Are 3 year Olds expected to wipe themselves thoroughly?
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Anonymous
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My son just started preschool a few weeks ago, and has come home a couple times with a not very thoroughly wiped bum. I sent the teacher a nice email asking if she could help him in that regard (adding that ds tells me he does not ask the teachers for help wiping...I wasn't blaming or anything). She responded (in person the next day) that she gave it a lot of thought, but she doesn't feel comfortable "in this day and age," wiping him, but they will walk him through it. I told her that sounds fine.
I was surprised by her response in that it indicated this isn't something she usually has to deal with in a classroom full of 3 and 4 year Olds (kids have to be 3 by the start of the school year, so some are young 3s). My son is exactly 3.5. Do your 3 and 4 year old kids know how to thoroughly wipe their butts? Does your preschool teacher wipe for them? I guess I assumed the teacher would help them since they're so young. |
Anonymous
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All 3 of my kids still needed help at that age. One didn't potty-train until 3.5. But, they all went to a preschool with developmentally-appropriate potty training expectations, and of course the teachers helped if they needed help.
Can you send in wipes? That might be easier for him. |
Anonymous
| My DS is 10 and still doesn't wipe thoroughly enough at times. Same for my 7 yr old DD. Once in a while, I find skid marks on my DH's underwear, too. So, the answer is no, don't expect it for a long time, and even then, your DS may still not wipe thoroughly enough as an adult. |
Anonymous
| My daughter is 4 and she definitely cannot wipe thoroughly enough for #2. I was wondering this question myself. |
Anonymous
| At my child's preschool ,they did NOT help the 3YOs. and my son defnitely could not wipe himself at 3 very well. We all survived. By 4 he could do it. |
Anonymous
I still find occasional skid marks in both my kids' undies  They are 9 & 7. At 3 I was wiping their butts after they wiped themselves.
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Anonymous
| My kid is 4.5 and he wipes his own butt, but when we are at home, I do a butt check and usually have to wipe some more. |
Anonymous
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My daughter is 3 and 4 months and no way! I always wipe for her at home. I am lucky if she wipes at all, by herself.
That said, I totally get where the teacher is coming from. Better to have your kid with an unwiped butt than have her livelihood destroyed with an accusation of something improper. |
Anonymous
Ours were in pre-Kindergarten. My DD has a late bday and started school at age 3.5 and was fine handling her own business. |
Anonymous
| Three year olds are not expected to be perfect wipers, and preschool teachers are not expected to help kids wipe. |
Anonymous
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No way the teacher's won't help them. I think its a reasonable expectation that a kid can wipe themselves at 3.5. They might not be perfect but neither are husbands sometimes! My kid was potty trained at 2 and had no issues wiping herself at school on her own before age 4.
The parents were required to donate baby wipes to the class and replenish them in a schedule and we all had to send extra underwear. I think kids are capable of way more than we give them credit for. |
Anonymous
| My DS is 3 Yr 3 Mo and he does an ok job wiping. I think it helps that his poop is usually well-formed and doesn't need more than a wipe or two. While skid marks do happen, it's rare. His preschool teachers do not help with wiping, but they do talk them through it sometimes. |
Anonymous
Same. In our preschool they helped in the 3 year old room but not in the 4's. I'm surprised this isn't a common question for the teacher. |
Anonymous
| My 4 year old still forgets to wipe sometimes, despite me telling her multiple times. They'll figure it out eventually. |
Anonymous
| Mine does. I wouldn't consider her fully toilet trained if she couldn't handle everything by herself in the bathroom. |