Personal Issues with "Wipe Me"

amother

Tue, Jan 18 2011, 10:38 pm

my ds is almost 5. He's been wiping himself for at least 6 months already although I would check him and then do the final wipe when necessary.

we had issues of him holding it in, and I think we're finally over that but we started having wiping issues.

for example tonight we had a TWO hour ordeal. There wasnt any yelling from my part, I gave him options, told him the issue could be over with if he would just take care of it on his own. (sorry if TMI) after using the restroom, he wiped himself for a while, wasting tons of TP and then managed to only make himself more dirty. I told him he had to take a shower and clean himself. After taking a shower alone (he does that on a regular basis) I asked to check him before he came out and that is mainly where this all began, he didnt want to show me cause he knew he didnt clean it. I told him he had to clean himself before he could come out and that I wasn't going to do it for him.

So now that we are 2 hours after he first went to the bathroom he is clean, dressed, and eating dinner.

should I still be cleaning him in the shower or is it okay to ask him to do it himself?
part of the issue is that he doesnt want to get dirty (he'd rather stay dirty then clean the dirt), I know this may sound weird but the idea makes sense. how do I deal with this?

Mimisinger

Tue, Jan 18 2011, 10:46 pm

I think you need to make it less of an issue. He already has anxiety about going. And anxiety about dirt. And anxiety about wiping. And instead of downplaying it all, you're making him shower!

Get him baby wipes. Say use, 3 tissues and then one babywipe. And that's it.

Give him an end in sight. Also, by using tissues (one at a time) you limit the amount of tp and they're hardier than toilet paper is, so they do more with less.

amother

Tue, Jan 18 2011, 10:49 pm

marina wrote:

does he have other anxiety issues?

Can you just get him disposable gloves?

Do you use those flushable baby wipes?

he doesnt have other anxiety issues, as a baby he loved playing in the dirty but when he was done he would cry till he was clean. He does have sensitivity issues with clothing. He likes pants that are elastic but will wear pants that are not, I never force him to tuck himself in because he doesnt like it.

I could buy gloves and see if that solves the problem and see if the fix is as simple as that.

I dont use the flushable wipes because we used them with my older child and they stuffed the toilet. Then again the amount of TP he uses in relation to 5 wipes may be the same. The flushable wipes are suppose to be septic safe but we were told that they arent really good for the pipes. But maybe I need to just buy them and at least for the next 6 months as he gets older and gets better at this he should have his wipes and gloves