Toilet paper

[eepster]

DS (4yo) plays with the toilet paper after he finishes wiping himself. He twirls around in it wrapping himself up. He makes balls with it just like people make yarn balls.

You can imagine how fast we are going through TP.

How can I get him to stop without going backwards from all the hard work we put into independent bathroom use. I've already tried explaining to him that TP is expensive and uses natural resources, but this has not really made an impression.

[laohaire]

I am interested too. I have honestly not encouraged full independence in my 4 year old for this very reason. DD does almost everything herself but I take her into the bathroom and hand her a (small) wad of toilet paper. I've not encouraged her to take the TP herself. (I also flush for her. She could do it, but I haven't encouraged it at all, for similar reasons).

I use family cloth for #1 myself, but despite it being luxurious, DD refuses to use it. Yeah, DD and I are total opposites in many ways. She won't use FC, she hates food that comes from the farm (I'm a big locavore), and she's an avid consumerist. Anyway, I digress.

[LauraLoo]

lol! Thank you so much for the laugh and the memory reminder. My ds did this and so did my dd.

I just grabbed a basket and told them that when they were done playing with the TP they could put it in the basket and then in the bathroom. They were to use it the next time they used the potty. I don't know if this is what stopped it, or if they just moved on to the next thing......but I don't remember this phase lasting too long.

My dd did just wrap me a gift not too long ago in "tissue" and lots of it -- so maybe we aren't completely done. At least she isn't mummifying herself any more.

[Just1More]

Please tell me you have taken a picture! That's cute!

(And, I despise buying paper products in general, but I used to put dd, and then ds, in the walker facing the toliet paper roll. Then I'd jump in the shower and enjoy a few minutes while they unrolled to their heart's content. )

Could you just leave less in there? Or rearrange a bit, so now you keep the TP somewhere else and he has to come to you for some when he goes potty. Like, maybe the holder got "broken"? So now the TP has to go on the kitchen counter? But, "you're so good at taking care of things when you go potty, you'll remember to come ask me for some first, right?" Or maybe keep your old cardboard spools and wind them up with limited amounts. Sure, you'll have to replace them more often, but at least he can't use as much each time?

I dunno. I'd probably do nothing and wait for it to stop on it's own. I think it's funny.

[amma_mama]

When DD started doing that, I just gave her guidance on how many squares she should use for the job - x for front only, y for front and back. She liked counting them out so that provided her with an alternative distraction. Now if only I could train my TP-obsessed mother as well .

[Mrs.Burke]

Those years gives me funny thoughts too! hugs.. Hai
I don't know how long it took me to teach him

[eepster]

Originally Posted by Just1More

Please tell me you have taken a picture! That's cute!

Sadly we don't keep the camera very near the bathroom and DS is fast. Usuallly I just see a naked child leaving the bathroom then find the giant pile of TP all over the floor.

[Autumn Breeze]

I like the idea of counting squares, that's how we taught my ds. He uses x many squares, and if he feels he needs them again, he can take 1 more set of squares.

my 4.5 yr old is recently potty learned, so we haven't even gotten to the independence part just yet. Half the time she'll be in there and I won't know until she calls "DOOOONNNE!!" (done) so I go wipe her.

I was wondering about flushable wipes. Not much cheaper, and you're still throwing them away, but you can limit him to 1 or 2 per trip

[One_Girl]

I suggest staying close to the bathroom door or even standing right inside but not assisting with toileting to make sure he flushes and washes. If he gets an allowance then having him pay you for the destroyed rolls may also be effective.

[Llyra]

DS (he's 3) does this, and it drives me nuts. I am on a very limited budget, and have strong beliefs about waste, so it pushes my buttons.

What I've done is put a basket next to the toilet, with one good handful of TP in it. Then I put the roll out of reach. That way there's only one reasonable "serving size" of TP available at any one time. DD1 and DH and I can reach the roll if we need more than that, and all I have to do is keep an eye on the basket, to replace the handful as needed after the younger two have used the bathroom.

If DS or DD2 need more than that one handful, for a particularly nasty poo or whatever, then all they need to do is call me, and I'll reach some more down for them.

[LynnS6]

Buy him his own package (or roll) of toilet paper (get the really cheap kind) and tell him that if he wants to play with it, there's the stuff to use. BUT when that's gone, there's no more until next month, 3 months, whenever you think is reasonable.

[aris99]

I got so sick of toilet paper clogging up the toilets that I switched to family cloth I was cloth diapering at the time and it really wasn't any more work. I found that cloth was easier for my littlest to wipe with and we are saving buckets on toilet paper and calls to roto rooter!

[meemee]

oh no. why would you want to stop it. its artistic expression. its a phase. hang in there and it will soon be over. in the meantime just invest in his play a little more.

can you keep somethign else in there. like a little table in front of the potty (we have that with little knicks and knacks that he can put together). we have strings, rubber bands, paper clips. i notice dd gets fidgety when using the toilet and while sitting on teh potty what does she have to do if there wasnt anything apart from toilet paper to entertian her.

i mean that's a human thing isnt it by all the bathroom readers you see on bookshelves?!!!

[averlee]

Hanging the roll backward- so it doesn't unwind when you slap it down- has helped us use less. Also helpful has been showing my daughter how much to use- instead of counting squares, we unroll the amount that won't touch the floor. If I provide her own wipes- she especially loves the grape-scented "boogie wipes"- she'll often prefer that to the TP and leave the roll alone altogether. I also agree about letting him do the fun rolling/wadding, maybe he could have a spool of ribbon, one of those eggs of curling ribbon, small ball of yarn, or garden twine?