Thread by @teamsquarepeg

An important read. ‘Let Them Pee!’ Thank you ⁦@GregSantucciOT⁩. facebook.com/gregsantucciOT…

Pasted text for those unable to access link: ‘It happened like clockwork. My family would be at a restaurant for dinner. We asked the kids to go to the bathroom before we left the house. We even asked when we got to the restaurant! Without fail, when the food came,’ 2/

‘“Dad, I have to pee”! And each time, without hesitation, even though my dinner would go from hot to ‘somewhat hot’, I would take them to the bathroom.

And guess what? Even if you allot time for a child to go to the bathroom; even if you line your class up after lunch and,’ 3/

‘have the entire class go; even if you give them time in between classes; there still may be times when a child has to go to the bathroom. And if they have to poop, all bets are off for any time constraints. It’s frustrating, it’s inconvenient, & they should be allowed to go.’ 4/

‘The urge to go may be sudden for a variety of reasons, but the response should be consistent. Yes, you can use the bathroom. Denying them the right to go when their body is telling them to go is both physically & emotionally unhealthy.
Eliminating waste is a survival necessity.’

‘Kids who struggle with interoception may not read their internal cues correctly, and therefore, may not know they need to go until the last minute.’ 6/

‘If a child needs to go to the bathroom in the middle of a lesson, it’s unrealistic to tell them to “wait” or “hold it” and then’ expect them to concentrate on the lesson being taught.’ 7/

‘Forcing discomfort or pain on a child is not OK, and we can’t teach kids that they don’t have control over their own bodies. We are not creating a safe environment when a teacher decides unilaterally WHEN and IF a child can eliminate waste.’ 8/

‘But there’s more. Wetting your pants in school is embarrassing and most likely an enormous stressor for children. Imagine wetting your pants in front of your classmates. Imagine wetting your pants in front of your co-workers!’ 9/

‘Now, imagine wetting your pants in front of your classmates when you ASKED TO GO, but your teacher said ‘no’. How demoralizing is that?

Teachers do raise a valid concern when they talk about misbehavior in the bathroom.’ 10/

‘We need to separate the bathroom break abuse problem from the bathroom need. Many teachers will tell you it’s absolutely possible to allow children to use the bathroom while avoiding major class disruptions or abuses of a ‘bathroom break’.’ 11/

‘If you suspect a child isn’t using the bathroom break appropriately, talk to them about it! This is a perfect opportunity for “Plan B” from the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions Model (livesinthebalance.org).’ 12/

‘One of the many things I’ve learned over two decades of working in schools is that when there’s mutual respect between student and teacher, bathroom breaks are not abused.’ 13/

‘Since this community first started, I’ve heard too many stories about teachers withholding bathroom breaks from children. I’ve also dealt with this with my own children in school and it’s extremely upsetting to know that this is happening as frequently as it is.’ 14/

‘Please share stories in the comments. If you are a teacher with an awesome bathroom policy, please share. If you are a parent who has a child that was denied the bathroom, we would love to hear your stories so we can learn from them.
Greg Santucci, OT
gregsantucci.com’