“They won’t go to kindergarten in diapers!”…well, actually, they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Preschool teacher here: constipation is an epidemic and such a real issue. These kids have to be on laxatives for a very long time to undo the damage. That’s why they need diapers. Not because they’re not “potty trained”

But if the parents hadn't allowed a steady diet of chicken nuggets and mac and cheese in the first place, it wouldn't have happened at all. Lazy parenting.

Most constipation is due to stress/anxiety. Except to see college kids in diapers very soon.

I'm an RN and I work in procedural gastroenterology. The number of tweens and teens undergoing endoscopy and colonoscopy these days is striking. Occasionally the EGD is indicated for food allergy suspicion or EoE, but much more commonly the MD notes tell a story of chronic "stomach aches" and constipation without any other physiological symptoms. ie, their labs are normal, they don't have recent infections, they don't have any other symptoms that suggest undiagnosed autoimmune disorders ... imaging is always normal, except you can see impacted stool or distended colon ...

Boys and girls, probably in equal numbers. They're almost all white or Hispanic, too. Never Asian and rarely Black. I don't know if that's because White/Hispanic parents are more likely to look for a diagnosis than Asian and Black parents, or whether the GI problems afflict groups differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot more kids are being diagnosed with autism, which is associated with extremely picky eating and issues with food texture (which can cause constipation problems depending what are the kid’s food restrictions). And autism, itself, is also associated with constipation and developmental delays that make it harder for a kid to hit their milestones. Sometimes they have trouble recognizing when they have to go or they don’t have the motor skills to quickly pull down pants/underpants/etc when it’s a potty emergency situation. Idk it’s tough all around. Not sure what the solution is.

It's why we have special education classes for some pre-k and kindergarten kids.

There’s special education pre-K but once a kid is elementary age, there aren’t a lot of options. You’re in a general education K class with “support” goals written on their IEP (which the schools will handwave away), you get pull-outs to the enhanced autism classroom IF your kid’s school has it or IF you can get the IEP team to agree to send a bus to the nearest school that does have the program, or they could be placed full time in the autism room. But that might not be the right educational environment for a kid who is otherwise on grade level with the academics. There is a BIG BIG PUSH for mainstreaming for the little kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot more kids are being diagnosed with autism, which is associated with extremely picky eating and issues with food texture (which can cause constipation problems depending what are the kid’s food restrictions). And autism, itself, is also associated with constipation and developmental delays that make it harder for a kid to hit their milestones. Sometimes they have trouble recognizing when they have to go or they don’t have the motor skills to quickly pull down pants/underpants/etc when it’s a potty emergency situation. Idk it’s tough all around. Not sure what the solution is.

It's why we have special education classes for some pre-k and kindergarten kids.

There’s special education pre-K but once a kid is elementary age, there aren’t a lot of options. You’re in a general education K class with “support” goals written on their IEP (which the schools will handwave away), you get pull-outs to the enhanced autism classroom IF your kid’s school has it or IF you can get the IEP team to agree to send a bus to the nearest school that does have the program, or they could be placed full time in the autism room. But that might not be the right educational environment for a kid who is otherwise on grade level with the academics. There is a BIG BIG PUSH for mainstreaming for the little kids.

PP here. I do understand and sympathize. I worked in the area of special education in a large Atlanta suburb. We still have SNK (special needs kindergarten).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t matter why the kids are in diapers at 5. They don’t belong in a regular classroom. Teachers are not equipped to deal with that. IDEA mandates things without funds. We don’t have money to out a diaper aide in kindergarten classrooms.

So much for the least restrictive environment requirement. Sorry my smart kid with cerebral palsy who will always use diapers is an inconvenience to you.

Who changes them? I cannot imagine this is the regular teacher’s responsibility or within her licensed scope of practice.

An aide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disposable diapers and pull-ups work too well. It wicks away way too much moisture so kids don't feel uncomfortable or even feel much moisture. That immediate sensation of moisture helps kids with potty training.

Too many pediatricians aren't checking for impacted stools when kids are having potty training issues at age 4 and over. We get notes from doctors saying the kinder or first grade kid is anxious and they need a 504 for something related to toileting when they are still in pull-ups. Sometimes the pediatricians and/or nurse practitioner write- school should give counseling for anxiety related to toileting. Yet when we ask the parent has the doctor checked for impacted stools? Did the doctor even discuss starting a regimen in order to clear out the impacted stools using enema/laxative and/or take an x-ray? The parents say no, they just wrote a note.

It's a medical issue that needs to be aggressively treated when a kid is in kinder and first grade and even second grade and the kid is still pooping in a pull up at school where their classmates can smell them. Of course other kids are going to shun them.

My guess is that rebound constipation issues are caused by overprescribing laxitives, actually

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t matter why the kids are in diapers at 5. They don’t belong in a regular classroom. Teachers are not equipped to deal with that. IDEA mandates things without funds. We don’t have money to out a diaper aide in kindergarten classrooms.

So much for the least restrictive environment requirement. Sorry my smart kid with cerebral palsy who will always use diapers is an inconvenience to you.

Who changes them? I cannot imagine this is the regular teacher’s responsibility or within her licensed scope of practice.

An aide.

DP. Do you know how hard it is to get an aide in DCPS? Basically impossible, and this is for kids with actual SN. The regular classroom aide in DCPS is providing crucial academic and behavioral support, not changing diapers ffs. These parents sending their kids in diapers because they have failed at potty training should be ashamed. They should get no more than what any other kid gets after a potty accident - a call home to pick up the kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t matter why the kids are in diapers at 5. They don’t belong in a regular classroom. Teachers are not equipped to deal with that. IDEA mandates things without funds. We don’t have money to out a diaper aide in kindergarten classrooms.

So much for the least restrictive environment requirement. Sorry my smart kid with cerebral palsy who will always use diapers is an inconvenience to you.

Who changes them? I cannot imagine this is the regular teacher’s responsibility or within her licensed scope of practice.

An aide.

DP. Do you know how hard it is to get an aide in DCPS? Basically impossible, and this is for kids with actual SN. The regular classroom aide in DCPS is providing crucial academic and behavioral support, not changing diapers ffs. These parents sending their kids in diapers because they have failed at potty training should be ashamed. They should get no more than what any other kid gets after a potty accident - a call home to pick up the kid.

I'm not saying anything about what these (probably made up) students need in the OP. I am responding to other people who say that being toilet trained should be a requirement to be in a mainstream classroom, regardless of disability or need. Kids with disabilities that require long term diaper usage can and should be in mainstream classes, when otherwise appropriate. Schools can and do figure it out.

[Anonymous]

I’m not OP but am a veteran pk/k teacher. Over my 25+ years there have been 3-4 kids I can think of, out of literally over 1000, that had bowel issues into kindergarten.
Our K teachers have also been told we have at least 3 kids coming in who are not potty trained and do not have a special education code. OP is not a troll. This is happening.

Who changes these kids? The kids do. They are sent to the nurse and they supervise while the child does it, no they are not checking to see it is done well. Just like teachers, they have other children to attend to.
Occasionally, if the child has an iep or a 504, there may be a staff member allocated to them. As you can imagine, these positions are paid 15/hour and are not easy to fill. If no one is hired for the position, a paraprofessional is taken from their normal position and re-assigned.
It is not intended to be offensive, but it is a true statement that non-potty trained children in general education classes is an increasing issue and can be disruptive/take resources from others.
Children need to be potty trained before entering a general education classroom. And special education funding needs to be drastically increased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disposable diapers and pull-ups work too well. It wicks away way too much moisture so kids don't feel uncomfortable or even feel much moisture. That immediate sensation of moisture helps kids with potty training.

Too many pediatricians aren't checking for impacted stools when kids are having potty training issues at age 4 and over. We get notes from doctors saying the kinder or first grade kid is anxious and they need a 504 for something related to toileting when they are still in pull-ups. Sometimes the pediatricians and/or nurse practitioner write- school should give counseling for anxiety related to toileting. Yet when we ask the parent has the doctor checked for impacted stools? Did the doctor even discuss starting a regimen in order to clear out the impacted stools using enema/laxative and/or take an x-ray? The parents say no, they just wrote a note.

It's a medical issue that needs to be aggressively treated when a kid is in kinder and first grade and even second grade and the kid is still pooping in a pull up at school where their classmates can smell them. Of course other kids are going to shun them.

My guess is that rebound constipation issues are caused by overprescribing laxitives, actually

What do you mean by "rebound constipation"? When you single out "laxitives" do you mean stimulant laxatives, osmotics, or both?

You're either right or wrong, depending on what you are trying to say. Not specific enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t matter why the kids are in diapers at 5. They don’t belong in a regular classroom. Teachers are not equipped to deal with that. IDEA mandates things without funds. We don’t have money to out a diaper aide in kindergarten classrooms.

So much for the least restrictive environment requirement. Sorry my smart kid with cerebral palsy who will always use diapers is an inconvenience to you.

Who changes them? I cannot imagine this is the regular teacher’s responsibility or within her licensed scope of practice.

An aide.

DP. Do you know how hard it is to get an aide in DCPS? Basically impossible, and this is for kids with actual SN. The regular classroom aide in DCPS is providing crucial academic and behavioral support, not changing diapers ffs. These parents sending their kids in diapers because they have failed at potty training should be ashamed. They should get no more than what any other kid gets after a potty accident - a call home to pick up the kid.

I'm not saying anything about what these (probably made up) students need in the OP. I am responding to other people who say that being toilet trained should be a requirement to be in a mainstream classroom, regardless of disability or need. Kids with disabilities that require long term diaper usage can and should be in mainstream classes, when otherwise appropriate. Schools can and do figure it out.

For actual SN kids. And being SN is no excuse for parental laziness either. I potty trained my ASD kid at 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not OP but am a veteran pk/k teacher. Over my 25+ years there have been 3-4 kids I can think of, out of literally over 1000, that had bowel issues into kindergarten.
Our K teachers have also been told we have at least 3 kids coming in who are not potty trained and do not have a special education code. OP is not a troll. This is happening.

Who changes these kids? The kids do. They are sent to the nurse and they supervise while the child does it, no they are not checking to see it is done well. Just like teachers, they have other children to attend to.
Occasionally, if the child has an iep or a 504, there may be a staff member allocated to them. As you can imagine, these positions are paid 15/hour and are not easy to fill. If no one is hired for the position, a paraprofessional is taken from their normal position and re-assigned.
It is not intended to be offensive, but it is a true statement that non-potty trained children in general education classes is an increasing issue and can be disruptive/take resources from others.
Children need to be potty trained before entering a general education classroom. And special education funding needs to be drastically increased.

Ugh that's horrible. It sounds like a lot of these children are being babied by their parents. People are doing "gentle parenting" wrong!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Preschool teacher here: constipation is an epidemic and such a real issue. These kids have to be on laxatives for a very long time to undo the damage. That’s why they need diapers. Not because they’re not “potty trained”

We weren't allowed to send a kid to 3yo preschool in pull-ups just a few years ago. Kids currently in treatment for chronic constipation should just finish the urgency-time treatment era at home and then go to kindergarten a few months later or the following year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t matter why the kids are in diapers at 5. They don’t belong in a regular classroom. Teachers are not equipped to deal with that. IDEA mandates things without funds. We don’t have money to out a diaper aide in kindergarten classrooms.

So much for the least restrictive environment requirement. Sorry my smart kid with cerebral palsy who will always use diapers is an inconvenience to you.

Where does the money come from?

Where does the money to warehouse kids in segregated programs come from? It’s the same pot.

No. Putting a diaper aid in every kindergarten classroom is much more expensive than running a dedicated special needs classroom, where the ratio is 4:1. I guarantee you if these parents were told they had to put their kids in a special Ed class they would magically figure out potty training in a week.

Better: how about a special "potty class" that you have to graduate from in order to join the regular kindergarten? Outta there in a snap.

[Anonymous]

This is either a case of a teacher not acknowledging a serious and debilitating special need or a troll. Guessing the latter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had two last year and one this year. We’ve never had any before these two years. This is one of the many things we’ve gotten from kids being at home with their parents. That and screen addictions. And not ever hearing the word “no” before.

You mean the parents that were concurrently working and keeping their kid busy because daycares/ schools were closed but parents were still expected to
Log into work?

OP is exaggerating. Kids have always had to bring extra clothes into school for a reason. And like it or not, the current cohort of kids in school have had unusual Experiences that differ depending on their geography and a host of SES factors. Much like teachers have changed for many of the same reasons.

Lol. Do you think all parents worked remotely during the pandemic? Talk about living in a bubble. Most of my students' parents have a SAHP yet they still didn't teach them how to behave. So sick of the excuses. The parent was at home but they didn't bother to teach their kids much of anything except how to use a tablet.