Anonymous wrote:I didn't let my students leave my room to go because it was a safety issue to be unsupervised. Go during BATHROOM TIME, I said. No one ever had an accident. When the clipboard came around from admin asking who had been outside eyes-on supervision, I confidently put NO ONE. I'm not saying ignore your child but don't accept what he/she says at face value if it doesn't sound right either. Contact the teacher. She/he is reasonable, I'm sure. If not? You know what to do next.

They need to give you an aide or have someone come around. I would appreciate you did not let my child go unsupervised but some kids need to go more often.

I didn't let my students leave my room to go because it was a safety issue to be unsupervised. Go during BATHROOM TIME, I said. No one ever had an accident. When the clipboard came around from admin asking who had been outside eyes-on supervision, I confidently put NO ONE. I'm not saying ignore your child but don't accept what he/she says at face value if it doesn't sound right either. Contact the teacher. She/he is reasonable, I'm sure. If not? You know what to do next.

Last yr, my K son wet his pants when his teacher did not let him go to the bathroom when he was in line to buy lunch. They get like 30 min and I guess she didn't think it was an emergency. I told him to tell the teacher that was about to have an emergency and run to the bathroom if really necessary in the future. I would rather him get in trouble (or not) for going to the bathroom than wet himself again.

Anonymous wrote:Let me play devil's advocate for a second.

What if, all throughout the morning, children are allowed to freely go to the restroom whenever they pleased. There is one in their classroom. Then it's time for PE. They get 30 minutes. Is it ok for the PE teacher to expect the kids to use the restroom before they come to class? Is it ok for them to say just for that 30 minutes, please do not go to the bathroom? If it's an emergency, like the stomach bug, of course. But can we expect our kids to make the best use of their time and use the restroom at the convenient opportunity?

Depends on the age. When she was young my DD would sometimes need to pee twice in 20 min. Especially if she just had a snack/drink. She has a small bladder. She can hold it longer now but not when she was in K/1st. Also, she wouldn't have the forethought back then to go before PE "just in case". Maybe if a teacher had everyone pee right before PE. But even then, she still might need to go if they'd recently had snack.

Let me play devil's advocate for a second.

What if, all throughout the morning, children are allowed to freely go to the restroom whenever they pleased. There is one in their classroom. Then it's time for PE. They get 30 minutes. Is it ok for the PE teacher to expect the kids to use the restroom before they come to class? Is it ok for them to say just for that 30 minutes, please do not go to the bathroom? If it's an emergency, like the stomach bug, of course. But can we expect our kids to make the best use of their time and use the restroom at the convenient opportunity?

Kids in my school are allowed to go whenever they need to, per the principal. This results in kids going out into the hallways multiple times in an hour not to use the bathroom, but to socialize with other kids who "need" to use the bathroom. They also engage in activities like clogging the toilets with paper towels in order to flood the bathrooms. They know we can't say no when they ask to use the bathroom, so it's basically a free for all.

I'm not saying that students shouldn't be allowed to use the bathroom when they need to. Everyone should be allowed that right. But there are reasons why some teachers limit bathroom trips. One teacher I know who works at another school has a rule that each student gets to use the bathroom pass twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. Plus the whole class uses the bathroom after recess and kids are allowed to go during lunch as well. If a kid has used their two opportunities already but ask the teacher to go she will say yes. So students have 6 opportunities to use the bathroom per day, with the understanding that if for some reason they need to go an additional time they can. That's more than enough for any student without a medical issue. Students with a medical issue of course have carte blanche. But having the limit set does cut down on the waltzing in and out as they please.

Anonymous wrote:OP, call the school division headquarters and speak to someone in the Superintendent's office. Send an email to the school board over the weekend, before you call. File a child abuse complaint, NOW, with the local police department; have dates and names immediately available. This is child abuse. That teacher should be so busy defending against the criminal case that he won't have time to get fired.

This has to be one of the most ridiculous posts ever.

Whatever you do OP, DON'T do this.

Start with the homeroom teachers. Work your way up to the principal.

Do not go all crazy on them as this poster suggests.

Use some common sense please and ignore this post.

OP, call the school division headquarters and speak to someone in the Superintendent's office. Send an email to the school board over the weekend, before you call. File a child abuse complaint, NOW, with the local police department; have dates and names immediately available. This is child abuse. That teacher should be so busy defending against the criminal case that he won't have time to get fired.

My child's PE teacher does this: tells the kids they can't use the bathroom at certain times, and as a result of being a true follower, my daughter peed on herself in his class in kindergarten.
I asked our teacher about this, and then asked the PE teacher. They both told me that the teacher did in fact tell children not to use the bathroom, but as a suggestion (not a rule) so kids don't linger around, not participating in PE class.
I reminded him that kids are super literal, and many will take that to mean they may not under any circumstances, use the bathroom.
sorry for the long post, but the OP reminded me of this headache from last year. I was so fed up with the whole thing, and I wonder if it is the same PE teacher. (Tall, young male?)
Anyway, my suggestion is tell that teacher that he has no right to deny kids the bathroom.