Vomit etiquette | Imamother

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Forum -> Household Management -> Cleaning & Laundry

Vomit etiquette

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View latest: 24h 48h 72h

Ruchel

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 6:24 am

OMG. I won't write what the older generatin would have done, but this is IMPOSSIBLE.

Simple1

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 6:30 am

Of course you're right. It's way way more gross for you to clean up their mess than for them to go to the toilet. Vomiting is horrible either way, so you can validate them while laying down the rules.

amother

Tangerine

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 6:32 am

This question is so far out there that I wonder what else is going on in the dynamics of OP's family. It's abusive for DH to support the kids throwing up on the floor and expecting OP to clean. It has obviously been going on for years.

DrMom

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 6:36 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I was raised that when you feel sick, you try to throw up in the toilet, and if you can't, you throw up into a big bowl that my mother would give us in bed. My children (teens and tweens) refuse to throw up in the toilet because they think it's gross. So they throw up on the floor and then expect me to clean up after them.

I do feel bad for my kids that they're sick, but if they're not feeling well and know they might throw up, I feel they should prepare for the possibility and get themselves into the bathroom like I used to, or at the very least make sure a bucket or bowl is nearby (I give them a bucket/bowl but they push it away and say they don't want it close to them because it makes them feel gross). My husband disagrees and feels if someone's sick you just feel sorry for them and try to help with whatever they need.

Who's right?

I suggest delegating the job of vomit clean-up to your DH, since he is enabling this behavior.

FranticFrummie

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 6:40 am

Wow. The "barf bucket" was a standard thing when I was growing up. It wasn't even a question. If you couldn't make it to the bathroom, that was your only other option. It would never even occur to me to use the floor, I'd be so embarrassed!

DD is severely emetephobic, and even she can manage to keep her vomit in the right place.

ectomorph

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 6:51 am

Make them clean it up. They're teens. What are they doing as adults?

mommy3b2c

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 7:18 am

I feel like smacking your kids in the face right now. I agree with the poster that said it sounds like there is some serious dysfunction going on in your home.

aliavi

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 7:21 am

Refusing to vomit in a toilet seems like refusing to make in a toilet. If they don’t want to use a toilet they need to pick some other object like bucket or trash can.

1091

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 7:24 am

OP I’m on your side here but, in the event you don’t want to make it an argument, if they are sick can you put a disposable plastic tablecloth on the floor that can be rolled up and thrown out if it’s used?

amother

Khaki

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 8:18 am

I rarely throw up, but when I do it is forceful and violent and scary. During my first pregnancy when I first had morning sickness it made me feel so sad to throw up into the toilet so I did it in the bathroom sink instead, well, until the morning sickness was so severe and sudden that it just happened on the spot wherever I happened to be and we just invested in heavy duty cleaning products. My husband didn’t like me throwing up in the sink but I told him it was extra traumatic for me to vomit in the toilet and he accepted the situation. After a few times I got more comfortable with the toilet situation. Not saying it’s a good thing to throw up in the sink but I get it why some people wouldn’t like to throw up in the toilet. It feels like adding insult to injury when you’re already down and out.

amother

Forestgreen

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 8:40 am

aliavi wrote:

Refusing to vomit in a toilet seems like refusing to make in a toilet. If they don’t want to use a toilet they need to pick some other object like bucket or trash can.

I actually find it really difficult to use the toilet for vomiting, though I always do since that's the norm. Something about looking at the toilet makes me feel so gross when I'm already nauseous.

I agree with everyone else here. Young kids are too young to make it to the right place are the only exception.

amother

Olive

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 8:45 am

Vomiting on the floor is not remotely acceptable unless they were running for the bathroom and couldn't make it in time.

We were brought up to vomit in the toilet because it's the quickest and easiest way to dispose of the evidence. When I was pregnant I had a hard time with doing so, both because the smell of the toilet made the nausea so much worse and because squatting over the toilet while vomiting somehow made me lose bladder control at the same time. It was horrible. If I tried to stand up and vomit over the toilet then I had more bladder control but the vomit would splash and it was gross. I learned that the best place to throw up was in the sink as I could contain the vomit and control my bladder. I'd keep paper towels handy to clean up as necessary.

I suppose there could be something like this in play for the kids and they're embarrassed to admit it, but I think it's far more likely that they just can't be bothered. I agree with previous posters that you either need to enforce a policy of vomiting in easily cleaned receptacles or either the kids or your enabling husband will have to clean it up themselves. The one exception to this rule would be children too young to do so, but they're more likely to vomit all over themselves and their beds than purposely vomiting on the floor. BTDT.

DVOM

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 8:56 am

Yeh, vomiting on the floor on purpose and expecting someone else to clean it up is not ok.

Another option: Our boys just went through a round of nasty stomach viruses that the whole family caught. Two of our boys found it dizzying to vomit, and invariably only half the stuff would make it in the toilet, the rest on the sides and floor and wall ( Crying

). The solution we came up with was to have them aim to vomit into the bathtub. This gave them a much larger area to vomit into, and it was much easier to clean up as we could just turn on the shower, spray down with bleach cleaner, and then stick the same kid right into the shower. Maybe your kids would find the tub less gross than the toilet.

yo'ma

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 9:07 am

1091 wrote:

This reminds me of when murderers put plastic down before they kill someone so they won't get blood all over the place and easy to clean up the evidence. Right now I'm reading a book that has that Wink

.

Looking at the toilet while throwing up is kinda gross, but all over the floor is worse.

Rachel Shira

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 9:19 am

I don’t understand how throwing up willy nilly on the carpet, bed, couch, or kitchen floor is less gross than doing it in the toilet. And then they walk away and say “Mom, I threw up in the hallway!” and you come and clean it up? Yuck. If they’re neurotypical teenagers they should get themselves to a toilet and deal with it.

amother

Crimson

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 9:53 am

I'm gagging reading this! Teens vomiting on the floor?? Oh god, are they animals?? Why are you putting up with this OP?? Aren't they ashamed of themselves? Is this their behavior in general?
I can't remember the last time a child of mine over the age 5 threw up on the floor.
Have them clean it up and make it clear that it's unacceptable. They're teens for God's sake. I like the idea of sending them to live in a tent in the yard when they're sick......

amother

Plum

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 9:53 am

ectomorph wrote:

Make them clean it up. They're teens. What are they doing as adults?

What do they do now if it happens outside of the home - in camp or anyplace else? Throw up on the bunkhouse floor, and demand the counselors to clean up after them?

Pure future wives. Just give it a few years and we'll probably hear from them on this board venting about their DH and their in-laws who allowed for such behavior.

pesek zman

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:11 am

This unfortunately relates to something that happened to me this week. On or way to a BP wedding my 4 year old felt car sick. My husband dropped us at the door but when I asked where the nearest bathroom was it was (as all these basement halls are) down several flights of stairs. We were both in gowns and there was no way she was going to make it to the bathroom. Unfortunately I had no choice but to take her outside and have her vomit there. On the sidewalk. In front of the ladies entrance. I didn’t have water or wipes or tissues and was unable to clean it up. I’m so sorry for all who passed the ladies entrance of Vischnitz hall on Wednesday night. I truly had no other option.

amother

Crimson

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:14 am

Pesak zman, your kid is 4, not a teenager. Note the difference.

pesek zman

Fri, Jun 28 2019, 10:27 am

amother [ Crimson ] wrote:

Pesak zman, your kid is 4, not a teenager. Note the difference.

I’m not comparing the 2. One just reminded me of the other

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