Bum wiping

[feralgirl]

DS is 4.5 and starts school in September. I really don't want to have to deal with skiddy pants every day so how do I get him to properly wipe his own bum? It's driving me mental.

He took the best part of a year to get potty trained and he just doesn't listen when I'm oh-so-patiently explaining for the gazillionth time that you have to fold the paper so that your finger doesn't go through. I was crap at potty-training and just ended up making it worse by losing my rag with him, I can totally see this going the same way

Why doesn't he care if he is covered in poo? And don't even get me started on how to get him to wash his hands afterwards; I am just waiting for the inevitable bout of worms DD is not even two and she understands about wiping, why doesn't DS?!

can I be a bit rude and ask if he might be on the chubbier side of gorgeous?

my DS2 is was a chunky monkey and he simply couldn't reach as well as his slimmer brothers (bless).

my 6 year old is pretty good, but he has skidmarks sometimes.
maybe they don't like the feeling of the paper or wipe against their bottom, especially around "the hole"
cleaning properly might make them feel uncomfortable.

I wouldn't worry about school.
when he starts just explain to the teacher about this and they should keep an eye on this.
I promise you he's not the only one with this problem, the teachers will know how to handle it discreetly!

pack some clean pants so he can get changed if necessary.

pumpkin seeds are good to ward off worms, finely chopped or grounded pumpkin seeds can be added to a variety of foods - breakfast cereal, soups, bolognese sauce etc.

hope this is helpful - and remember there are still 3 months until he starts, that is a plenty of time for him to practice and get better at it!

Ds2 is in reception - he's not yet 5 so young in his year but he will not try to wipe his own bottom!

He gets around this by saving his poo for at home - 10 minutes after bedtime usually!

Does your ds usually have to go during school hours?

No I suppose actually he poos in the evening, so maybe I'm getting stressed for nothing! Although I'd still quite like him to be able to wipe his own arse...

That's an amazing tip about pumpkin seeds amazing, I will definitely bear it in mind.

Is it the paper - my 10 yr old boy (sn) will not wipe with paper, he still uses wipes.

I remember one of his friends coming to play age 7 shouting me upstairs because he'd had a poo and needed me to wipe his bum - its not unusual - he wouldn't do it in school and waited till he got home unfortunately for me it was my house !!

my 6 yo still gets impressive skiddies in their pants...
it has to be fast so thei can get playing quickly.

After the recent Andrex advert, might he prefer to scrunch than fold?

Also, what quality of paper do you buy? Might it be worth trying a "premium" brand if not currently using to see if going extra soft and strong might help? Or I think you can get flushable wet wipes for toddlers (pre schoolers!)

With hand washing - fancy soap works, so pumps, foaming and funky colours all encourage mine to wash afterwards.

My DC1's in Reception class, also a young 'un.

She tends to save her poo for home. She will have a go at wiping if she does one at school. The skid marks are truly awful! I am trying to gently encourage her to do a bit better.

I wouldn't worry too much, honestly.

notapizzaeater at 7-year-old unable to even have a go at wiping his own bum! Wiping your own child's backside is one thing, but a random friend's? Yuck!

Glad to find this thread. Having same worries. My ds 4.5 prob would start wiping his own bum but his poos are quite loose and sticky - it's a job to clean him up. Sorry tmi !!!! They also come when they come - only two months ago he was taken short in a big public garden!

Lots of good advice here, including get used to skid marks and good loo paper/ flush able wipes