How to Get My Daughter to Clean Herself by Herself After Going to the Bathroom

It took a while for DD to figure out how to get all the way "back there" - I just kept showing her how. Sometimes I'd put my hand over hers, holding the TP, and help guide it where it needs to go. They don't realize about all the nooks and crannies they have yet! LOL

Please forgive me....but the dipping TP into toilet water? Makes me grimace at even the thought. #1 germs, and #2 COLD on a poor baby's hiney! :( I mean, do you enjoy that feeling that happens occasionally when you're doing #2 and water splashes up on you? UGH!

How about getting some of those "Kan-Do" wipes, or something similar, instead? They are flushable, smell good, are moist, and SANITARY. I am going to have to find my "happy place" real quick so that I don't think about dipping TP in toilet water the rest of the day. =:O

Hey,

You may want to remind her to wipe herself. With my son, we always reminded him to wipe his butt and then we went behind him to be sure he did a good job.

You have to show her by letting her watch you clean yourself. I also bought the Cottonelle Wipes to get them started cleaning themselves. Now they just toilet paper and clean themselves completely. It will take her a little while to get the hang of it, but the wet wipes did help my little ones because the wipes were wet and they knew where they had wiped and where they had not. I hope this helps.

We have the same issue with my 4 year old. You are not alone. I keep showing her, and hopefully she will catch on before school starts. I DO NOT recommend dipping toilet paper in the toilet to wet it as suggested previously. Nasty!! I could not imagine doing that, no matter how 'clean' the toilet is. It has loads of bacteria, and you do not want that on your daughter's behind!

Just wanted to share that our children didn't wipe totally by themselves until they were 5ish. If they did, their underwear certainly would have what they missed and their little bottoms would easily get sensitive. Help her a little longer and then she'll figure it out. Maybe go in the bathroom with her for a while longer and watch her. If you see she hasn't gotten everything, offer some assistance.

Last year, when my boys were 3 years old, I showed them how to wipe their behinds. I sat on the toilet and showed them once: how to take some TP, hold it 'this way', then wipe it once and let the TP fall into the commode. Then repeat it 5 times. The 5th time, check the TP for stains ... if none, then you are done.

Next time when they went potty, I cleaned their bottoms just the way I had showed them and also let them clean themselves as well, while I watched and encouraged them to follow the whole process.

Later, I just supervised them, without actually helping them .... I did this about 20+ times.

I must also mention that till date, within an hour of their cleaning themselves, I have politely washed/wiped their behinds, just because I cannot seem to trust their quality of self-hygeine. I do not want to undermine their confidence either, so I choose the right moment to do my part.

However, I have learned that they clean their behinds independently at school ... though their underwear is spotless, I still use wipes on them when they get home.

I hope this helps. Good Luck.