Denial of toilet breaks in Primary Schools

Hubbard

I would have imagined that this concept is fairly antiquated these days, but I have heard a story where it happened in my local primary school.

Without naming names or getting into too much detail, basically the child (2nd class) requested permission to go the toilet, and the teacher refused. The child was then too scared to repeat the request, so ended up 'leaking' into the chair. The child was then too embarrassed to tell the teacher and sat in the wet chair until hometime. The child then left school with their coat tied around their waist to hide their wet clothes, even though it was raining heavily.

To be honest I was pretty shocked when I heard about this, but then it also triggered a memory of almost exactly the same thing happening during my own school days, and it has since emerged that this may not be the first time this has happened with this particular teacher either. So maybe it's normal(ish)?

How should the parents deal with this? I don't think it should be ignored, but the parents feel that the child could end up suffering more if they complain.

oh well

what is it with some teachers not allowing toilet breaks - its like they think children should just be able to go at preset times and never inbetween. This has been discussed so many times at our schools, on the parents assocations, parent teacher meetings etc and countless web forums and still some teachers like the power of saying no to a child in need. I recommend speaking with the teacher concerned, the principal and have it brought up at the parents assocation meeting too. Its just not acceptable.

overmantle

The poor little thing. This was a very unfortunate situation for the little one. I taught for many years and I am a parent also. Don't assume that this is some kind of agenda. I don't know of any teacher who would intentionally deny a child a trip to the bathroom. There can be a 'run' on the bathroom at times with a constant stream of requests. Occasionally the teacher may say, hold on a moment, wait until he's back, or whatever.
The teacher may have been in the middle of explaining something at that very moment with the intention of telling the child to go immediately after but forgot, there may have been another child in the bathroom, there may have been several requests and the teacher wanted to break the pattern for a moment.- I don't know. What I do know is that many children love going into school toilets with others and doing silly things like stuffing loo rolls down the toilet or urinals, throwing wet pieces of toilet roll at the ceiling, writing offensive stuff about their classmates on the walls, stuffing belongings of their classmates into the toilet, etc etc.
Please don't get me wrong. I am not blaming the poor little child. I remember the same thing happening to me (many years ago) when I happened to be standing out and just didn't ask on time. I am just trying to explain that if there is ever any hint of a difficulty, teachers would always leave a child to the bathroom. I know of several cases though where a child could go to the bathroom anything up to 10 times a day, always during class time. When the teacher has enquired discreetly from parents if there may be a kidney infection or a need to go regularly to the bathroom when at home, parents don't know what the teacher is talking about.
Unfortunately, it is not the messer but the quiet child who doesn't ask again, the teacher unfortunately may get distracted and this very unfortunate accident happened. I can speak from my own experience and know that this is the very last thing any teacher would want to happen. It would be no harm to alert the teacher discreetly that it happened but the child would obviously preferrably not be told to avoid embarrassment for him/her.

byhookorbycrook

Again, I know of no teacher who would deny a child,but I would often tell a child to hang on a minute, if I were correcting something or if there happened to be another child in the cubicle.

I'd get the full facts first. There was a thread on a parent site recently where it seemed a junior infant told her mam she wasn't allowed to use the toilet at break time. It transpired the child never asked the teacher at all.

I would feel sorry for any child who has an "accident", it is so embarrassing for them at any age, especially as two adults have to be present to change the child, due to child protection.

shelly6

I know that the toilets in my school are not in or beside the classroom. Which means that there are several classes using the same toilet. So even if you know no-one from your class is in there, you know nothing about other classes. It has happened so often that children come back from the toilet saying "X hit me" or "Y was doing blah blah in the toilet"
Its so much easier to have a toilet time, and not let kids out whenever they want.

deisemum

Fortunately at my children's primary school there are 2 separate toilets in each classroom, one for boys and one for girls.

Most of the teachers have told the children that if they need to go to the toilet to just quietly get up and go as long as the toilet was free. The teachers prefered this way so they wouldn't get side tracked with repeated requests to go to the toilet.

However one witch of a teacher (whole load of reasons for that) was known to refuse all children from going to the toilet and an unfortunate boy ended up soiling himself. There was war over it as this child was humiliated and the school knew about a medical condition he had. Fortunately the teacher moved to another county and luckily my children didn't have her.

Also teachers should bear in mind that the majority of young girls now get their first period while they're in 5th or 6th class and even younger and that they may need to use the bathroom promptly so minimise accidents.

overmantle

Deisemum, The vast majority of teachers are very very much aware of the period issue and I know that they do everything possible to be as discreet as possible. It's so important for parents to tip teachers off if a child is starting although most teachers are extremely perceptive and go out of their way to avoid embarrassment for children involved.

sconochini

teacher deny your child bathroom? easy to solve (for parents)

hi , i open this topic because i have read some problems about it

*Who is the teacher to deny my son the right to go use the bathroom?
boss can not deny employers to use bathroom
prison officers can not deny inmates to use bathroom
principal can not deny teachers to use bathroom *
therefore teachers should not
deny students to use bathroom.



so i told him if you need to go for a wee ask your teacher, and if she tells you no JUST WALK OUT THE CLASS AND GO TO THE TOILET and tell them DADDY said you can go to the loo when you need to.


i know some people will say , your child should wait until recess


what happen if is an emergency e.g. stomach ache or urges to pee?? , bodily function DON`T KNOW ABOUT time specially in a emergencies cases like diarrhea



You teacher , you can not deny my child the right to use the toilet if he has an emergency , what would happen if a student have an accident and wet pants or have a stomach ache in front of a whole class because the teacher denied a student to use bathroom ??
it would be anecdotal for the teacher but for the pupil will be a traumatic and humbling experience for the rest of his/her life and many
many classmates will talk about that during years and the pupil will be humiliated again (and sometimes in front of new people).




why some teachers deny pupils the use of bathroom? students ask for the toilet to avoid some lesson

they would take drugs in bathroom , they can suffered a heart attack along the way......

TEACHER'S EXCUSES

i think some teachers dont let students use the bathroom because want see them with his/her pants-wetted ...


so I recommend to all parents , tell you child that you should wait until recess if you can hold , ok i'm agree , but if you child has an emergency , JUST WALK AND GO ,
teacher is not nobody to deny your child to use the bathroom , message to all parents DON'T LET YOUR CHILD BE HUMILIATED BY A TEACHER. OK?!!
OK.

*

i see here many teachers are proud of about that. You are lucky my kid isn't in your class , you would have a big problem with me;
but anyway some day you could have a problem with a violent father .

*

Defend your child against bad teachers. it is a duty !!

Bathroom is a right , not a privilege.*


to avoid your child have an accident in class?? easy to solve:


tell your child if you need to go for a wee ask your teacher, and if he/she tells you no JUST WALK OUT THE CLASS AND GO TO THE TOILET and tell them DADDY said you can go to the loo when you need to.



*BYE BYE , discipline? nothing to do with discipline

overmantle

With all due respects, this must be one of the strangest posts I have read here in a very long time. Sconochini, sadly, you show little or absolutely no understanding of life in school or what teachers are really like. Have you had some very bad history in school yourself to say you are writing such weird things?

overmantle

Scolochini said, "i think some teachers dont let students use the bathroom because want see them with his/her pants-wetted.."All I can say, with all due respects, is that you must have been desperate to make a posting on this website but if this is the kind of rubbish you are contributing, then it is very very strange. The teachers in whose care my children have been are great and trustworthy. I would be very worried, however, if I thought you had an input into a school where my children attended. I have read thousands of posts but this must be the strangest of all.

Johnny Giles

Why did you make two posts on the same topic? There's even one on the Leaving Cert forum.

foodie66

sconochini wrote: »

teacher deny your child bathroom? easy to solve (for parents)

hi , i open this topic because i have read some problems about it

*Who is the teacher to deny my son the right to go use the bathroom?
boss can not deny employers to use bathroom
prison officers can not deny inmates to use bathroom
principal can not deny teachers to use bathroom *
therefore teachers should not
deny students to use bathroom.



so i told him if you need to go for a wee ask your teacher, and if she tells you no JUST WALK OUT THE CLASS AND GO TO THE TOILET and tell them DADDY said you can go to the loo when you need to.


i know some people will say , your child should wait until recess


what happen if is an emergency e.g. stomach ache or urges to pee?? , bodily function DON`T KNOW ABOUT time specially in a emergencies cases like diarrhea



You teacher , you can not deny my child the right to use the toilet if he has an emergency , what would happen if a student have an accident and wet pants or have a stomach ache in front of a whole class because the teacher denied a student to use bathroom ??
it would be anecdotal for the teacher but for the pupil will be a traumatic and humbling experience for the rest of his/her life and many
many classmates will talk about that during years and the pupil will be humiliated again (and sometimes in front of new people).




why some teachers deny pupils the use of bathroom? students ask for the toilet to avoid some lesson

they would take drugs in bathroom , they can suffered a heart attack along the way......

TEACHER'S EXCUSES

i think some teachers dont let students use the bathroom because want see them with his/her pants-wetted ...


so I recommend to all parents , tell you child that you should wait until recess if you can hold , ok i'm agree , but if you child has an emergency , JUST WALK AND GO ,
teacher is not nobody to deny your child to use the bathroom , message to all parents DON'T LET YOUR CHILD BE HUMILIATED BY A TEACHER. OK?!!
OK.

*

i see here many teachers are proud of about that. You are lucky my kid isn't in your class , you would have a big problem with me;
but anyway some day you could have a problem with a violent father .

*

Defend your child against bad teachers. it is a duty !!

Bathroom is a right , not a privilege.*


to avoid your child have an accident in class?? easy to solve:


tell your child if you need to go for a wee ask your teacher, and if he/she tells you no JUST WALK OUT THE CLASS AND GO TO THE TOILET and tell them DADDY said you can go to the loo when you need to.



*BYE BYE , discipline? nothing to do with discipline

Wow, you sound like a delight to deal with :eek:. What an obnoxious and unneccessary post. Having worked in a school myself i can tell you that it is very common (especially among younger children) to go to the bathroom as a social outing or to get up to mischief. They can also ask multiple times in a day which unless the teacher has been informed of a need to use the bathroom for medical reasons cannot be tolerated.

I certainly would not stop a child from using the bathroom, as you say it is a right but in a school situation where a children are walking in and out for needless reasons and distracting the class there needs to be some control over it.

It is up to the parent to inform the teacher of such a need. Also you say you think teachers want children to wet themselves. You have obviously had bad experiences with teachers in the past but you should not tar everyone with the same brush. Teachers are not sadistic people. Toilet breaks are a grey area. Needs must but at the same time teachers need to teach their overcrowded classes, who's attention and concentration is vital and so difficult to maintain in normal circumstances. How would you feel if you knew your child was unable to concentrate because of all the coming and goings in a class of 35? I suggest you keep this in mind before you march up to the school with a big obnoxious head on you and rip them to shreds. Perspective is important, and you should be professional and respectful, it gets you much further in life.

overmantle

foodie66 wrote: »

Wow, you sound like a delight to deal with :eek:. What an obnoxious and unneccessary post. Having worked in a school myself i can tell you that it is very common (especially among younger children) to go to the bathroom as a social outing or to get up to mischief. They can also ask multiple times in a day which unless the teacher has been informed of a need to use the bathroom for medical reasons cannot be tolerated.

I certainly would not stop a child from using the bathroom, as you say it is a right but in a school situation where a children are walking in and out for needless reasons and distracting the class there needs to be some control over it.

It is up to the parent to inform the teacher of such a need. Also you say you think teachers want children to wet themselves. You have obviously had bad experiences with teachers in the past but you should not tar everyone with the same brush. Teachers are not sadistic people. Toilet breaks are a grey area. Needs must but at the same time teachers need to teach their overcrowded classes, who's attention and concentration is vital and so difficult to maintain in normal circumstances. How would you feel if you knew your child was unable to concentrate because of all the coming and goings in a class of 35? I suggest you keep this in mind before you march up to the school with a big obnoxious head on you and rip them to shreds. Perspective is important, and you should be professional and respectful, it gets you much further in life.

Well said Foodie. A very sensible post. Everybody is entitled to his/her opinion but when it is so off the scale, it should be challenged, once, twice, or whatever number of times is necessary.

overmantle

Johnny Giles wrote: »

Why did you make two posts on the same topic? There's even one on the Leaving Cert forum.

The first post I made, when I read it, I felt did not reflect fully the point I was trying to make. I wanted to give a specific quote from a very long post by Sconohini, to illustrate my point. Don't see what the problem is in that. The question might be asked of you, why on a post concerning toilet breaks, you are raising a totally unrelated question? Trying to increase the number of your posts??

bigbrotherfan

Good to see a bit of honesty. I agree with Foodie and Overmantle.

Toto Wolfcastle

overmantle wrote: »

The first post I made, when I read it, I felt did not reflect fully the point I was trying to make. I wanted to give a specific quote from a very long post by Sconohini, to illustrate my point. Don't see what the problem is in that. The question might be asked of you, why on a post concerning toilet breaks, you are raising a totally unrelated question? Trying to increase the number of your posts??

He wasn't talking to you. He was talking to another poster.

This thread is just getting silly now. The last post before it was bumped yesterday was in July so I am going to assume that the OP got her answer. Thread locked.