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Toileting - Children Wiping Themselves But Not Very Well


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Hi

 

Now again we have parents coming in to say that children have not wiped themselves cleanly when going to the toilet and came home with dried on pooh on their bottoms or pants.

 

How do you manage this?

 

We have a toileting schedule in the toilets noting children's toileting needs ie nappies, toilet training etc, however, once they are independent they are are removed from the list. If they regress in any way they are of course monitored again.

 

If a parent brings to our attention that the child is not clean, we add the child back to our schedule and endeavour to discreetly monitor the child at key times ie after snack or lunch. We also quietly ask the child to ask us for help to make sure they are clean and don't get sore. However, children can independently go to the toilet at any time during the session as the toilets are off the main playroom so with between 12 and 18 children in a session we do not always know if a child has been to the toilet.

 

Is there anything else we could be doing? Maybe role-playing wiping a doll's bottom with wet wipes, having sat on a potty?

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Hi Deb it sounds like you are doing everything possible to help children's independence and self-care, all the things we as practitioners are aiming for.

I often use a special soft toy we have to deal with any issues requiring extra input, without embarassing any individual children, but parents do need to play a part too.

Hopefully as the children grow physically this will be come alot easier for them and they may also get into a routine of doing their daily toileting at home.

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Oh goodness, My nine year old didn't do a great job the other day, and I won't even mention my husband's skid-marked undies. (bet you're glad of that!)

 

Honey

 

Thanks for sharing xD !

 

Well we were in hysterics at our staff meeting when a member of staff relayed how she'd said to one little girl 'don't worry it happens to me sometimes!'

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Sorry this is going to sound like a rant but some parents have far too big an expectation of what we as practitioners can do :angry:

 

The child is independent.......the child wants to be independent......we encourage the child to be independent and if they go home with a little poo on their pants big deal! As long as they are not getting sore then what is the problem.

 

As a parent I would feel it is my role to ensure I teach my child how to wipe themselves properly.....watch my child doing it and see that their arms aren't long enough maybe! If I thought it was a major problem then yes speak to you but as a parent I can put a little sudacream on at bedtime and as a parent I can wash a pair of pants that are stained.

 

Sometimes parents seem to forget that you are working with lots of children and not just their little bundle of joy. They seem to think that education of their child is all down to you and they have to take no part in the process. And sometimes they loose sight of the bigger picture!

 

Finishes ranting now but untill we as practitioners have 4 pairs of eyes in our heads and 8 pairs of arms then I don't see how we can do all the things the parents expect of us :ph34r:

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Sorry this is going to sound like a rant but some parents have far too big an expectation of what we as practitioners can do :angry:

 

The child is independent.......the child wants to be independent......we encourage the child to be independent and if they go home with a little poo on their pants big deal! As long as they are not getting sore then what is the problem.

 

As a parent I would feel it is my role to ensure I teach my child how to wipe themselves properly.....watch my child doing it and see that their arms aren't long enough maybe! If I thought it was a major problem then yes speak to you but as a parent I can put a little sudacream on at bedtime and as a parent I can wash a pair of pants that are stained.

 

Sometimes parents seem to forget that you are working with lots of children and not just their little bundle of joy. They seem to think that education of their child is all down to you and they have to take no part in the process. And sometimes they loose sight of the bigger picture!

 

Finishes ranting now but untill we as practitioners have 4 pairs of eyes in our heads and 8 pairs of arms then I don't see how we can do all the things the parents expect of us :ph34r:

 

Go Sue!

I couldn't have put it better myself! :1b

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Sorry this is going to sound like a rant but some parents have far too big an expectation of what we as practitioners can do :angry:

 

The child is independent.......the child wants to be independent......we encourage the child to be independent and if they go home with a little poo on their pants big deal! As long as they are not getting sore then what is the problem.

 

As a parent I would feel it is my role to ensure I teach my child how to wipe themselves properly.....watch my child doing it and see that their arms aren't long enough maybe! If I thought it was a major problem then yes speak to you but as a parent I can put a little sudacream on at bedtime and as a parent I can wash a pair of pants that are stained.

 

Sometimes parents seem to forget that you are working with lots of children and not just their little bundle of joy. They seem to think that education of their child is all down to you and they have to take no part in the process. And sometimes they loose sight of the bigger picture!

 

Finishes ranting now but untill we as practitioners have 4 pairs of eyes in our heads and 8 pairs of arms then I don't see how we can do all the things the parents expect of us :ph34r:

 

Totally agree!!!

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Hang on a minute though. I can't see why a parent wouldn't speak to the setting to let them know that the child isn't as successfully independent as they first thought, and asking for support in helping the child at toilet time. Just as a parent would ask for support in managing behaviour, or encouraging the child to eat their snack or drink more during the day.

 

This is an entirely different to the parent who expects you to do everything (and even in this scenario there may be a whole host of issues at play here that have reduced parental confidence and competence).

 

It sounds to me Deb that you're doing a great job, and that parents are confident that they can come to you for support when necessary.

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Hang on a minute though. I can't see why a parent wouldn't speak to the setting to let them know that the child isn't as successfully independent as they first thought, and asking for support in helping the child at toilet time. Just as a parent would ask for support in managing behaviour, or encouraging the child to eat their snack or drink more during the day.

 

This is an entirely different to the parent who expects you to do everything (and even in this scenario there may be a whole host of issues at play here that have reduced parental confidence and competence).

 

It sounds to me Deb that you're doing a great job, and that parents are confident that they can come to you for support when necessary.

 

As ever Maz the voice of reason and calm and your points are well made.....however I reserve the right to rant occasionally :ph34r:

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... and as if I would ever (or could ever) stop you! If you can't rant away on here in a safe environment (and if I can't raise a challenge to said rant) then I think it is time for us to pack our bags and wander off into the sunset!

 

Hang on though, that argument's a bit flawed. Because you work here! ;) :wub:

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Sorry this is going to sound like a rant but some parents have far too big an expectation of what we as practitioners can do :angry:

 

The child is independent.......the child wants to be independent......we encourage the child to be independent and if they go home with a little poo on their pants big deal! As long as they are not getting sore then what is the problem.

 

As a parent I would feel it is my role to ensure I teach my child how to wipe themselves properly.....watch my child doing it and see that their arms aren't long enough maybe! If I thought it was a major problem then yes speak to you but as a parent I can put a little sudacream on at bedtime and as a parent I can wash a pair of pants that are stained.

 

Sometimes parents seem to forget that you are working with lots of children and not just their little bundle of joy. They seem to think that education of their child is all down to you and they have to take no part in the process. And sometimes they loose sight of the bigger picture!

 

Finishes ranting now but untill we as practitioners have 4 pairs of eyes in our heads and 8 pairs of arms then I don't see how we can do all the things the parents expect of us :ph34r:

Hang on a minute though. I can't see why a parent wouldn't speak to the setting to let them know that the child isn't as successfully independent as they first thought, and asking for support in helping the child at toilet time. Just as a parent would ask for support in managing behaviour, or encouraging the child to eat their snack or drink more during the day.

 

This is an entirely different to the parent who expects you to do everything (and even in this scenario there may be a whole host of issues at play here that have reduced parental confidence and competence).

 

It sounds to me Deb that you're doing a great job, and that parents are confident that they can come to you for support when necessary.

Sorry this is going to sound like a rant but some parents have far too big an expectation of what we as practitioners can do :angry:

 

The child is independent.......the child wants to be independent......we encourage the child to be independent and if they go home with a little poo on their pants big deal! As long as they are not getting sore then what is the problem.

 

As a parent I would feel it is my role to ensure I teach my child how to wipe themselves properly.....watch my child doing it and see that their arms aren't long enough maybe! If I thought it was a major problem then yes speak to you but as a parent I can put a little sudacream on at bedtime and as a parent I can wash a pair of pants that are stained.

 

Sometimes parents seem to forget that you are working with lots of children and not just their little bundle of joy. They seem to think that education of their child is all down to you and they have to take no part in the process. And sometimes they loose sight of the bigger picture!

 

Finishes ranting now but untill we as practitioners have 4 pairs of eyes in our heads and 8 pairs of arms then I don't see how we can do all the things the parents expect of us :ph34r:

 

Sorry haven't quite got the hang of this multiquote yet!

 

I think you both have valid points and I appreciate your replies, as Maz suggests there are other issues. I just wanted to make sure that we were doing enough and I wasn't missing something. One begins to doubt one's sanity!!

 

I spoke to the parent today, and explained that as the child goes to the toilet independently we cannot know if she has not wiped herself. Mum doesn't think she wipes herself at all. I obviously should have asked how she cleans herself at home? But we do monitor discreetly following our toileting schedule which I offered to show her. We've also reminded all the children to ask for help, and suggested what they might say like 'I'm finished'.

 

Thanks again for all your replies.

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