Help with Getting a 5Yr Old to Wipe After Using the Potty....

Updated on May 20, 2008
R.A. asks from Grovetown, GA
4 answers

My 5yr old daughter has decided in the last couple months that she doesn't need to wipe after using the restroom. I've tried punishing her (time outs and taking away toys/tv time) and rewarding her (a reward chart with stickers & a big reward at the end of the week), and neither has worked at all. She could care less really.
Anyone have any ideas?
I'd really like to avoid going back to diapers.....he he he!

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H.B.

answers from Augusta on

Tell her if she dosent wipe she'll get sick from the germs she's not wiping away and if she starts to wipe like mommy does she'll get a surprise. Take her out for ice cream or to pick out a new toy

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.B.

answers from Augusta on

My son had a similar problem, until I had him hand washing his underwear. I had tried explaining hygiene and germ issues, but that didn't help. Even a shower after every restroom visit didn't do the trick, but I noticed that after having to clean his own mess up with his bare hands (followed of course by a shower), he decided it was better to clean up the first time. Hope this helps!
E.

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B.

answers from Augusta on

She will start to care when she starts to sting and get red down there. My daughter is 6 and I still have to get on her about wiping well. She is better now but every now and then she still gets red, we just try to make sure she washes well in the tub.

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L.V.

answers from Augusta on

Perhaps if you (or your pediatrician) explain to her that not cleaning her bottom can lead to painful infections or adhesion (sometimes requiring surgery to correct). My daughter hates regular toilet paper, no matter how soft it is, and would opt not to use it when she was around the same age as your daughter. She'd complain about the paper scratching her skin, and then about the soreness following the not wiping. We made sure to keep her stocked up on the flushable wipes and she got over it in a few weeks time. The talk I had with her about adhesions scared her into doing what is needed for a healthy bottom. All the other tactics had not worked, and I was not excited about again having to wipe her after every bathroom visit. You may want to talk to your daughter about why she doesn't want to wipe, there may be something else going on that is making her not want to.

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