Limiting school bathroom breaks to 3 times a WEEK.

Cathy - posted on 01/30/2012

****Mod Notice****



Enough with the pissing contest (pun intended)



Locking!



Cathy.S

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

all I did was express sympathy...I don't know what your issue is with ...god forbid I disagree with you.

Krista - posted on 01/30/2012

Meme -- you may want to cool it with the personal attacks. Disagree with people all you want. But calling them names? That violates the rules of COM, and is heavily frowned upon.

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

oh and I just wanted to say one last thing...obviously there WAS a problem with people abusing the bathroom system the way it was or the teacher wouldn't have changed the rule mid-stream (get it?...mid-stream?)



I kill myself

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 01/30/2012

Laura - You fail to see what others are trying to say! Iridescent Moonbeams, is simply giving an example that "she" has experienced but with that experience she is speaking for ALL children, not only her son! Got it?? Is that clear?? In some incidences it would be noticed that "one" child always gets to go to the washroom when need be when others do not....



You have some nerve being as arrogant as you are. If you have an opinion that is one thing but to be flat out rude and insensitive is another! You talk like a spoiled brat!

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

I guess I'll just be grateful that for my family it would be a no brainer. I'm sorry that it's so difficult for others :(

Janice - posted on 01/30/2012

Okay, to all those who believe that most 10 year olds need to pee every hour and that when they need to go they can not wait, How the heck is the teacher actually supposed to teach?



I definitely think that whenever possible having as few bathroom guidelines as possible is best. However, in some classrooms students really do take advantage and obviously, if this starts happening the teacher cant just say oh well. If the students are doing poorly or if an incident occurs because a student was fooling around because they really didnt need the bathroom whose fault will it be? The parents will blame the teacher!



Every school is different when it comes to breaks. The elementary schools in my area only get 1 break. 20 min. lunch followed by 20 min. recess. However, it is my experience that the teachers plan their days so that their are times such as 5 minutes prior to going to a special (gym, music, art, ect.) to go to the bathroom. Now if a teacher at a school with a schedule like this only allowed the bathroom at lunch and then only 3 extra passes then yes, that is very bad. However, that doesn't really seem to be the case.



If these 10 & 11 year old students had been going mostly during breaks and only leaving class for the occasional bathroom emergency or if it was only 1-2 kids causing a problem than the teacher wouldn't have needed to implement the system.

Iridescent - posted on 01/30/2012

I didn't say the problem was teasing. The problem with a note is you're intentionally making my continent 12 year old child feel like an infant every time you tell him he pees too much. That is discrimination, for one. It would make him feel awful, 2. And last, it is a form of teasing that he does not have now - by the teacher.

Krista - posted on 01/30/2012

This is one of those situations where there really IS no perfect solution. When a kid's gotta go, a kid's gotta go. Some just can't plan ahead, or hold it, or whatever. But by the same token, I can understand a teacher being frustrated with constantly having students running in and out of class to use the washroom, and I don't doubt that some students DO take advantage of it to dilly-dally and miss parts of class.



But this isn't the answer. From the link, it even looks like the students get rewarded if they don't use all of their slips. I wonder how much learning takes place if a kid is sitting there squirming, focusing on not pissing himself because he doesn't want to use a slip?



Basically, I think common sense should have prevailed here. Encourage the students to use the washroom during breaks. If a student needs to go during class, ask if it can wait, if not, let them go. If a student starts going all the time, or taking an unduly long amount of time in the loo, then you contact the parents and ask if there's a medical issue. This just seems too much like so many other situations in life where EVERYBODY is being punished just because a small percentage of people abused a system.

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 01/30/2012

You still refuse to see the others point of view Laura... You ARE saying they should be dictated on when they can go, which conterdicts your comment a few up from here, that no one is saying they can't go to the washroom... If you are dictating when they can go then, you are telling they cannot go without a note or without going home with a note!



I just told my husband about this thread, his first response - "They can't do that!" then his response was "I remember being in grade 5 and the girl next to me raised her hand and asked to go to the washroom, she was told "NO", he looked over again and there the poor, embaressed girl sat in a puddle of urine!" My god, could you imagine? She only needed to go pee, she wasn't asking to be made special, just to take a pee!



Kids and anyone should be allowed to go to the washroom, within reason. I mean, if they just came back from the washroom, perhaps they need to wait a little bit before going again but it is unreasonable to expect anyone to "wait" when they need to go...

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

so he wouldn't be teased with a note either then probably ;)

Iridescent - posted on 01/30/2012

Yes, he has been to the doctor. They will not evaluate since he has no complications. His friends really don't care. He is not teased, and his grades are fine. Some battles simply aren't worth pursuing when there are larger ones to deal with at any given time, so we're not. It's not causing him harm.

Laura Zoey - posted on 01/30/2012

Desk chair commodes.

Yes!

This could be the answer!

Just might need to give the janitor a raise

;-D

Teresa - posted on 01/30/2012

Sometimes I pee 4 times in an hour.... I'm so glad my kids are not like me. My girls are a lot closer though. When my son first potty trained and would hold his pee for 3-6 hours during the day and 10-14 hours during the night.... I asked the doctor about it cuz it's bladder control like I'd never witnessed before. You can ask/tell him to go, but the only time anything will come out unless it absolutely HAS to... is at bedtime. Otherwise he simply won't go or try. Sheesh... he peed last night at about 6:30 and flat out refused to even attempt to pee when he woke up at 6:30 this morning... didn't pee til we were at school (about 7:40). ;)



I'm not arguing about the rule now though.

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

have you been to a doctor? I'm pretty sure his classmates have noticed him going to the bathroom every have hour with or without a note.

Jodi - posted on 01/30/2012

Yes, but this was EVERY month.....and EVERY month, I'd be getting exemptions because of my period. Other kids would notice. You don't think THAT would be embarrassing for a 10 or 11 year old?



And yeah, I wouldn't have gotten a medical pass back in the day either.

Iridescent - posted on 01/30/2012

And no, he does not have an underlying medical condition that we're aware of. He's had no infections from it, it's just how his body works. So he would not qualify for a "medical" pass.

Iridescent - posted on 01/30/2012

Why should there need to be a note sent home in this way though? My oldest son has to pee every half hour, except overnight. He's up 4 times per night to pee, so every 1-2 hours. Do I really care that he has to pee during class? No, because he pees at home that often, too. Why should I have to explain this daily to the staff of his school? Would they prefer he piss his pants instead of taking home another note that makes him out to be a baby when he's not?

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

but you'd be allowed to go, the teacher would just send a note home, and you being the parent would ask your kid why, and the kid would either say I almost wet my pants or I had my period, and you as their parent would respond appropriately.

Jodi - posted on 01/30/2012

Mary, my step son, you could ask him if he needed to go until you were blue in the face. He simply didn't have the ability of forethought with regard to toileting, and that was right up until he was at least 10. However, I can see your point about the medical exceptions......but should he also be the ONLY child in class with an obvious exemption?



I also know how my period was. YES I had to use up more than 3 passes in a week (in addition to regular breaks, of which there were only TWO in the entire day). Admittedly I was much older, but girls get their periods at 10-11, its not that uncommon. If I'd had to ask for some special extra passes to use the bathroom, thinking back, I would have been extremely embarrassed, because it WOULD be singling me out as an exception to the rule.

Iridescent - posted on 01/30/2012

My preschoolers only get one recess. They have an hour and a half bus ride to and from school daily as well. Yes, they wet their pants on the bus sometimes. They also have a bathroom in the preschool classroom itself, and scheduled bathroom breaks in addition. The kids still have frequent accidents.



Let's move on to older kids. Elementary school has 3 minutes between classes at class change, and 1 recess. They must run from one end of the building, stop at their locker, and run to the next in those 3 minutes. There is one bathroom with 3 stalls and multiple students. So...a 3 minute class transfer will easily take 10-15 minutes by the time the child uses their "free" time to go to the bathroom and just wash their hands. Their school day is 7.5 hours.



On to middle school. Again, 3 minute class breaks. Since that school was destroyed by a tornado, not only do they have to run from one community building to another during that 3 minutes and carry all their books with them to every class, they also have clothing changes to do at this age for PE during that 3 minutes! So when do they pee? Remember, this is in community buildings as well - with 1 bathroom stall. Even with 3 stalls this is not reasonable.



Next up, kids need to be drinking frequently and that means they also need to be voiding frequently. If they don't, they dehydrate within 8 hours. One easy solution many kids have is to stop drinking so they don't have to pee. This leads to long term health problems. I had kidney failure at age 25 from this solution while I was in school. Sure, let's just sign my kids up for that! How about the common issues that go with bathrooming? Many children have bladder spasms. Many have small bladders. Should we just send all students to school in diapers? Set them on desk chair commodes? Surely there is an option here that doesn't disrupt class... Let the kids pee. If you see a student that consistently has to go the same time, is intentionally disrupting the class, or seems to be going too frequently, simply call their parents to see if there is a health problem showing up. How hard is that?

Jenny - posted on 01/30/2012

I just send mine with a catheter. Problem solved, you're welcome.

Mary - posted on 01/30/2012

Although inserting reason in here at this point is probably pointless, I'll give it a shot.



The particulars of how any individual school runs, or how many non-class time opportunities they are given is really irrelevant. IMO, what is not only relevant, but also reasonable, is that children get the message that they should be utilizing those opportunities when they are available, rather than waiting until they are desperate during the middle of class. This is not "scheduling" when they eliminate any more than my saying to my preschooler "Let's try to go potty before we leave the house" is. I'm not trying to control her bladder - I'm simply trying to avoid her telling me that she has to go when we are out walking the dogs, and are a mile from home (which has only happened once in the 15 months since she has been potty trained, and resulted in me having to persuade her to cop a squat while I am holding her up, and onto the dogs). I didn't refuse her any more than this teacher was refusing these kids. I did, however, point out to her at the time that this is why we always try to go before leaving the house.



Yes, kids are idiots sometimes, and they don't always have the best skills at planning ahead. But more than 3 times in a week? Sorry, but then they do need to be given the message that they need to start thinking ahead a little better, and try using the damned bathroom during those scheduled breaks even if they don't urgently feel the need to do so.



Hell, listening to some of you, my freaking dogs are better about understanding this concept better than some of your grade schoolers.

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

so nobody has to wait, they can go...and I don't know what you're talking about, I'm not angry at all...I never have been. I just feel like you guys aren't reading my posts because you keep on getting angrier and angrier when nobody has even said that the kids aren't allowed to go to the bathroom.

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 01/30/2012

I will post this last time Laura to your irrate responses. You can vent all you want but as I read your comments I sit here and piss myself laughing! Perhaps, I need a bathroom break now too... Rudeness will get you no where, you're some cocky for someone that is behind a PC...



What's clear to me is that you have issues and should stay in the same circle as Kel... ;) Is that clear?



Sherri, that is how it should be. That shows that the kids are not made to hold their bodily functions. I am glad to hear the teachers where your children go to school are respectful of that. This is what I am talking about, they are not being forced to wait, which is reasonable. Good to hear. My issue is if they are "made" to wait, which in the article it is saying they do need to or if they have used their 3 passes the parent gets a note saying their child isn't following the rules correctly, which, in my opinion, is indecent and not respecting others needs...

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

But don't worry Meme, I'm not mad, I just think you are being unreasonable in regards to the right of a teacher to implement basic rules to control the classroom.



This rule hurts nobody, it doesn't require anybody to hold the dreaded pee for even ONE moment, but it probably HAS cut down on the number of kids getting up and out of class every five minutes because they now need to calculate the fact that they might actually NEED to go to the bathroom later this week.

Sherri - posted on 01/30/2012

Class subjects are still divided so they have math for 45mins, spelling, reading, social studies etc. Yes they don't switch classes but they still have time between subjects.



Although our kids start switching classes in 5th grade in elementary school. All they need to do is drop off their books let the teacher know they are running to the bathroom which is still considered between classes. Communication is the key.

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

nobody is stopping children from using the bathroom EVER!



is that any clearer?

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 01/30/2012

Yeah I have read them and you have given us a counting lesson in about 5 of your replies... Saying that kids should be using the 6 break times and not going during class time...

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 01/30/2012

I'd like to know how some of you become moderators on this site. My goodness some of you are very disrespectful! Keep spuing your anger, maybe somebody will care but not me! Sorry to let you know, your attitude does not work for me. I have a feeling it rubs off on your children, I mean how could it not? Some people, I tell ya, seriously need to learn some etiquette...



Next time you want to speak of my children you'd better have something practical to say lady, it just goes to show you have a belittling attitude, why are you getting so made Laura? You don't like it when someone has a differeing opinion than yours? Too bad, I don't agree and never will... I can't help if you don't like that..



End of story. I will fight for my kids rights but so far, I haven't had to because the schools I put my kids in are reasonable....

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

and Meme, have you read the part that's been posted about 20 times yet...NOBODY will stop any child from going to the bathroom at any time???

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

you (and those who agree with you) have been yelling this whole thread about how stupid the teacher is and how you'd tell your kids not to follow the rules...were we in different places, reading different threads?

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 01/30/2012

LMAO - U got issues madam! Maybe your children have discipline issues but mine absolutely not! I am a very strict parent but I DO NOT schedule when they need to pee or crap.. Since when did anyone say anything about teaching their kid that their teacher is an idiot? I haven't read that one here yet... Although, to be honest, some of them are but I don't need to explain to my kid, I can explain that to the teacher themselves...



Do you UNDERSTAND yet?? NO, I know you don't! ;)

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

You know...the parents of the kids running around in the halls misbehaving are OFTEN shocked that their precious wonder is capable of such behaviour...so, who knows? If you're teaching her that her teacher's an idiot and that the rules don't count for her...maybe she is....but even if she was you wouldn't believe it, it'd be because she's gifted not entitled.



Got it. CRYSTAL clear.

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 01/30/2012

Not sure what kind of school your children go to but here (Canada) Elementary is one class, there is no such thing as inbetween class. They stay in the same class and have the same teacher all day long. It is not until they are in grade 7 that they start having inbetween class time and even then it is only 5mins to get to their locker and then to their next class. If they are late getting to class the door is closed and they cannot come in unless they go to the office and get a late slip.. Then all the kids are looking at them and some laughing... How embarassing...



At my daughter's school they can go to the washroom during class without any humiliation or disrespect that they need to go. They just cannot all go at the same time. I have never ever been told by a teacher that my daughter is abusing bathroom use, I have been to 24 parent teacher interviews in the past 8 years (3 a year) and the teachers have my email.

Sherri - posted on 01/30/2012

No one is asking these kids to hold it for an unreasonable amount of time. Classes run usually what 45-60mins. If they went before class then they shouldn't have to go again for at least an hr and you guys are throwing a fit about this? I don't get it.



I just asked my kids last night if they have rules for bathroom use at school. The both said it has to be between classes or on lunch. I am pretty confident this is the rule in most schools. You just don't hear about it. If it is an emergency and they can't wait it, it can't be while the teacher is in the middle of a lecture or explaining something new. So still pretty much on the same idea.

Ashley=) - posted on 01/30/2012

Who said holding your urine can not cause a bladder infection.Yes it can.



The bladder is a muscle that stretches to hold urine and contracts when the urine is released. Waiting long periods to go, causes the bladder to stretch beyond its capacity which over a period of time can weaken the bladder muscle. When the bladder is weakened it may not empty completely and some urine is left in the bladder which may increase the risk of urinary tract infection or bladder infection.

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 01/30/2012

Remember this is not only about holding your pee it is also about holding your crap! Now you tell a kid to go have a dump during their breaks even if they don't need to. Good Luck with that one! Especially AFTER lunch...

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 01/30/2012

No not step 2, it isn't a lesson it is a point.. ;)



You're going crazy too Laura. It isn't over nothing for me, it is over my child's RIGHTS!



My children are not running the halls, they are taught otherwise under my guidance, no one elses. This is also why there are hall monitors that we pay for with our taxes in a Public school system! They should be and better be doing their jobs. My daughter is an A/B student, so if she is abusing the privlege to use the washroom than she must be "gifted" to get such good marks since garde primary!



When I was in school 25 years AGO, it worked like this. You get a pass that hangs on the wall by the teachers desk. There were two of them, one for males and one for females. A boy and a girl could go at the same time, you had to be back within 7 - 10mins. No one else in the room could go until you were back. This is how it works at my daughters JR High school and it works perfectly. Everyone can go and no one is told they must "hold" it until the next break!



Come on, get serious is right... It is not healthy to hold you urine or your feces. I know if I hold mine I begin to not feel well. Why does anyone feel they have the right to "tell" you when nature should call and when it should "wait"???

Ashley=) - posted on 01/30/2012

Holding your urine in can be very harmful.Depending on how long its held for.Something to do with a build up of toxins in the urine it can be fatal.There was a competition once about holding your pee the longest to win a holiday or something.A nurse rang in to say its very dangerous.The person who won, well she died a few hours later.This was a story i heard on the radio.



Most of the kids won't be holding it for to long, so in this case of course toxins will not build up, it won't be fatal..However many kids no matter what age they are have different bladder strenght.Some will struggle with the shortest time to hold it were as others will hold it for longer no problem.



I have nearly fainted twice due to having to hold my urine.Lucky for me i was in the hospital when it happened..getting a scan.I cannot hold my urine for some reason.

I guess in this case just monitor how its working for your child..if there are concerns etc the teacher will know and your kid will tell you.Then take a stand.Its how i would handle it anyway.Might not be an issue at all.

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

you are allowed to do that THREE TIMES A WEEK! I certainly don't have to RUN to the bathroom more than three times a week.



and if she does it more than three times she won't be stopped from going to the bathroom, you will get a note saying that your kid is not following the rules...that's it that's all.



You guys are seriously going crazy over nothing.

Amanda - posted on 01/30/2012

The main way for a child to get a IT infection is by not keeping it clean down there. Plain and simple. Lets get real people like I said your own pee is STERILE to yourself, christ you could drink it, and not hurt yourself.



"2.Holding the urine in – this allows more time for the bacteria to get to the bladder and multiply within the bladder. "



This is step two, how about you teach your child to stay clean and step two will never apply?



Yes I have had to go pee during a movie, because I did not go before the movie. Children need to learn there are needs and wants in this world and which are what. You NEED to go pee during your breaks, so you dont have to go pee during class. Lets not use bladders as an excuse for children not to learn.



How many of you asked to go to the washroom during class out of boredom? Or because you seen a friend walking the hallway? This is what the teacher is preventing, because this is what your children are really doing instead of actually using the washroom during class time.





You all must have very busy bathrooms in the middle of the night if your children have not learned to hold their bladders by grade 5.

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 01/30/2012

Exactly Tina, that is exactly what I am saying. Thank You for your positive interjection. I don't "want" my kid holding it for any reason.



Laura, I don't care how good you are at Math, I have Calculus I can add! She may not "need" to go during those breaks but a sudden onset may occur during class, you know, within the first 30 mins, so now she has to wait 2 hours if she used the 3 pee passes already because it is now Thursday/Friday?? That's ridiculous. I am glad you don't have an issue with others telling you or your kid what to do but I, on the other hand, do.



I always taught my children that when they have to go they'd better go then, not later... I don't put my kid on a schedule for when she can pee and I expect no one else to as well....

Tina - posted on 01/30/2012

No one on here as ever needed to go to the toilet at an inappropriate time? Eg Like during a movie. No one has ever paused a movie to go even though they may have gone before hand. Have you ever gone to use the bathroom during a break and been unable to do anything and had the urge to do it later. Kids do find it harder to hold their bladder and sometimes they just need to go.

Isobel - posted on 01/30/2012

you wouldn't be holding your pee if you took advantage of the bathroom breaks provided though...let's add up the ones that your daughter's school would allow under this system shall we? 28 bathroom breaks per week (5 per day, 5 days a week plus the extra three mentioned)



When would she have to hold it exactly?

Tina - posted on 01/30/2012

No one has said their child goes 6-7 times a day anyway. Just simply they wouldn't want their child who desperately needs to go to the toilet to have to hang on.

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 01/30/2012

I like "studied factual" information...



Here you go ladies that feel it is OK to hold your pee: Checkout #2..



HOW BLADDER INFECTIONS OCCUR



The urine inside the bladder is normally sterile. There should not be any bacteria living there. However, the vaginal area and the penis both have bacteria that live in these warm, moist environments. Bacteria can start to move up the urethra (the tube that empties urine out of the bladder) and if they reach the bladder, can start to multiply. Normally, these bacteria are flushed out of the urethra by urination before this can happen. Sometimes, however, for a variety of reasons, the bacteria takes hold and causes an infection. The reason girls are more prone to bladder infections than boys is the female urethra is much shorter, therefore the bacteria has less distance to travel into the bladder.



TOP FIVE CAUSES OF BLADDER INFECTION

1.Irritation of the urethra – many substances, such as soap, bubble bath, stool, or clothing can cause soreness of the urethra, which makes it easier for bacteria to invade.

2.Holding the urine in – this allows more time for the bacteria to get to the bladder and multiply within the bladder.

3.Anatomic abnormality – during development in the uterus, the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder, or the urethra, don't develop properly or aren't hooked up right. This increases the risk of bladder infections. More on this later.

4.Constipation – large amounts of stool sitting in the colon can press up against the bladder and urethra, thus making it more difficult for the bladder to drain completely. This allows bacteria to grow.

5.Improper wiping – this can increase stool and bacteria around the urethra.

6.Uncircumcised penis – a brief word here. Many people used to think that uncircumcised males were much more likely to have bladder infections. We now know this is not really true. While it is true an uncircumcised male has a higher chance of bladder infections during the first year of life, this risk goes away after age one. Therefore it is no longer true that circumcising males leads to a significant decrease in the risk of bladder infections.



FIVE SYMPTOMS OF BLADDER INFECTION

• Pain or burning with urination.

• Frequent urination.

• Urgency – your child will have a very strong, painful urge to urinate.

• Fever – mild infections often won't cause fever, but moderate to severe bladder infections that involve the kidneys do cause fever.

• Foul-smelling urine



Be aware that these symptoms don't necessarily mean there IS a bladder infection, they just mean there MIGHT BE a bladder infection.



SYMPTOMS OF MORE SERIOUS KIDNEY INFECTION



Occasionally the bacteria causing a bladder infection with ascend up into the kidneys and cause a kidney infection. This can be serious, since kidney infections can scar the kidneys. Most bladder infections DON'T turn into kidney infections, and a small scar in one kidney infection is harmless. But kidney infections are to be taken very seriously and treated promptly.



Here are signs that a bladder infection has turned into a kidney infection:

• The above symptoms.

• Lower back pain or side pain – this is where the kidneys are located.

• Fever – bladder infections often don't cause fever. High fever indicates a possible kidney infection. Unlike "viral infections" in which the fever fluctuates between normal and very high, with kidney infections the fever stays high (usually 102º or higher) and your child looks and acts progressively sicker.

• Vomiting – this is also a common symptom when a kidney infection is present.





Now tell me a Kidney infection which often derives from a Bladder infection is not able to occur from holding ones pee... ;)

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 01/30/2012

I am glad to have a doctor in the house! Thanks for clarifying Amanda, however explain this... How do you think bacteria gets into your kidney?? Ummm, hmmmm, lets ponder that for a moment.... Oh I know, from holding your PEE! ;) Thanks but no thanks, no one should be telling anyone when they can go. If they are abusing the privlege then they and only they should have the privlege taken away from them!

Mary - posted on 01/30/2012

Amanda, I thought the exact same thing when a reference was made to having diarrhea in school: "...caught a bug before and needed to seriously get to the washroom several times in a day!". This kid had NO business being in school, infecting everyone else.



And like you and Hope, I have to say I'm a bit perplexed at people talking about needing to use the restroom that frequently over a seven hour time span. I know I was never like that as a kid; I remember raising my hand to ask to use the bathroom during class time, but that was a very rare occurrence. Unless I'm drinking copious amounts of coffee, I don't usually go that frequently at home, either. My three y/o doesn't either. I usually ask her to try going in the morning before we leave for her to go to preschool, and 95% of the time she does. It is rare that she goes again in the 2.5 hours she is there (I always know the days she did, because when I ask her what she did at school, "Ms Angela took me to the potty" is included in her littany). Most days, she won't go again until after we are home, and she has had lunch. So, her "norm" is to go a little over 3.5 hours.



I have to say, listening to some of you talk about your or your kids needing to go more than 6 or 7 times over a 7 hour time span as a norm makes me damned glad I will never have to do a road trip in a car with any of you...it must take you forever to get there!