How OLD???!!! - Milton,PA

Sigh, I've been wondering that myself. My boys are 17 and 19, and The Man is 55.

BAHAWAHA!

:)

tehehe, I mean, they DO wipe themselves, but not always very well!

GOOD question! my son is 5 and has a late birthday, so is still in preschool. and up until about two weeks ago he would do that, and immediately assume the position. i would walk into the bathroom and the sight that greeted me...ah...i know all us moms probably know it well...lol! we started telling him that if he is going to go to kindergarten, he HAS to wipe his bottom. i showed him several times how to do it. he just didn't seem to care. then about two weeks ago, he spent three nights with my mom, and she told me when i picked him up, "oh by the way, (hands in the air), he is now wiping his own bottom - have NO IDEA why. but he is!" lol so he just decided one day to do it.

not only does he wipe his own bottom - no more brown streaks in the underwear. i think at school he was embarrassed to ask the teacher so he would CONSTANTLY come home with brown underwear. hasn't happened since.

*sniff* i'm so proud!!! :o)

'thoroughly' being the key word....

I think they need someone to "bat cleanup" for awhile.
I remember asking myself the same question.
My son just didn't want to do it.
O. night he was in the tub and I said "What will you do if you have a kid that refuses to wipe him or herself?"
His answer? "I'd tell him that I'll wipe his bum when he starts wiping mine!"
Problem solved. I think he was about 5.
Hang in there.
(Wet wipes help.)

ETA: Theresa, I hope you man and sons never see your answer to this! lol

My 5 year old wipes himself and does not want my help. He has a 75% success rate. Once he turned 4 I made him try wiping before I helped.
Now, I actually *wish* he would still call me though, because it seems that every time he doesn't wipe well enough he waits until the absolute most inopportune time possible to start crying that his butt itches!

As much as I am over it too, I still assist my 6 year old. I allow her to do it, and then I go behind her and use a wet wipe because I want to see that it is CLEAN. I wouldn't want her to have an itchy butt or feel dirty, so I will do it until I don't have to.

He'll learn before he starts school if you make him do it.
It won't be up to your standards, but if he has a bath every night, it will be ok.
LBC

I hear you on that! I will be downstairs in the middle of cooking dinner and my daughter will be all the way upstairs and I hear MOOOMMM Im done. She is starting to do it herself since her daycare provider wont she is almost 5 (in 4 days!) We have this saying some of you might think im crazy for even letting my kids say something like this because its kinda gross but if they wipe once and nothing is there then they consider it done and wash their hands. If its a soft one and leaves some behind they will holler MOM its mud butt! So then I know I have to go help them get it all off before they get all chapped. My 6 almost 7 year old will occasionally have a bad case of the mud butt and will let me or his dad help but that is becoming more and more infrequent.

My DD is 4 and does it on her own, but she's not a messy pooper, lol. If she were, I'd still be doing it.

My almost four year old does a good job...when I remind him he has to wipe. Constantly asking "did you wipe?"...or I will come home and there is a surprise in the toilet but no TP...
Drives me bonkers.

I agree with .. if he takes a bath or shower at night, don't stress over him doing it perfectly. let him practice, practice, practice. We teachers dont wipe for them in Kindergarten, I'd say they're on their own in PreK as well.

I was wondering that myself.

Mine is 4 1/2 now and I'm STILL in that "let's see how 'things" are going" potty wise. That DAMN Dr. Oz has me obsessed with checkin' out his poop.

If I remember correctly from my son's developmental paperwork, 5yo was the average age of when they have the ability to be thorough. I've known a 3-1/2yo who was extremely thorough and didn't need to be checked. I know 5yo's who do it themselves, but the mom checks them before bed time. Good luck!!!

A.,
Your question made me laugh because I'm in the same boat! I cringe when I have to do it. My kid's about the same age as yours so I guess we'll be wiping those hinies for awhile there. :) Hang in there! (and so will I).

L.

I've let my kids from about 3.5 on. I ALWAYS make sure we have some kind of moist wipes...Kandoo, cotonelle etc. It makes it MUCH easier for them to do a thorough job!

I actually read something written by a pediatrician a couple of months ago saying that until a child is in Kindergarten, or about 5 or 6, that there arms aren't physically long enough to do the job thoroughly. But like she said, this doesn't mean they shouldn't be trying to do it from the time they start potty training as it IS part of the training process, with Mom or Dad finishing the cleanup after they give it a try. My little guy is 2 and 7 months, he "uses" the toilet paper and I follow-up.

Time to shift the responsibility to the child(ren) ; )

By Kindergarten they *can* wipe.
But, of course, it depends on:
1) their fine motor skills and coordination, to reach back there. And, if they are a girl, that they KNOW... which direction to wipe their hiney. ie: a girl can get UTI's if they wipe from back to front. So a girl has to be taught that... which direction to wipe, after pooping.
2) their ability to wipe well. And if not, "Mom" can check to make sure they wiped, well.
3) their want, to do it.
4) they are just lazy
5) they don't want to get their hands dirty
6) If they know, they themselves can't wipe well yet, so they want Mom to do it... or at least help them.

My son is 7 and finally does not ask anymore. Hang in there!!!!

Wow! I think by 4 she was on her own. If she complained of any problems, I just sent her back in there to do it again.

Now she is six and said something was bothering her bottom so I looked and tried to just touch the surface of her skin to see if there was anything there and she was disgusted! I can't imagine she would allow me to wipe her bottom. She also closes the door while she uses the restroom.