Anonymous wrote:One of mine mastered it by 4 and loved to wipe repeatedly to be sure the toilet paper was clean.

The other would be one quick wipe and be done regardless of whether or not he even wiped in the right place! he was probably close to 6 before he did a good job.

This is just so gross and hilarious. Why do kids do this?!?! Is it not uncomfortable to walk around with a poo-caked butthole????

One of mine mastered it by 4 and loved to wipe repeatedly to be sure the toilet paper was clean.

The other would be one quick wipe and be done regardless of whether or not he even wiped in the right place! he was probably close to 6 before he did a good job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is just three and always wipes first then I come in and do it again. He’s only in morning preschool so he’s never pooped at school but I am sure no one would help him. A prerequisite to his school is completely bathroom independent.

Same with DD’s preschool. The kids have to be three by the end of the year so some kids are still as young as two and nine months. All must be bathroom independent which includes wiping.

Nothing “horrifying” about it.

+1. My kids started wiping from day 1. Only came home with skidmarks a few times. Just tell them to keep wiping until it's clean.

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Thank you all. My mind is blown- had no idea this was part of potty training. I guess I should get started with practicing. My main concern is less the wiping than the handwashing afterwards, particularly at school, and making sure that gets done well if he is going to be wiping himself. We'll get to work.

I'm surprised by this. You didn't realize teaching wiping was part of teaching how to use the toilet?

Anonymous wrote:I am curious, did your 5-6-7 year olds just not poop at school? Did they ask do help? I can’t imagine a teacher helping with this — nor would I want them to wipe my kid’s butt!

Mine never pooped at school but they also would have been mortified to ask for help anyway. My son just for some reason could not get himself that clean for the longest time but they would always try before they asked me for any help.

Anonymous wrote:I am curious, did your 5-6-7 year olds just not poop at school? Did they ask do help? I can’t imagine a teacher helping with this — nor would I want them to wipe my kid’s butt!

I'm a special ed teacher so helping with toileting is part of my job. In my experience kids are either on a schedule or never poop at school. My own kid told me he has only pooped at school once because it was a "real emergency"

He is mature enough to tell you he wants to wipe his own butt. Have him wipe and check after him.

I think we started making our kid do this at around 3.5. At school, he always did it, but came home With skid marks.

Anonymous wrote:I am curious, did your 5-6-7 year olds just not poop at school? Did they ask do help? I can’t imagine a teacher helping with this — nor would I want them to wipe my kid’s butt!

I have two kids. One either figured out how to wipe well or didn't poop at school - we never really asked, but he was pretty clean every night. The other came home with dirty underwear 3-4 days a week. It wasn't until mid 1st grade that he was able to clean himself well.

Usually around 3-4, the preschool teachers are prohibited from helping kids in the bathroom. Our DS had a male preschool teacher - fantastic guy, we loved him, he was amazing with the kids - but he wouldn't go near a child alone in a bathroom. It's a sad commentary on society, but I don't blame him.

DS came home with skid marks until around age 5/6 until he learned to really clean up well. We threw a lot of underwear in the trash until then.

I am curious, did your 5-6-7 year olds just not poop at school? Did they ask do help? I can’t imagine a teacher helping with this — nor would I want them to wipe my kid’s butt!

Once he was past the potty training phase, I never did it. He trained at 3.5.

Anonymous wrote:DS is just three and always wipes first then I come in and do it again. He’s only in morning preschool so he’s never pooped at school but I am sure no one would help him. A prerequisite to his school is completely bathroom independent.

Same with DD’s preschool. The kids have to be three by the end of the year so some kids are still as young as two and nine months. All must be bathroom independent which includes wiping.

Nothing “horrifying” about it.

Wow. Thank you all. My mind is blown- had no idea this was part of potty training. I guess I should get started with practicing. My main concern is less the wiping than the handwashing afterwards, particularly at school, and making sure that gets done well if he is going to be wiping himself. We'll get to work.

3 is when to start practicing, probably be a couple years before they can do it efficiently.