Is this normal for preschool re: bathrooms?

schnappycat · July 2011

DS is in his 3rd day of underwear in hopes he will be potty trained enough to start preschool in 3 weeks. Ack! He's doing pretty well at home, but when we are out (we haven't been able to stay home all of the days), I put a pull-up on him. He has never used a public potty and I need to start working on that.

Anyhow, a friend whose boys went through the same district preschool told me that they make the kids leave the bathroom doors open while they go. I was a bit surprised and now am not sure how to "discuss" that with DS. At home, we have been talking about privacy and he sometimes he does wants his privacy, although most of the time I'm still in there with him. But I don't know that he'll want to go in front of other kids.

Is this normal? And how does one broach this subject to a very newly PT kid?

luvmagoldn · July 2011

The bathrooms at our PS have a curtain hanging so you have privacy but it's not totally closed off (you can see tops of heads and feet). Will there be a meet the teacher day before school starts? You can point out the potty situation then. My guys were so impressed by the small potty and sink they didn't even notice the curtain!

schnappycat · July 2011

luvmagoldn:
The bathrooms at our PS have a curtain hanging so you have privacy but it's not totally closed off (you can see tops of heads and feet). Will there be a meet the teacher day before school starts? You can point out the potty situation then. My guys were so impressed by the small potty and sink they didn't even notice the curtain!

We do have some sort of open house, I think, but I believe it's literally the day before he is to start. Not much time to take in and process all of the information. It really bums me out that it's not several weeks ahead. I don't have any information yet at all, which is stressful.

franciscaz · July 2011

That is not the case in our pre-school. They have a bathroom in there and when the child is done the teacher peeks in to make sure they are all cleaned up (hands washed, pants on, toilets flushed).

Brewtowngrl · July 2011

franciscaz:
That is not the case in our pre-school. They have a bathroom in there and when the child is done the teacher peeks in to make sure they are all cleaned up (hands washed, pants on, toilets flushed).

Same with us.

For the public bathrooms i made it exciting. When we got somewhere I would ask him if he wated to see what that places bathroom looked like and got all excited about checking it out.

the_jackpot · July 2011

At my son's school the bathroom is at the side of the room. The kids go one at a time but the door is open and the kids call out when they are finished. Not very private but I don't have a problem with it. They do have a little potty and a little sink.

How is this for privacy, my ds is not fully trained yet but when he went on the potty his friends told me the minute he walked in the room

MrsHughesNC · July 2011

Yes, at our DC, there is a small, low potty in each room, in a little "closet" almost, with no door. It's never struck me as especially odd. it's away from the main play area, and the kids go in and out as they please, on their own. The teachers are there to help them if they need it. There is a child-height sink outside of the bathroom, in the main part of the room.

sju · July 2011

Our school has those doors that split in half. When older kids go to the bathroom they can (although they don't always do that) close the bottom half but the top remains open. The teachers can check on them easily.

capulet · July 2011

KateB1984:
At DS1's preschool there are two public washroom style stalls and one sink in the bathroom. From what I understand, the kids let the door swing shut (it naturally closes most of the way, but still an inch or two open) but never lock the doors or anything. There's a teacher who supervises the kids washing hands and checks on the kids using the toilets.

This is how it was at both DD's preschools this past year - they are church basement preschools so they have regular adult bathrooms with stepstools the kids can use to wash their hands. When I helped out at one of her schools (a few days over the course of the year) I usually went in the girls' bathroom in case any of the girls needed help, but most of them didn't, except for DD who was not quite three when school started. The biggest problem for her at that school was that they didn't have any kid-size potties (the other school had one) or toilet seats, and DD is small for her age, so when she was just starting to go to the bathroom by herself it was awkward for her.

m_and_m · July 2011

DD's PS is a converted house, and there is one bathroom on the main floor for all the kids. It's kind of around the corner and the door was removed so it's open but you can't see in there unless that is your specific intent. The kids line up and sit on the floor outside the door when they are waiting their turn, and when somebody wants privacy they are taught to just ask for it- the waiting kids back up the line so nobody can see in.

futrkingsley · July 2011

DS preschool has communal bathrooms off each classroom. Each one has three smallish (but not totally kid sized) potties, and three smaller sinks. The kids are free to use them as they please during class and can call for help or ask for help. The door is left open. There are often several kids in there at a time. Before snack and lunch they are called in three at a time to go potty/wash hands.

Doesn't bother DS a bit as far as I can tell.

jerol · July 2011

Yes, they had regular bathrooms but the children had to use it with the door open. Never seemed to phase either of my girls.

HAFranklin · July 2011

DS's preschool has alll the regular stuff, but really low to the ground. The stalls are tall enough that other kids cant look in, but short enough for an adult to easily see over the top. It also has a trough style urinal that practically sits on the floor. From what they told us on the tour, they have scheduled times to take a class potty break, but the kids can be excused it necessary, and an aide will follow them and wait outside to give them privacy.

Mrs Manners · July 2011

Our kids can close the door, but there's a glass panel in the door so the teachers can see in if needed. Sometimes the kids leave the door open or run out with their pants down if they need help. I have noticed that school does some things differently than we do at home and ds has had no issues knowing that we do things one way at home and another way at school if I clearly define that for him.

UsedToBeGoldie · July 2011

the bathrooms in daycare do not have doors - there are dividers between the toilets- but you can see around them easily if you need to. It's never been an issue- the kids have been used to it since they were PTing... I have never even thought twice about it- I want my kid safe - and the teachers need to be able to see them easily for them to be safe.

jlw2505 · July 2011

At my daycare, the bathroom doors are never closed other than in the school age room (kindergarten to 5 th grade before and after care room). In fact, in all the other rooms, they have 2 pottys right next to each other so 2 of the kids can go at the same time - boys and girls. It never phases my kids when they are at school. I actually find myself having to remind them to close the doors when we are out using public bathrooms or at other peoples houses. At home, I could care less if they close the doors - we do talk about privacy and they sometimes ask to go themselves but more often, they leave the door open when they go.

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