What age did your kids wipe their own bums?

[Luckymummy22]

DS is 3 3/4 and I still wipe his bum after a poo.
Actually I still often check my school age child too.
Should I be letting him do it himself?
He comes home from nursery regularly with dirty pants / bum and I wonder if I should be letting him do it himself at home so he will get better at it.

They are ‘preparing him for school’.

I will be having another moan but to me a 3 year old still needs help.

About 3. Before starting nursery.

I would not be cleaning a child's bum over the age of 4 that is for sure! Excluding any special needs or health problems of course.

I know someone still wipes her 7 year old's bum. The child doesn't go at school unless in desperation.

Her choice, but there is no reason why a NT child over the age of 5 (at the latest) can't do a decent job of cleaning themselves.

Sorry, they don't wipe the bum, but they check it is clean still.

Around 3 or 4.

The reason I taught mine to do it at 3 is so that when they go to school (and there is no one to check for them) they’re not walking around with shit in their pants and spreading germs everywhere

Exactly! They need to have learnt, and be able to do it properly by the age they start school. So that means learning at 3.

This thread is mental and has me wanting never to have kids. Eight years of wiping someone else’s bum?! No bloody way.

Sloth- best you don't then. Special needs can happen to anyone.

When your child can reach their left ear with their right hand, over their head, they can reach their bum to wipe. It is the same distance, apparently.
Some kids start reception still needing help.nursery should be helping not causing her to get sore.

When your child can reach their left ear with their right hand, over their head
I've seen this on a checklist to determine readiness for first class in a Steiner school (6 year olds). I don't know what age is typical to be able to do this, but it's not something I would take seriously. I know my child could reach their bum before 3, no idea if they could reach their ear or not!

Don’t be ridiculous, cotton. The people on this thread talking about wiping their 8-year-olds bums are talking about kids with no special needs

DD is almost 5 and I haven't helped her since about Christmas. Saying that there's never anything on the paper so I felt confident to just leaves her to it. If they were more messy I'd probably supervise a bit more.

My nt children were 4 when they stopped needing help. My dc with learning disabilities need help still.

DS1 is 3.5 and I still check/wipe him if necessary. We only TT a few months ago. He turns 4 next February, after that I will be a little more insistent that he tries to do it himself. Hopefully he will be competent enough for school next September!

By 6yo, ds was pretty efficient, thank goodness

I still wipe the bum and nose of my 21 yr old DS

He was complaining the other day he has never had a girlfriend. I don't understand why

Sloth, my dd is 'normal' but has toilet needs. Shit happens sometimes and I personally think it's a bit judgemental to say it's so despicable. Obviously I would rather my daughter not be shitting her pants daily.

Sloth you don’t get to choose how things pan out. It’s easy to judge looking in at someone’s life.wipig a bum becomes wiping a bum. Wether that’s for 2 years or 8. No biggie when it’s my child?!

But what do you do when their arms are too short?

DD couldn't properly reach until past 4 - if we'd been in England she would have started school unable to wipe. As soon as she could reach, she was doing it. I had her make an effort from the start, but when all she was doing was patting a butt-cheek with toilet roll I had to manage it for her. Although she picked up the "until the roll is clean" thing pretty well and our struggle was figuring out that a rip in the top layer making a shadow was actually "clean" and no need to fill the loo with half the toilet roll. So glad she doesn't do that anymore .

But I am realising that she does still do it standing up (6yo now) - I guess I should start to teach the sitting technique, else she be like me and not figure it out until her 40s by reading about it on an internet forum! (I'm wondering if that's how I missed learning it - once I was able to wipe, DPs stopped with technique).

My son is 4 and a half and just started school, I still get "mum come wipe ma bum" everytime. Highlight of my day I'll tell you😂

Special needs and medical problems aside I think around 4 is the cut off.

The problem I think lies in the fact that some people think a small skid mark in pants is the end of the world. Skid marks tell you you need to wipe a bit more thoroughly next time- FGS I don't believe there's anyone who doesn't get the odd skid mark from time to time!

I taught Reception at a pre-prep for a number of years and I never encountered school aged children not being able to manage wipe themselves. I'd be absolutely aghast if a parent expected a teacher to check or assist !
Unless there is specific developmental or medical problem I can't see why this isn't taught alongside potty training.

MummyKins55
If not you could have a word in his wife's ear on their wedding day .

Erm....you wipe your FOURTEEN YEAR OLD'S backside? Unless he has additional needs...that's worrying...