Another bathroom breakthrough (aka - one more entry that will embarrass Lucas when he gets older)

If you have been a loyal reader, you may remember the great poop breakthrough last summer. Well, Kevin was "on duty" again tonight with yet another breakthrough, again, of the poopy nature.

We haven't been pushing the wiping issue, in fact, I have never once asked him to wipe and he hasn't asked either. So we are pretty much at the beck and call of our reigning king, with commands like "Will somebody wipe me?!", or "Wipe my butt!", or most frequently, "I'm all done!"

Tonight Kevin used the same, shall we say, low-maintenance parenting style, that he used with pooping in the toilet, with wiping.

Basically Lucas called out, "I'm all done", but when Kevin checked, he wasn't all done. So Kevin left the bathroom. When Lucas called out "I'm all done again," Kevin waited a couple minutes. Then Lucas said, "I wiped my own bottom."

Kevin went to do an inspection and one more wipe, "for extra measure". And indeed, Lucas did a clean wipe, without even getting any on his hands.

Yay Lucas!

If you still haven't had enough on this topic, read below.

Lately I've been wondering about the whole wiping thing and when kids can do it on their own. For a few laughs, here are some comments and bits of advice from Berkeley Parents Network.

The advice and comments are very explicit, and also, just like poop and little kids, all over the place:

- The 9-Step process, beginning with, "First: lean forward with your feet touching the floor. Don't lean back - it smushes all over the bum and makes a big mess," and including, "Make a ''pad'' - you really have to show them how to wad or fold or however you do it. He was making a hard little ball of toilet paper so I had to show him how to make it into a loose pad."
- I'd say he wipes himself about 80% of the time. I don't insist on that other 20%, and figure that by the time he's six he'll be doing it all by himself.
- I once talked with a mother of four about this, and she said she thinks that kids aren't really good at it until they are about nine. (Maybe she was exagerating?)
- My son will be able to change his poo-ing times to make sure he goes at home (not at school) and yours may too. So, it might not be a worry
- Encourage the child to wipe themselves and let them know that you will check them and do any final bits that need doing. Gradually, you'll find that you need to do less and less ''clean up''. I assume your child is in school. Ask the teacher how she copes when away from her ''personal groomer'' - you!