Preschool and Potty Training

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another thread on this topic from last summer:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/241936.page

A poster on page 3 says charters are exempt from the same rules as DCPS because they don't get head start funding.

That poster is wrong.

It's hard to find a link that proves you can't do something. Charter school law is very clear that kids can't be excluded except for very very specific reasons. Potty training isn't on the list. I don't know what else to say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to ask the preschool. Some have the requirement and some do not. My DS and DD went to a preschool that was also a daycare (am was preschool and pm was the aftercare). It started at age 2. There was no requirement for potty training. As a matter of fact, the school helped in the potty training process. I would not have sent my DC to a school that required potty training. Unless your child trains early it's simply way to much pressure on you, the school and your child.

Sorry to break it to you, but all schools in DC require potty training. It's a matter of which age. The DCJCC (which is the program I believe you refer to) is licensed to change diapers because they take 2 year olds.

Definitely not true. My kids have been in two different preschools and neither have required potty training, including in the 4s class. I don't know if there were any 4 year olds who weren't trained, but it wasn't a requirement of the school.

I agree with the pp that I wouldn't have sent my kid to a school that required kids to be potty trained by a certain age. Kids develop in different ways at different times, and I expect a school to be sensitive to different kids' developmental stages. Clearly I'm not asking too much, since both schools my kids went to understood that, and, indeed, were fabulous during the potty training experience (changing and cleaning up many accidents).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thread on this topic from last summer:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/241936.page

A poster on page 3 says charters are exempt from the same rules as DCPS because they don't get head start funding.

That poster is wrong.

It's hard to find a link that proves you can't do something. Charter school law is very clear that kids can't be excluded except for very very specific reasons. Potty training isn't on the list. I don't know what else to say.

??? If the law is so clear, why can't you point us to it? It is actually not hard to find a link that proves you can't do something. Laws are all publicly available. If something is illegal, the law will tell you that.

[Anonymous]

OP, we got to within a month of school and DC was still having almost daily accidents so I feel your pain. We went on vacation for a week that August and it just clicked. Or more likely DC realized he cared about going to the school and he knew he couldn't have accidents there.

[Anonymous]

Talk with the director/head of your school directly. Then you won't have to wonder; you will know. Then you can decide what you want/need to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thread on this topic from last summer:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/241936.page

A poster on page 3 says charters are exempt from the same rules as DCPS because they don't get head start funding.

That poster is wrong.

It's hard to find a link that proves you can't do something. Charter school law is very clear that kids can't be excluded except for very very specific reasons. Potty training isn't on the list. I don't know what else to say.

??? If the law is so clear, why can't you point us to it? It is actually not hard to find a link that proves you can't do something. Laws are all publicly available. If something is illegal, the law will tell you that.

Here are a few things I can find

http://www.dcpubliccharter.com/Enrolling-Your-Child/Enrollment-and-Lottery-Guidelines.aspx

Specifically this part:

According to the School Reform Act (Sec 38-1802.06), enrollment in public charter schools is open to all students who are residents of the District of Columbia, and if space is available, to non-resident students who pay tuition at the rate established by the State Education Agency. A public charter school may not limit enrollment based on student's race, color, religion, national origin, language spoken, intellectual or athletic ability.

That language, about "all students" is present all over charter school law.

There's also this:

http://chavezpolicies.wikispaces.com/file/view/DCPCSB+Lottery+%26+Enrollment+Guidelines+(adopted+08-09).pdf

A public charter school may not limit enrollment on the basis of a student's race,
color, religion, national origin, language spoken, intellectual or athletic ability,
measures of achievement or aptitude, or status as a student with special needs. A
public charter school may limit enrollment to specific grade levels.

That is to say that schools can't exclude students because they don't have skills.

I don't know how else to show it.

[Anonymous]

you have time. Last year my son turned 3 right before school started and we did it. Started around July 4th and by the end of August we were accident free.

No idea on the rules for DC charters but in MD its common practice for most preschools to require the child to be potty trained.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to ask the preschool. Some have the requirement and some do not. My DS and DD went to a preschool that was also a daycare (am was preschool and pm was the aftercare). It started at age 2. There was no requirement for potty training. As a matter of fact, the school helped in the potty training process. I would not have sent my DC to a school that required potty training. Unless your child trains early it's simply way to much pressure on you, the school and your child.

Sorry to break it to you, but all schools in DC require potty training. It's a matter of which age. The DCJCC (which is the program I believe you refer to) is licensed to change diapers because they take 2 year olds.

I'm the PP you re quoting. Sorry if I missed the DC reference. I'm in MOCO. So, I speak from my own experience. No need to shove it down my throat.

[Anonymous]

Who wants some random teacher touching their child's privates? Seriously, what is going on w your child that she can't be potty trained at age 3? I have two girls and they were trained at 21 months. Also, don't you think she will be embarrassed if she's the only child pooping in her pants. Please help her and the teachers out an show her where the bathroom is.

[Anonymous]

The weather is getting warm. Start the process now through positive exposure. Have some bottomless time around the house to practice.

Don't stress. Your kid will sense that.

[Anonymous]

you have time. Last year my son turned 3 right before school started and we did it. Started around July 4th and by the end of August we were accident free.

This was my experience as well. My son was 95% trained before he started school, had a few accidents the first month of school, and was doing fine after that. The school would make him clean himself up and change his own clothing when he had accidents.

[Anonymous]

I would not have sent my DC to a school that required potty training. Unless your child trains early it's simply way to much pressure on you, the school and your child.

While there is nothing wrong with the fact that some kids take longer to potty train, training prior to the age of 3 is not "training early."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who wants some random teacher touching their child's privates? Seriously, what is going on w your child that she can't be potty trained at age 3? I have two girls and they were trained at 21 months. Also, don't you think she will be embarrassed if she's the only child pooping in her pants. Please help her and the teachers out an show her where the bathroom is.

Your 3 year old doesn't need help to wipe poop? My 4 year old still needs help but I guess your Mensa potty trained girls are super special?

[Anonymous]

Gosh...how hard it is to change a little kid? Potty training is hard. I have two kids, born 16 months apart. Both boys. The eldest one took forever to potty train. By 3.5, he was just doing # 1, # 2 was such a struggle. His daycare worked with us and it was never an issue. My youngest one was done with potty training at 2.7. Go figure.

[Anonymous]

Gosh...how hard it is to change a little kid?

It is gross to have to change a 3 year old's poop (for someone who is not a family member), and is not an expected part of a preschool teacher's job. How "hard" something is does not relate to whether it is part of your job. It would not be hard for me to put together PB&Js for everyone in my office, but it isn't going to happen on a regular basis, and my boss couldn't make me.