At what age did you teach your child to wipe self? - Page 2

[oceanbaby]

Ds1 turned 6 in May and just started it himself a few weeks ago.

However, he does most things this way - he is late to do it, but once he does, it's done and done perfectly. We've had no issues about me having to check or finish up for him. He was the same way with potty training. Absolutely refused to have anything to do with it until about 3.5yo, and then within a week was completely done with diapers day and night.

He never pooped at preschool, the entire two years he was there. But they did wipe for kids who pooped and needed help.

[InaX5]

I started when they were potty training & I'd do a secondary wipe up, until they were pretty much getting it themselves. I reminded after a bathroom trip to wipe clean (as well as flush & wash hands) for a while. Just jump in there & get your dc to do it, the whole point of going to the bathroom is being a "big kid", I would think that includes learning to wipe.

[*daciaperfect*]

i sort of taught DD from the start how to wipe, and let her wipe on her own. i just 'double check'. after a while, about 4.5, i told DD that i would still double check if she needed me to, but that i trusted her wiping skills, which i honestly did. all i told her was that she could use as much TP (we use cloth) that she felt she needed, she could wet it if she liked, and to look at it and see if there was anything on the wipe, and if not, she was clean. it was about 2 months before her 5th birthday that she quit asking for me to double check frequently. now, its only about once a week, if that. and usually only if there is a bit stuck in her crack. we dont see streaks here.

[angela&avery]

Originally Posted by becoming

My DS will be 6 in October and still isn't good at it. The wet wipes help; we always keep a box on the back of his toilet.

same here. My ds was 6 in June and his poops are messy, so we still wipe the majority of the time. We have wet wipes and he uses them but he is terrible at it..

[Bex80]

Originally Posted by InaX5

I started when they were potty training & I'd do a secondary wipe up, until they were pretty much getting it themselves. I reminded after a bathroom trip to wipe clean (as well as flush & wash hands) for a while. Just jump in there & get your dc to do it, the whole point of going to the bathroom is being a "big kid", I would think that includes learning to wipe.

Same scene here, ds was wiping himself by age 4. During the transition from follow-up-wipe to doing it all himself, one thing that worked for us was to have his wash his own bottom and penis during bathtime. He did not like cleaning his bum on the days when he hadn't wiped well, so he figured that he should start wiping himself better.

[oliversmum2000]

Originally Posted by Elijah's Mom

after going poop? My DS just turned four and I'm really getting a bit tired of wiping him after he poops ... it feels too slavish, for some reason ... when he is learning and wanting to do so many other things for himself.

When did you teach that and how did you go about it without shaming, pressure or always second-guessing?

Becca

tell me about it - my ds will be 7 in october and still wants me to wipe him. recently i have just started saying no and telling him where the wipes are, it drives me nuts that he expects me to stop what i am doing every time to go and wipe him, so i have just stopped doing it at all.

[zeldamomma]

For my kids, learning to wipe themselves was part of potty-training. They didn't do a perfect job at first, and would leave skid marks in their underpants from time to time, but they had a bath every night and got better over time.

Honestly, they had watched me use the toilet so many times and knew the drill, it never occurred to either of us that I would wipe their bottom after using the potty.

FTR, my oldest potty trained just before her 2nd birthday, her younger sister was about 3 1/2.

ZM

[mistymama]

[QUOTE=However, he does most things this way - he is late to do it, but once he does, it's done and done perfectly. We've had no issues about me having to check or finish up for him. He was the same way with potty training. Absolutely refused to have anything to do with it until about 3.5yo, and then within a week was completely done with diapers day and night.[/QUOTE]

That's totally my son too. He potty trained the very same way just after his 3rd b'day and only had TWO accidents (and those were at night) since. I've found it's sooooo much easier on me to just let him do things at his own pace, and when he's ready to do them there is no turning back, he does it.

[mom2jack]

ds was 5 in July and I still wipe.

[lifewithkids]

Mine all started wiping at about 2.5 years and were proficient before 3. I was surprised by the fact that most people don't wipe until much older as well but have recently learned from a friend of mine that it is fairly common for kids not to wipe until they are 6. then I come across this thread and sure enough....it looks like that is true.

[spirit4ever]

Ds was 5 in May and I'm just now making him wipe himself b/c he starts full day kindergarten this week!

[hubris]

DS1 seemed like he was ready to do more self-wiping shortly after he turned 4, so I started asking him to do the FIRST wipe and that I would finish. Then I'd ask him to do the first two wipes, and after a week or two we were up to him doing all the wiping and asking me to check, and very quickly we dropped the checks.

He's 4.5 now and only asks for help when it's a really messy poop, which is rare. We use regular paper TP, no wet wipes.

I also taught him to check the paper and keep wiping until the paper is clean. A couple of times this resulted in massive TP use and a clogged toilet, so I taught him to use smaller pieces and also asked him to flush in the middle if he had to use a lot of TP. So far, so good.

[Nikki Christina]

oldest PT'd about 2 months after her 3rd birthday & i wiped her maybe 3 months. but i always made her do it first. so 3 1/2 i quit.
never had problems, or dirty undies

youngest PT'd just a few months ago..right after 2nd b-day. shes not quite 2 1/2 & i dont see myself doing it much longer. i really dont do it much now..she goes all on her own & i dont realise unless i see poop in the toilet (she dosent flush) . she wipes good also..when i do wipe behind her shes always clean.

[MtBikeLover]

My son is 4.5 and has only wiped himself a few times. We do most of the wiping.

[FancyPants]

ds1- almost 4 by the time he didn't need help of some kind.

ds2 - does this himself since 3 (now 3.5) but really he is only so so at it, so I try to catch him from time to time and also I make sure he is washed properly at bathtime. We are also still working on flushing every time and washing hands well and consistently. With the flushing I think the toilet noise scares him a little bit.

[Mariposa]

i think abby was about 3 when she started wiping herself. she has always been very independent that way. she potty learned at 21 months completely (i never changed a poopy diaper after 17 months with her. ) and wanted to wipe herself way before i started letting her. no issues, so i kept letting her.

[a-sorta-fairytale]

dd potty trained right before she turned 2. When she was almost 3 i was like "hey, you have been usuing the potty for a year why a i still wiping butt?" So we got flushable wet wipes for her to use. She is pretty good at it. We also use cloth wipes/tp so sometimes she will wet those and use them too. She is a bit lazy and sometimes will ask us to wipe her just because. I havent found skiddies in her undies yet.

[peachweenie]

I'm so glad this thread is here! My 4-year old son is starting kindergarten next week and he absolutely refuses to wipe himself. When we insist he do it on his own, he just lays on the ground with his dirty butt sticking up. It became a power struggle and we realized he's just going to have to WANT to do it himself. He never pooped once at his 3-hour a day preschool, but his day will be nearly 7 hours now. Thank you everyone for the reassurance and for the flushable wet wipes suggestions!

[G's mommy]

This makes me feel better... I thought we were running a little behind (no pun intended ), but maybe not! DS goes to preschool, too, and the teachers don't wipe them at school (unless there's a MAJOR issue), so I know he tries at school. But, we often have skid marks and (to quote a previous poster) "spicy butt" if he has gone at school. And he still requests help with wiping when we are at home, but he says he'll do it himself "when I'm five". We'll see.