Toilets

Don’t you wish a school toilet looked like this ?Well it doesn’t  , so get your child ready. I am a parent and while potty training my daughter and up until  she started Kindergarten  , I would go in the bathroom stall with her in public places . I would tell her “hands up and don’t touch anything” . I would prepare the seat with toilet paper , (at the  time there were no seat covers) .I would lock and open the door .I would get the toilet paper for her  and  I would flush the toilet. I would finish by getting the paper towel and opening the exit door if needed. The Kindergarten child is at school and has to do  all of these skills by themselves. What happens if they have had no practice ?  At schools there are bar locks and circle turn locks so your child needs to know how to use both of these. There are paper towel turns, push and pull options. There are seat covers , sometimes. The more your child practices with bathroom procedures and practices the more independent and sanitary they can be. Funny story – I had a girl that was taking forever in the bathroom and when I went in to check on her , she was in the stall “mummifying” the toilet trying to wrap the toilet paper around the toilet like her mom did. I lose kids for too long because they are trying to ‘build a nest’ to sit on. Now ,there are often seat covers in school bathrooms  but those can be tricky too so if you can give your child practice with this process that is great.Practice  might prevent piles of seat covers from ending up on the floor because young children can’t pull them out one at a time . Practice in a bathroom before the first day of Kindergarten and see if your child can remember all the steps without you telling them.  Bathroom skills are not part of my curriculum or teaching day ( although at times I am asked to come and help) but bathroom skills are an important life skill and don’t laugh , these are hard skills for some kids. There are often bathroom stalls  locked from the inside because the child can’t negotiate the lock to get out so they crawl under- yuck !!!!The toilet seats also are open at the front so if your child does not sit back far enough or pull clothes down far enough,  they will  wet their clothes. Remember kids wait until the last minute too so this increases the chances of “ accidents”. I will also share that often kids do not use toilet paper because they can’t get any. My school uses a GIANT roll that when new, barely turns . If you have finger nails , you can claw some shreds , 5 year olds do not have the finger strength or the patience to get paper . The roll too may be placed in a location that requires your child to fall off the seat or get off the seat to reach the paper. Getting the paper first is a good suggestion but kids are in too much of a hurry to make this a habit. Go check out the school bathroom in order to help your child feel confident. 

ps About the flush …

 Kids rarely  flush the toilet at school . My theory? Several reasons  #1 Many kids are scared by the loud sound of the toilet flush. The acoustics in these tile , high ceiling bathrooms makes the industrial toilet flush super loud. #2 Kids have not had practice flushing with a hand- you never let them do this ,and it is not the best idea anyway-YUCK ! Most  young kids do not have the balance to  pick up a foot and flush with a foot-…so toilets are rarely flushed . Flushing …again a good thing to practice.

Hand washing is not as unfamiliar but most kids need reminding to do this step . Kindergarten student also neglect to tell anyone when there is no soap or paper towel. Parents, you can’t remind your child enough times that- “people can ‘t help you when they don’t know there is a problem.” Learning to advocate for themselves and speak up is a skill all teachers work on in Kindergarten.