Daughter about to turn 4 cant wipe self properly

[WomanInterrupted]

Hi All,

My almost 4 year old daughter has been potty trained for around 10 months but still struggles to wipe herself properly.

Most of the time she manages after a wee but often cries if she hasn't properly and her knickers get wet or it trickles down her leg. When it comes to poo she doesn't seem to manage at all and comes home from playschool most days with skidmarks and a sore bottom.

I try to show her how to do it but I am wandering if anyone has some good tips because I don't seem to be helping her and I would like her to feel more confident by the time she starts school in September.

Thanks in advance.

The way I showed DS was to take two sheets of toilet tissue and fold them, then with the tissue on his hand I would guide it to the right place to wipe. Then he was to fold again and wipe again, and repeat until it was too small to use, then put in toilet and start again (if necessary) with more tissue. I told him that when there was nothing to see on the tissue he was clean enough to pull up his pants, flush the toilet and wash his hands.

It seemed to work, I think at first they can't quite work out where exactly to wipe. The important thing for your DD is that you must show her how to wipe from behind and towards her back, not wiping between her legs, as it can spread bacteria to the vagina and urethra causing infection. Keep practising with her until you see that she's doing it right.

Hi. Thanks for your response. Yeah I am teaching her to wipe her bottom from behind which is part of the problem as her arms just don't seem long enough... Daft as that sounds! She also tends to have soft poo which adds to things.

Just would really like to know any tricks and techniques that have worked for those on here as it's getting quite frustrating. DD is a summer baby so going to be young for her year but don't want to be one of these Mum's that sends their kids to school unable to cope properly in this area!

DD is 4.6yrs and is fine for a wee, but just shouts for help when she does a poo, and there is always plenty of help at preschool, she has never come home with dirty pants.
We are working on getting her to do it herself though, and she can do it if she wants to, she is a bit lazy!

I think part of the problem is that their arms aren't quite long enough! Ds2 is 4.6 and also has trouble, although has started to get a bit better this last week. Usually we just hear 'FI-NISSSHHHHHEDDD!' (and always as we're eating lunch, strangely- no matter what time we have lunch).

I do the same as girlywhirly- I tell him to wipe until the paper's clean. Although I must admit I'm somewhat more profligate with the loo roll