss everywhere. One person leaves their piss spray then another hoverer comes in and sprays their piss on top of someone else’s piss (because who wants to clean someone else’s piss right?) it’s a never ending pissing match in a single bathroom/porta potty. So now you have piss from 150 different people and at that point I rather just piss down my leg. So in that situation where there is one bathroom yes I’m hovering and no I’m not cleaning someone else’s piss. I will put the protector down and use my foot to push it into the toilet. If there are multiple toilets I find one that’s clean, put the protector down, sit down, and pee. I have never in 35 years caught something from a toilet seat.

I cant reply to you again OP because you chose incognito mode...but im not sure what your parents told you...but MRSA cannot be transmitted purely skin to skin. It must be transmitted through the nose or open wound. So you sitting on a toilet that another person MRSA had is not the way you caught it.

I grew up hovering because that’s what my family did (I grew up in a large female dominated family and we count aunts and cousins as close family so I’m talking my whole ass family lol) and I do it sometimes as an adult if the toilets are especially gross looking but not all the time. I don’t really think about it when I go.

My problem with hovering is the splash. Like I can wipe it off but if I’m not carrying a cleaning product then I’m just wiping my pissy germs around the seat for someone else. That seems rude 🤷‍♀️

I always hover, my mom taught me, it’s just something I’ve done for as long as I can remember 😂 I doubt I’ll be able to teach my almost two year old to do it when she starts potty training, but I’ll definitely try to encourage it in the future. The thought of sitting on a public toilet honestly disgusts me 🤮

I know some people say it can be bad for your pelvic floor, but honestly I don’t mind at all and I’ve never had any issues, then for that occasional time i don’t think it’s a huge issue.

How do you know you got it from the toilet seat itself and the stall door or the toilet paper holder or the toilet paper or the door knob or the soap dispenser, ect. You don’t. They did not say you go it from sitting on a toilet seat. Or maybe they did. But doctors are stupid sometimes.

An ER doctor once told me that my baby’s allergic reaction was just from the cold of the ice cream she ate 15 minutes beforehand. Then was shocked when the Benadryl fixed it. The nurse told us he was crazy and wrong. And yes we went on to learn my daughter did in fact have an egg allergy.

I hover over the toilet. The thought of me seating on top of someone else's pee makes me wanna throw up. Sorry to piss off those who don't hover.
If I do splash on the toilet seat I do clean it up and I wouldn't just leave it for someone less able to clean it.

I read some comments on here about how you can't catch anything if its not through a open wound but for me it's just the thought of someone else's pee rubbing against my skin I guess I need to get help for thoughts on catching germs. 🤣

It’s not good for pelvic floor to hover. Better to bring antibacterial wipes/gel in your bag if you’re that worried. Just be sure you shower and change clothes once home 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hovering is dirty and causes a mess, it’s also bad for your pelvic floor and causes incontinence.

Incog creates poll to see what everyone does with their toilet behaviour. Incog then bashes everyone who disagrees with hovering. Penaut never fails to entertain me 🤣

I used to hover (still do if it’s really gross), but now I carry antibacterial wipes in my bag to clean the seat before sitting. Hovering is bad for your pelvic floor/leads to improper emptying of your bladder and can cause UTIs. I’ve always known it was bad but now that I have a daughter and can’t physically hover her over the toilet, I’ve changed my ways lol.
Yes it’s cultural, but it doesn’t make it right. Like others have mentioned above, it’s definitely more of an icky feeling to sit where someone else has, but it won’t actually make you sick.

OP I'm curious - do you also avoid touching all public light switches, handles, buttons? Those things can be hundreds of times dirtier than a toilet seat. People's's hands are the filthiest part of them because hands are touching everything. Cell phones. Keyboards. Remote controls. Cutting boards. Food court and fast food meal trays. Reusable shopping bags (how many people put them on the floor and then directly on their kitchen counter when they get home? Nevermind how often do they actually wash them). I could go on. There are a lot of things in public use that can be dirtier than a toilet seat.

But again, the point is that people have a natural visceral reaction to body waste but there are more, and much worse, germs on everyday items. When was the last time you cleaned your phone? Washed your reusable bags, which carry food and produce in them? How about remote controls for your television or electronics? Do you regularly clean and sanitize the light switches and door handles in your house?

People have a visceral reaction to toilets but the germs on these everyday items are objectively worse. You can't stop yourself from touching them, that's not realistic, but you CAN break the cycle by handwashing. So if you use the toilet and then wash your hands you are breaking the cycle.

So it's not the germs you're worried about, but the waste itself. Would you believe that a significant number of people don't wash their hands after using the bathroom, get waste on their hands, and then touch lights, door handles, switches, retail store items, grocery store produce. The waste you're concerned about isn't just coming from toilets, which are arguably cleaned a lot more often than a grocery store produce shelf. It's everywhere. I used to work in grocery and the number of produce guys I know who would use the washroom and then touch produce without handwashing was alarming. It only takes one person with dirty hands to get body waste on the apples you're now touching.

I mean, you do you, your logic is just applied inconsistently and makes no sense. 🤷

And again; hovering really doesn't protect you from germs at all, all it does is provide a break in the deal for water to splash through (which, you can see from the comments, it typically does). So you're actively contributing to the SPREAD of germs rather than containing them.

But again. You do you 💜

I Do not use the Public Toilets, or do you mean all toilets that are in restaurants etc ?!

I just had to come back and say I am so impressed with all of y'all squatting.

I had to poop in a Walmart bathroom with a toddler who has figured out locks and was trying to climb under the stall to visit the woman next door. It was a fight for my life. I could not have survived that while squatting.

You clearly arent an IBS girly 🤣🤣🤣🤣

That must be so limiting. I know others who have anxiety around pooping and toilets that are not un their home and it really affects their life.

Fair enough, I mean I prefer at home poops too but sometimes my body has other plans 🤣

Anywhere: do yall wash ya hands before and after you use the bathroom?

👀👀