Warning: Graphic content. Viewer Discretion is Advised!
Is your child potty-trained? If so, do you notice any of the following?
- Poop stains in the underwear.
- Pieces of poop in the underwear.
- Visible poop on the hands or under the finger nails.
- A sweaty stale poop bouquet fills the room when they take off their pants to change or get in the tub for a bath.
- You put away a crayon they've just been using and it smells like butt.
- They go to the toilet, flush, come out smiling but you remember that you forgot to put in a new roll of TP after the old one ran out.
- When they spill something on the table they try to "clean up" by crumpling paper into a ball and using it to spreading the mess out across the whole table.
- Mysterious brown body paint up the child's back or down the child's legs.
- The kingergarden or daycare teacher says the kid can't wipe their own butt.
If you said yes to any of these, then your child doesn't know how to wipe their butt. Read on to find out how to teach a kid in five quick steps.
Step 1: Show them the evidence.
If there are skid marks or bonbons in the undies that's some indesputable evidence. Chances are, if they tried to wipe, there is some strong visual evidence that they can't see. Take out the digital camera and take pictures of what smearing means, as opposed to cleaning.
Step 2: Show them how to wipe again.
I'm assuming you showed them the first time. You don't have to actually show them on yourself in a "live" situation because that might just frighten the child into running away screaming -- it would frighten me. Show them make believe style, with your pants on. I don't actually know how any real people wipe because I've never actually watched another grownup do it. Please comment if I have it wrong! I do it in three steps:
Step 2.1: Take the right amount of paper, three to four squares, so their fingers don't punch through later.
Step 2.2: FOLD IT into a one square size. Amazing how my kids thought it was a good idea to shove a fist full of crumpled paper into a freshly soiled bum.
Step 2.3: Widen the stance to create good butt access and wipe from bottom to top but ONLY AT THE SWEET SPOT: Don't keep wiping upwards because wiping turns to smearing pretty quick! Look at the paper, then toss it. DO NOT REUSE THE PAPER.
Repeat until the paper comes out clean. If they wipe three times then ask them to flush before continuing so the toilet doesn't clog.
Step 3: Peanut butter training.
Spread a little peanut butter on a plate and have the kid practice wiping the plate clean using toilet paper without getting any peanut butter on themselves. Those with peanut allergies can substitute chocolate sauce. I put several dabs on the plate, smear it good with a spoon so it's stuck on, then show them how to wipe so that the plate is clean and the peanut butter is on one side of the toilet paper only. Just like before, take a couple of pieces, make a square, then wipe but don't spread! Have the kid try and try again until the plate is clean. A couple of times I gave my son a PB covered plate and a bunch of paper, then made him wipe the plate clean while we watched a movie. Great family fun.
Step 4: Live practice.
Until they get it right, make them call you to watch them wipe each time they poop at home. As you watch, offer real-time corrections, take more pictures, and let them know when they're done. Make sure they wash their hands real good.
Step 5: Reinforce the importance of NO POOP ANYWHERE BUT IN THE TOILET.
They will stink all day and maybe get sick; let them know that! Don't be too harsh because you still want them to feel like they can go potty rather than hold it in, but just let them know that they should make it out of the washroom clean. Handwash extra long, especially if their fingers poked through. They should also know that they will have to bathe if they spread poop on their bodies. Unless they like to take baths like my kids, in which case tell them they'll get sprayed down with cold water.
Was it easy for your kids to learn how to wipe? How did you teach your children to wipe cleanly?
Comments
Disgusting but funny. Not
Disgusting but funny. I wish I thought of the peanut butter and pictures.
First, I applaude you for
First, I applaude you for tackling this topic.
Second, I'm stealing the PB on a plate idea. That is brilliant. It sure beats the "dad will check when you're done" method I've been using.
Steal away sir. Dad still
Steal away sir. Dad still has to check, but practicing on something young grasshopper can see helps said young grasshopper get the technique a little faster.
PB on a plate. Brilliant!
PB on a plate. Brilliant!
Def gonna steal that idea. When I saw the name of this post below a comment you left me on my blog, I had to click over. Glad I wasn't eating. Definitely has put me off peanut butter for a bit.
~Michael
Thanks for coming by Michael
Thanks for coming by Michael and glad you liked the post. Don't worry, peanut butter still tastes good.
Great idea!! Thanks for the
Great idea!! Thanks for the post...not so much for the picture of the bum with the poop....
You're going to see worse,
You're going to see worse, much worse, in real life :)
Thank you so much for article
Thank you so much for article and all those brilliant tips!!! I like the humor... keeps one from going nuts... as for the evidence, you could create a censoring button for REAL PARENTS ONLY... :)
I should make the site more
I should make the site more fun huh. Lots of things that could be censored. Encouragement is most welcome, thank you very much Francis! I appreciate you taking time to comment.
The peanut butter on the
The peanut butter on the plate idea is BRILLIANT. My daughter has been potty trained for almost 3 years and she's still having trouble with the whole "wipe 'til you're clean" thing. So doing this. Thanks :)
Thanks for taking the time to
Thanks for taking the time to comment Jessica, I appreciate it! I also recommend taking a picture of her butt after she's done to show her exactly what she missed. It's easy for kids to ignore because they can't smell their own stinkiness and they can't see it, so blech. Let me know how it works out. I'm heading over to your blog ...
Thanks so much for the
Thanks so much for the detailed/graphic process. My grandkids are nearly 7, nearly 5, and 3 - have been watching the whole potty training business for years now from a different perspective than being a parent. My kids were potty trained by 2 years of age, and I don't remember (!) how I taught them to wipe their bottom. Thanks again, will pass it on to my kids/grandkids.
I don't remember how I was
I don't remember how I was taught either. Nobody could tell me how they trained their kids, so it must be a closely held mystery. I invented this method because my child SUCKED at wiping his bottom but never believed me when I told him :) Thank you for the comment!
Thanks for this. I will have
Thanks for this. I will have to try it out. My kids are 6, 3, and 2. My oldest never even wipes at all..... It is the nastiest thing ever. She tells me she does but then I go in there and she "forgot" to flush the toilet but there is no paper in there. Then my son just refuses to wipe on his own. He always wants me to do it.
Your oldest is like my oldest
Your oldest is like my oldest. He doesn't really care if he stinks or not as long as he's having fun :)
The 3 year old might be a bit young to do a great job. My 2 year old tries but it's worse if he does right now. The PB worked for me. Maybe a little negative reminder to you daughter might help, like "You are pretty smelly my dear, everyone is going to know that you didn't wipe your butt and they're going to ask questions. It's just easier if you wipe."
I appreciate the comment!
Step 4: Live practice.
Step 4: Live practice.
Until they get it right, make them call you to watch them wipe each time they poop at home. As you watch, offer real-time corrections, take more pictures, and let them know when they're done. Make sure they wash their hands real good.
This sounds like a recipe for therapy later. If my folks had done this, I'd still be having nightmares.
Sometimes my kids have
Sometimes my kids have nightmares ... maybe that's what caused 'em hehe :)
Hey very nicely said!
Hey very nicely said!
We must enforce some rules about potty training so that child can follow it.
I like your 1st picture with evidence !
Hahahaa!
So there are many dads like me who has to witness such a picture daily. I have to see it daily as my son come out.
Any ways great work !
Thank you thank you thank you
Thank you thank you thank you for having this post. You cannot imagine how grateful I am to know that my son is not the only hot mess out there. Keep up the good work!!!!
thank you, good blog. maybe
thank you, good blog. maybe you can help me furtheri just got custody of a 7 year old from a pretty neglected home. i noticed she was "digging" then i checked and the track staines were thick. she proceded to tell me that she was mever told to wipe and didnt know u had to wach ur butt. i asked if she had ever noticed the poop in her pantys, she said no. i find this very hard to believ she didnt know that the poop ALL OVER her wasnt supposed to be there, and she had never noticed it b4. only the fact her butt always hurt. well it should because for the last, who knows how long, this child HAS NEVER CLEANED HER BUTT! her butt was raw with diaper rash. the funny thing is, i have a 5 month old that she claims that she could change a poopy diaper and watches me do it often, but it never crossed her mine to clean her own body or ask if any 1 else cleaned there butt. how did this happen? now it is foriegn to her and she doesnt think she needs to do it or doesnt want to. so now im wiping my new 7 year olds ass, atleast 3x a day and really really tired of it. what can i do?? is this something that any one has ever heard of?
thanks! This really helps, my
thanks! This really helps, my son is going to kinder soon and I don't want someone to have to help him... :)
thank you thank you thank you
thank you thank you thank you thank you.
instead of using a plate, I used the area between my thumb and forefinger. squeezed them together in a donut shape, slathered with a little bit of PB and made my daughter practice wiping the "butt" clean 2 times (meaning she did it once in 7 wipes and I re-slathered and she did it again in 5 wipes). she wasn't understanding that 1 wipe didn't cut it, this actually got thru to her and made her realize what she was doing wrong (I hope, we actually just did this 5 mins ago so we'll see what happens in the next 2 days).
she just needed the visual - thank you a million times over for the idea!
I wonder what we did before
I wonder what we did before toilet paper? I don't often see the neighbourhood dogs walking around with filthy butts. Anyway, let me know about the hand simulation, maybe it's better than the plate! My surprise was that my kids didn't know how to wipe, be it off a plate, a contertop or a butt. They only knew how to smear.
Aside from still not
Aside from still not understanding that when the feeling/urge to poo arises means go asap, my 7 yr old seemed to understand what she was doing wrong (and so did I - she was only wiping once thinking one swipe and you're done). More practice tomorrow with another poo :)
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I believe you have remarked some very interesting details , appreciate it for the post.
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Even though this is not a
Even though this is not a very pleasant topic, it needs to be addressed. Thanks for all your tips. Cleanliness is a very important thing we should teach our children.
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