to understand why this child wet herself?

[manicinsomniac]

My daughter's best friend wet herself on stage this week. She is 8. Obviously mortifying for her and I would have expected to hear nothing but sympathy from adults but I have been shocked by how many people have expressed amazement that an 8 year old couldn't a)hold it or b)didn't just jump off the stage if it was that much of an emergency.

I don't get their viewpoint. Imagine the courage it would have taken to leave the lit stage and run through a dark theatre full of adults to get to the loos. Couple that with excitement, nerves and squash during the interval and I can totally see why it happened and feel so sorry for the poor little girl.

You can almost interpret it as true professionalism and embodying the spirit of 'the show must go on'

But seriously, a bit of teasing from the kids I can understand but such a lack of compassion from adults (not to the child's face of course!) ... I just don't get.
AIBU?

Poor girl.
I clearly remember having accidents even at 10 YO at school. I was scared to ask for the toilet so would desperately try to hold it in.

Adults sometimes wet themselves on stage if over-excited, nervous or had one two many drinks before performing. And a school performance wouldn't be a school performance without at least one manifestation of bodily fluids (a play at my primary featured someone weeing and someone puking). These unkind adults should get over it.

Oh, poor kid.

Other parents are so mean sometimes.

(I remember one school play where one of the 3 kings (aged 5) went green, leaned off the stage and puked into the piano. While obviously everyone was very sorry for her, the look on the music teacher's was very funny, but she kept playing while the poorly king was ushered away!)

Didn't Juliet Stevenson wet herself on stage in the RSC because Ruby Wax made her laugh too much and she was playing a tree and couldn't leave the stage?

There are loads of anecdotes like this in the theatre. Just ask any wardrobe mistress

I work in the theatre - peeing yourself is not an unusual occurrence amongst grown up actors. There is even a very famous anecdote about a very famous person who did a shit on stage.

Even so - poor kid - I hope people don't make too big a deal of it.
I can never understand how adults are unkind to children.
I think they even take some kind of fucked up pleasure in bad things happening to other people's kids.

I did just this in Brownies once we were rehearsing and the Brown Owl was a scary lady. She'd just bellowed at another girl that no she could NOT go to the toilet, there was too much to get through. The other girl was older than me at the time (10 and about to leave anyway, I was 7) and I just didn't have the balls to ask as well or sneak off. so I peed myself as I simply couldn't hold it in.

Shame on the adults at your DC's school judging a little girl like that! That will no doubt be one of the most embarrassing things to ever happen to her (I still want to curl up and die 18 years later!) and grown ups should know better than to pass judgement and to gossip.

YANBU

I feel so sorry for the little girl and know exactly how she feels.

You have brought back memories from when I was about that age and was doing a reading as part of the school christmas service in church. I was on the lectern doing my reading and just hoping that no-one could see what was happening. I walked back to my seat mortified and hoping that there were no wet patches. I didn't tell my mum...infact, this is the first time that i've told anyone about it

Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas wet herself on stage- and there are photos of it all over the internet.

I once wet myself when drunk but Thank G-D I was wearing leather trousers. It might have been a bit of a squelchy walk home but no one else could see

this happened to me in the infant school Nativity (can't remember how old I was) but it was the last time i was asked to be an angel!