When Did You LO Learn to Wipe Their Bottom?

ETA: When you go to your pediatrician for your next well -child check up - ask about his loose stools. My youngest can take about 10 to 20 minutes to empty his bowels as well - he reads while he goes. And I'm sorry, I missed the "he can't get them back on" - have him pull them down to his ankles. My boys do NOT have bowel movements at school anymore. So sorry!!!
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They were learning as soon as they started potty training. When did they master it? Maybe in the 1st or 2nd grade.

We use the Huggies "One And Done" diaper wipes STILL - they are much better than the Lil Frog or Cottonelle wipes. And since yours has loose stools? Diaper wipes are the way to go!

Now, granted mine are now 26, 12 and 10 - but ALL of us (well the 26 year old lives near her dad) use the Huggies One And Done Diaper wipes. I keep the travel package in my purse (and just used them this evening at the Cub Scouts Blue & Gold banquet)....

My 10 year old LOVES to totally undress EVEN NOW when he does his business. We have told him he can't do that anywhere but home.

Try the diaper wipes. I think you will find it easier for him - they are moist - they are bigger and that MIGHT help him.

GOOD LUCK!!

My son mastered it at 3, but then like your son had some bowel trouble that made it more difficult to wipe himself. The wet flushable wipes helped a lot!
Talk to your pediatrician about why his bowels are so loose, maybe a change in diet will take care of that
As to not putting clothes back on ....Doesn't he dress himself regularly?
If not make him practice a lot! He is not ready for K until he can change his clothes after an accident (spilling milk, paint falling in mud etc) He must be able to get his own coat on, change snow boots to sneakers, and wipe himself. Luckily you have months to work on this!

time to teach him to keep his pants on (literally lol).

mine is 6 and in kindergarten - he's just now really getting good at it. and yes, in preschool they didn't do it for him either. doesn't mean he was proficient at it, although i am sure some 3 year olds are little butt-wiping savants ;).

before this he would ALWAYS have brown streaks - sometimes more like smudges, like he didn't even try. he's getting there. i can't help him all the time - and neither can you. i resorted to reminding him constantly and checking when i could. he'll get there.

Teach him to let his pants and undies pool at the bottom of his feet, instead of taking them off completely. :)

Our daughter learned at age 3 because she was entering preschool and had to be able to do it herself. That doesn't mean she could do a good job at that age, though, because honestly, it was hard for her to stretch her arm all the way back there. But she had probably completely mastered it by 4. I still keep flushable wipes on the commode for her to use.

I'm hanging in here to creep on the responses. Mine is almost 7 and does not know how to wipe her bum. Most times she does have clean drops but still...

My guy had to learn to do it on his own by the time he started preschool at 3 years (and 4 months), the teachers are not allowed to help them wipe so the children have to do it on their own. So I trained him to do it from the time we started potty training to give him lots of practice, he does very good for the most part. My nephew had a problem with soft stools in pre-K, so my sister asked if she could send a package of flushable wipes for him. Teacher said yes, but they had to be tossed in the trash, not flushed. My nephew brought the unused package home the last day of school, he never pooped at school that year! You might want to get some wipes for your son now to help him learn how to wipe on his own.

As far as taking his underwear and pants off, if he doesn't know how to dress himself yet I'd teach him now to just pull them down to his ankles when going potty, and have him work on dressing himself. My guy has had two accidents this year, one with the water fountain that soaked his shirt and shorts, and one with not wanting to go pee when he was playing. Both times he was expected (and did) to undress and re-dress himself. Explain that he's a bigger boy now and should know how to do it, you won't be at school to help him so this will be easier for him.

I was worried about the same thing when my daughter was entering K. She was on the young side and still needed help (even if she didn't think she did). I practiced with her a lot - but in the end she still wasn't ready. (Actually, she's in 1st grade now, and still needs help sometimes!) As it turned out, she basically boycotted using the bathroom at school most of the time, so it was somewhat of a non-issue.

K teachers understand that many children are still learning self-help skills. While their is not official time in the schedule for that sort of thing, I found my daughter's teacher to be especially understanding with kids in the beginning of the year, all the while moving them towards becoming independent.

I would definitely talk to your child's doctor if you are concerned about the length of time that he spends in the bathroom - but frankly, I think some kids just take longer than others.

There is still a lot of time between now and the start of K for your son - tons of growth and development will happen between now and then! You can help him by keeping up the practice (both wiping and dressing) and by keeping the mantra "he can learn this" going - both for him and you. It's developmental, and different for every kid. He'll get there!