Potty self hygeine at 5?

[beebalmmama]

So ds is getting ready to enter kindergarten this next fall. He is on the younger end and will be turning 5 at the end of next month. We have been talking about how he needs to be able to use the potty including wiping by himself. He has no pottying issues, just still needs us to wipe his bum after having a bm. I've offered to buy him 'special kid wipes', use the babies wipes, etc. But he just has no interest in trying whatsoever.

Any ideas on encouraging him? In so many other things he's become very independent, making his own sandwiches, pouring juice, getting his own cereal. He just doesn't want to wipe himself....

[leighi123]

My mom is a kindergarden teacher and has told me that parents are often concerned about the same issue at the begining of the year, and one mom bought special wipes for all the bathrooms and stuff.

The kids always figure it out really quick, and most kids self-regulate after a few weeks to do #2 at home instead of at school.

[beebalmmama]

Yeah, my dh taught kindergarten as well. Which is why I know full well that the teacher is not going to wipe them. Which obviously I don't expect.

I kind of thought ds might self regulate and not go while at school, but I also don't want him to develop any constipation issues either. I have a history of constipation issues as a kid and remember never wanting to use the school toilets to poop.

[EMsMom06]

This is also a requirment for my daughter who is going to Preschool this year. She's really excited about going to school so I've told her that they won't let her go to school unless she can use the potty all by herself and that means wiping. After that she was eager to try to do it herself. I still help her here at home, but she's getting better at it.

Is your son excited about school? It would be a good angle to try to get him to do it himself if he is.

[OboePlayerMom]

My DS is almost 7, and he is *finally* wiping himself after a bm. He hates messes, and I guess poop was just too messy for him! We use a reward system (poker chips), so he knows he'll get a chip if he takes care of everything by himself in the bathroom. That has worked great for getting him to take care of things. We also have him go to the bathroom after dinner, so his system is used to having a bm in the evenings. Generally, he goes to the bathroom when he gets up (7 AM), and doesn't go again until he gets home (4 PM). I think that's way too long to hold it, but he seems comfortable with that. And he is drinking during the day, I asked him. I could never go all day like that now, but I seem to remember doing that when I was in school. He does have trouble with encopresis, so I've just had to be patient every step of the way with him.

[Mom2M]

My soon to be 5 year old starts all day kindergarten this fall too. She refuses to wipe after a poop and we bought the kid wipes also. So now she will not wipe with toilet paper and still won't wipe herself. I do think she will not poop at school and am kind of worried about her holding it since she has had issues with it so I guess we'll see how it goes.

[seemfrog]

our boys are close in age to yours, they have had limited interest, but we have been making a bigger effort lately because of them starting Kindy this year. We basically tell them they are old enough to wipe, that no one will help them wipe when they are in kindergarten and we ask that they wipe first, then we do one or two to finish. If they forget and call us to wipe, we just ask them if they have yet, and if not, then we ask them to wipe first.

[pianojazzgirl]

I truly believe he'll figure it out really quickly once school starts. I'd just keep on encouraging him right now (and yes, buy the kid wipes - at least they'll be gentler on him and he might be that much more likely to give it a try). Worst case scenario at school: he does a bad job of wiping or doesn't wipe at all and ends up with a bum that will have to be thoroughly cleaned at the end of each school day. And no, that's not very comfortable I know, but not the end of the world (and will be good motivation for him to improve his wiping skills).

[beebalmmama]

Well I tried to encourage him to try just once the other day while he was on the potty. It ended with him crying and yelling at me to wipe him. I wasn't even being pushy, just handed him the toilet paper. I even told him I would finish up, I just wanted him to give it a try. He said something about not wanting to wash his hands and if he wipes himself he has to wash his hands. I really don't think this is the whole issue, but maybe part of it.

Thanks, pianojazzgirl. I think I will just buy the wipes and have them here and maybe he'll be interested in trying them once he sees them.