My 3 year old does have a developmental delay. I have no problem with the rule. However, the point is why say children don’t have to be potty trained if the teachers have the choice on if they want to help. If they aren’t going to assist, change the rule. |
The comment was very strange. Kudos to their child for being potty trained at 2. |
Sure, sock puppet. |
I potty trained my kid before they started in a charter school at 3. He was ready, and I was grateful to have the nudge of starting full time school to help me get him on the path to potty training. I used the weekend method.
Teachers in school can deal with accidents, but you should at least have your kid on the road to potty training because the staffing is simply not there to deal with changing diapers. |
Some schools will call parents for a #2 accident. The staffing just isn't there to devote one on one staffing to each child if they have an accident. |
According to the r/teachers subreddit, more and more kids are showing up to kindergarten not toilet trained (not developmental disabled); you can't deny a child access to education for this. Spitballing here, but maybe DC doesn't know how to handle what would otherwise be an apparent discrepancy in policy? I.e., you can't attend (voluntary) PK3 and PK4 if you're not potty trained, but in (compulsory) K you can? |
My oldest started at a charter that required the prek3 students to be fully potty trained to be at school. I was called for 2 accidents to change him and if he had a 3rd I was told we'd be kicked out.
Now at a DCPS where they support students who are finishing the process but no one come in having not be almost finished. And the kids need to be able to change themselves in the bathroom if they have an accident. |
I think it depends on the teacher. They or the co-teacher will help them change and clean up. They will also take the group to the bathroom at regular intervals. |
Ours helped our child change. At the beginning he had one accident every other week since he didn't know how to speak up. They helped change him and let us know so we could figure out what was going on.
Took maybe 3 accidents till we/he figured it all out. But perfect since. But they worked with us and him. |
Because it would leave out many kids who have disabilities and/or neglectful parents, which are the kids DC most wants to have in PK. Also because potty training is a spectrum and where would you draw the line--expel after 1 accident? |
We worked really hard the summer before pre-k 3 started on potty training. It took some time for my kid to get it, and she had some lapses the first few months of school (many kids will), but overall she was fine. There were probably 5 kids in the class who were still in pull-ups in pre-k 3; I think it was close-ish to 0 by pre-k 4. |
While PK isn’t compulsory DC does guarantee a spot for every child who lives in the district. They can’t deny kids entry if they have a DC address. |
Charters can and do absolutely have rules about potty training. Also, DCPS absolutely will not change poop-filled underwear, so expect to be called for that & your kid to sit in it while they wait for you. For pee accidents, your mileage will vary with the teacher and whether your kid is having accidents or just not potty trained; don't expect much sympathy if it's the latter. |
My son was a young PK3 student; we worked on potty training all summer leading up to school starting. We're at a charter school so policies may vary, but he had a few #1 accidents (generally during naptime) after starting school that were treated as no big deal. Starting school is a big transition and teachers and admin were very understanding, regressions like that are very normal.
We sent a few changes of clothing and he was sent home with dirty clothes in a ziploc bag in his backpack whenever that happened. I don't think we ever dealt with a #2 accident at school so that may have been a different protocol, but figured I'd weigh in with our experience! |
If your child has a developmental delay toileting can be part of an IEP. |