Bathroom Accidents/Change of Clothes

[NanaPoo]

Happy Monday! Are you counting days til Summer? 3.5 days for me!

So, I have a question for those of you in elementary schools and how you handle potty accidents.

I am the lone nurse at our school and when our littles have pee and poop accidents the responsibility falls to me to handle the clean-up and change of these kids. I make a point, whenever humanly possible, to hand these kids a change of clothes & either send them to the restroom or give them privacy in my clinic closet to change. Then I always notify their parent of the situation via email and give details of how they were able to change/clean on their own.

BUT, often at the beginning of the school year, my K5 kids need significant help with changing and clean-up. Or there's a kid in the bathroom that needs me to come wipe their bottom. And there's this one kid in 1st grade that has ZERO modesty and before I can leave the closet he's porky pigging it right there. He's been doing that for 2 years now. I love him but I'm ALWAYS telling him, "wait til I get out, buddy!"

So, how do you guys handle these situations? Do you pull another staff or faculty in to witness? Do you insist a kid do this on their own without your help? How do you protect yourself?

[OldDude]

They're individually wrapped, but I think they are mesh, similar to what they give women after giving birth.

Oh yea, I'm still thinking on my level of development - elementary.

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

Like others have pointed out- special education children have their needs outlined in the IEP and IHP. If they are in a self contained classroom, the aides do the changing/cleaning.. if they are in the regular classroom, the responsibility will most likely fall on me, which I am fine with, as a DOCUMENTED medical need. For the kids who aren't fully trained, or do it to get out of class (have a couple of those), or just don't make it in time, they're given a change of clothing, (If I haven't run out-- which happened a lot this year because nobody returns borrowed uniforms), wipes and a private restroom. Sometimes they need help unbuttoning and buttoning back up-- which I have trouble assisting with.. but I am not wiping privates without express permission from parents, and even then I will not do it on a regular basis.

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

What happened to parents potty training their children??

[WanderingWilder, ASN]

What happened to parents potty training their children??

I was wondering the same thing after reading this. I had no idea this was a school problem.

[peacockblue]

This is a HUGE problem at our elementary schools. It seems every year fewer kids are fully potty trained. And, yes, it falls on the nurse. We stock so many clothes and spen a ton of our own money to stock them. We have been brainstorming on how to solve this problem. And the kids who are the biggest offenders are the ones whose parents won't answer the phone if they see the schools number come up. For the most part the kids do change themselves but clothing is never returned and we are left scouring yard sales to restock our supply.

[OldDude]

This is a HUGE problem at our elementary schools. It seems every year fewer kids are fully potty trained. And, yes, it falls on the nurse. We stock so many clothes and spen a ton of our own money to stock them. We have been brainstorming on how to solve this problem. And the kids who are the biggest offenders are the ones whose parents won't answer the phone if they see the schools number come up. For the most part the kids do change themselves but clothing is never returned and we are left scouring yard sales to restock our supply.

So stop it.

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

This is a HUGE problem at our elementary schools. It seems every year fewer kids are fully potty trained. And, yes, it falls on the nurse. We stock so many clothes and spen a ton of our own money to stock them. We have been brainstorming on how to solve this problem. And the kids who are the biggest offenders are the ones whose parents won't answer the phone if they see the schools number come up. For the most part the kids do change themselves but clothing is never returned and we are left scouring yard sales to restock our supply.

YES! This was me, all year long. Garage sales, Good Will, Walmart.. I spent a good $300 out of my pocket on uniforms, underwear and socks (and that is after the district gave me a box of undies in the beginning of the year and another mid-year!). I've also spend a lot on lice treatments for families who couldn't afford it.

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

So stop it.

I'd love suggestions.

[mc3, ASN, RN]

So stop it.

How? We're not allowed to let students sit in wet clothes or send them back, and even if they're dry they still have urine on then with the odor. My principal would have a fit if I did that. Nope, with my admin we have to keep clothes here. Of course they're not the ones digging through bags of clothes looking for something while you have a clinic full of kids watching you who are still waiting to be seen. One parent actually complained because they didn't like what was given to their kid. Answer the phone then!! But no, we grovel and apologize...

Clearly I'm looking to get out of here...

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

YES! This was me, all year long. Garage sales, Good Will, Walmart.. I spent a good $300 out of my pocket on uniforms, underwear and socks (and that is after the district gave me a box of undies in the beginning of the year and another mid-year!). I've also spend a lot on lice treatments for families who couldn't afford it.

Can your PTA help?? We have several local service organizations who help with personal care items. This should NOT be out of your pocket.

[Farawyn]

Can your PTA help?? We have several local service organizations who help with personal care items. This should NOT be out of your pocket.

Agree. Like OldDude says, Stop it. This is NOT on you. We don't make enough $$$ as it is, now you are spending your own money on someone else's kids? No, no no!

I know your heart is in the right place, but no.

The parents and your district needs to step up.

[GdBSN, RN]

I would love to hear solutions that have worked for other nurses. Accidents are an ongoing, never-ending problem at my school. Here we are the last week of school, and I have seen at least 3-4 accidents per day. I have advised my Pre-K and K teachers to have students keep a change of clothes in their backpack, but that doesn't happen. I even see older kids who are too busy to stop at recess urinate/def. on themselves. I do keep some clothes in the clinic, but my stock is sporifice. Parents refuse to answer the phone. What are we supposed to do???