You need help. Who keeps track of this??

I have absolutely no idea when my kids poop. And I think it's super creepy that some of you are so involved in your TEENAGE kids' bowel habits. Do you plan to follow them to college to be sure they wipe?

Anonymous wrote: Currently in middle school with four minutes between classes and kid is endlessly getting in trouble for needing to spend 10 minutes in the bathroom during class. They send Security down to come get him. We are just not very speedy in this department. Unfortunately his usual time seems to be sometime after lunch and it’s just causing trouble at school. There doesn’t seem to be any time in the morning for this luxury as we are trying to get up and out the door. How have others dealt with this issue?

If he really needs that long to do his business, the school and teachers refuse to accommodate him voluntarily, and there's no quick, easy way (such as prunes) to change that, then maybe you need to work with his physician to get him classified as a student with special needs.

Maybe you need to break down and get him the same kind of individualized education plan that he'd get if had severe dyslexia, except that his IEP would mainly involve bathroom breaks.

Not many people shit in the h.s. or middle school bathrooms where I’m from. You’d get teased to no end if you did.... either way nothing wrong with taking 10 minutes of they aren’t playing around... i take close to 10 minutes myself. Not continuous but more of stop and go....

Anonymous wrote:I take a long time as well, but it's usually wiping related. Honestly didn't know I was abnormal until a random conversation in college that revealed most people don't use a whole toilet roll or take 15 min.

All that to say, it is better to let him go in peace than to try to control when he goes or force him to hold it in.

People on here are cruel and ridiculously obsessed with "normal" behavior. I don't think he's necessarily hiding anything from you or doing something bad... What kid wants all the other kids to notice they're gone in the bathroom for a long time? Come on.

Medical advice would probably be better than what you're getting here. I'm sorry.

So true!

Anonymous wrote:I stopped keeping track when he traded his Pull-ups for big boy underwear. I do know that he tries to avoid going at school because he's mentioned it once or twice.

NP here - some kids are just open about their bodily functions. My 11 and 13 year olds tend to announce when they’re going to go. We have a small house and a lot of togetherness. No need to be so condescending.

I started taking Natural Calm at night for unrelated reasons, but it got me on a first thing in the morning schedule. Genius.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I take a long time as well, but it's usually wiping related. Honestly didn't know I was abnormal until a random conversation in college that revealed most people don't use a whole toilet roll or take 15 min.

All that to say, it is better to let him go in peace than to try to control when he goes or force him to hold it in.

People on here are cruel and ridiculously obsessed with "normal" behavior. I don't think he's necessarily hiding anything from you or doing something bad... What kid wants all the other kids to notice they're gone in the bathroom for a long time? Come on.

Medical advice would probably be better than what you're getting here. I'm sorry.

What is going on with your ass? I use 3-4 squares. Four is the max.

When people don't digest foods properly because their gut (and body more generally) is messed up, their poop tends to be pasty and stick to everything. I assume that's what PP is referring to. Unfortunately, most people on this site seem to know nothing about nutrition and think that things like gut function are "woo woo", so they'll just keep on using a roll of toilet paper per poop.

Anonymous wrote:I take a long time as well, but it's usually wiping related. Honestly didn't know I was abnormal until a random conversation in college that revealed most people don't use a whole toilet roll or take 15 min.

All that to say, it is better to let him go in peace than to try to control when he goes or force him to hold it in.

People on here are cruel and ridiculously obsessed with "normal" behavior. I don't think he's necessarily hiding anything from you or doing something bad... What kid wants all the other kids to notice they're gone in the bathroom for a long time? Come on.

Medical advice would probably be better than what you're getting here. I'm sorry.

What is going on with your ass? I use 3-4 squares. Four is the max.

As someone with long-standing constipation issues and low thyroid, here's my advice:

Buy a big bag of prunes and have him eat a small handful of them at bedtime every night with a bottle of water. No bananas at bedtime, since bananas can plug you up.

Add a bit of cinnamon to his breakfast (cinnamon encourages bowel function). Drink another bottle of water with breakfast.

Wake up earlier (as much as an hour, maybe more, no really!) so it's not a rush out the door for him anymore on school days. For people with constipation issues, a low-stress, calm morning routine is very necessary to success.

Get more exercise.

This routine has served me well for years. Good luck!

No Idea.

This is a conversation that I've never had with any of my kids, except for my youngest before we realized that he was lactose intolerant. No one sent security to go get him, however. They do realize at school that using the bathroom is a normal bodily function, and it's a necessity, not a luxury. It's not like he stepped outside for a smoke.

I'm sorry but there are situations in life when you have to change your habits to meet the requirements of the things you have to do, like attend school.

A teacher doesn't get to run to the bathroom whenever she needs to pee, so she has to learn to adjust her liquid intake and time accordingly. There are all kinds of jobs where people don't get 10 minutes to poo at the time their intestines require it, so they figure out how to make it work. Never in my 13 years of schooling was a child allowed to regularly be out of class for 10 minutes just because that's what his digestion required.

Your child should take some responsibility and figure it out. If that means getting up earlier in the am and having some coffee immediately so his body can be ready to poop an hour later just before leaving for school, that's what he's got to do.

And I don't buy that long pooping is normal to him because it runs in your family. The fact that it "runs in your family" is what's using to justify his tardiness to class. He can pretend it's his reason since his parents have excused the behavior.

I take a long time as well, but it's usually wiping related. Honestly didn't know I was abnormal until a random conversation in college that revealed most people don't use a whole toilet roll or take 15 min.

All that to say, it is better to let him go in peace than to try to control when he goes or force him to hold it in.

People on here are cruel and ridiculously obsessed with "normal" behavior. I don't think he's necessarily hiding anything from you or doing something bad... What kid wants all the other kids to notice they're gone in the bathroom for a long time? Come on.

Medical advice would probably be better than what you're getting here. I'm sorry.

Anonymous wrote:
Ignore the shit police on here who say nobody should shit for longer than a few minutes. Unless they are experts with research to back it up, they are full of bullshit. My boy shits for longer than 10 minutes and he eats plenty of fiber. Has been like that for ever. Honestly I would get a doctor's note. Let kids shit in peace so they don't get digestive problems. I take a long time too and so does my husband. It isn't because the poo doesn't come out. It's because we eat lots of vegetables and legumes, etc and there's a lot to come.

You are actively shitting for 10 minutes?? Holy....shit. Do you lose like 15 pounds each time?