Need Help with Son's Hygiene

Updated on May 08, 2009
M.F. asks from Circle Pines, MN
16 answers

My son who is 5 1/2 has been having issues with dirty underwear. He goes on his own, is actually quite obstinate about doing it all himself, but he is not wiping his butt well enough, and it's resulted in some nasty underwear. Does anyone have any ideas on getting him to wipe better? He understands the mechanics of it.

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So What Happened?

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I don't know why I didn't think of the flushable wipes before. We got some and it seems to be working. He even wants me to put the "big-boy" wipes in his backpack for preschool.

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E.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

Get the moist wipes I use cottenelle they also make some especialy for kids i think they are called kando or something like that my sone likes using them because they dont break apart when you wipe.

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D.G.

answers from Minneapolis on

You could tell him to wipe until there is nothing on the toilet paper - getting new toilet paper for every wipe.

Or buy some wipes and have him use those - at home anyway.

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B.H.

answers from Minneapolis on

Get some babywipes to help the job and tell him he's to wipe until the wipe or toliet paper is clean.

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A.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

In the baby wipes aisle at Target they have flushable wipes. My little ones stayed clean using these and the toilet never clogged and they cleaned themselves. Just be sure he doesn't use too many per time or you could end up with a clog.

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L.R.

answers from Rochester on

I feel the same sometimes about my little girl. Going on 4 she'll sneak away to use the restroom. Not always telling me when she goes. I use the disposable wet wipes, always keeping them on the toilet. They are right there at hands reach and I always encourage her to use them when she goes "#2". Just a thought...

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T.N.

answers from Minneapolis on

Ah, M.... you are bringing me back! We totally went through that. Our son just didn't care enough to do it right. Such a boy... dirty & stinky all the time despite my best eforts! My only suggestion is to go out and buy some of those wet wipes for little kids, like Kandoo (or something similar). They do a great job - even if there is minimal effort. Eventually he'll out grow it. But in the meantime, take comfort in knowing it is really common.

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S.S.

answers from Omaha on

Have you tried to buy the cool fun wipes at walmart that have a cute little frog on the box... I use to get those for my kids they now make them flushable...

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C.S.

answers from Minneapolis on

I know everyone has told you about the flushable wipes already. My daughter was having that problem, so we got those and they did help a little, but for us the biggest problem is that she was lazy and not even using those properly. For a week I told her that she needed to call me into the bathroom to look and see if she did a good job. I would make her wipe until it was good.

It sounds mean, but I also made her wash her underwear in the sink herself. I was tired of doing it and thought if she knew what it was like she would stop...and she did.

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M.J.

answers from Green Bay on

Hi M.

I would have him use the flushable wipes you can get . So he can clean himself better if he does not want you to help .

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S.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

M.,

Huggies puts out a line of "clean team" products for children who are toileting themselves. They have flushable wipes that are kind of expensive, but may solve your son's problem until he gets better at it. You can find them at the grocery store in the baby products section.

Good luck,
S.

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D.P.

answers from Minneapolis on

have you tried the moist wipes for big kids? I think they are called kandoo? Last time I checked they had other ones too with characters. Might help him take more time and be careful. Is he in daycare? Can he bring extra underware to change?? He will get better with age...for now get lots of underware so he can change frequently and give him a good bath every night (we told our girls it was to soak their butts!)

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M.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

Flushable wipes helped our 4 year old, the thing is I don't think their arms are long enough, I don't know I just think it takes them a while. My son still needs me to help

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A.T.

answers from Davenport on

This may sound a bit off the wall but bear with me. It may not be a cleaning issue; it may be that he's soiling due to incmoplete bowel movements. Some kids (mine as a for instance) have what I think is called low motility within part of their digest tract which is caused or aggravated by some things in their diet. I thought my son was soiling because of diarhhea but one trip to the doctor diagnosed him and gave us a treatment plan. The plan - enema to get the bowel started emptying more completely (we only had to do one but for some kids you may have to do it for two or three days, once a day), then a regular toileting schedule. Also, we had to figure out what foods were aggravating the low motility. Usually, but not always, it's dairy products but can also be anything with pectin like Jellow or even fruit and veggies such as apples and carrots. We removed all those things from his diet temporarily and added them back slowly (one added serving a day after a week of regular movements and no soiling). So - first week, no dairy, carrots, jello, or apples. Second week one serving a day of dairy. Third week, two servings and so on until we reach a balance. I had never heard of the problem before taking my son in to have him checked that day but the pediatricians had seen it often enough that hey already had a whole packet of materials and the treatment plan put together in a packet with soil drawing and diagrams to help explain it to parents and kids.

Just an idea.

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S.D.

answers from Omaha on

Well my 6 year old is kind of funny.....but maybe this is something that your son will do. He will count how many poops are in the toliet then wipe that many times....Told you sounds funny but that is what he does. Other wise I would probably tell him to SLOW down and wipe so that when he plays out side he doesn't get dirt and stuff sticking to the poopies in his underwear. Good Luck.

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S.G.

answers from Rapid City on

My 2 and half year old granddaughter does pretty good wiping with the flushable wet wipes. They clean better then toilet paper. We still check her but she is learning.

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M.M.

answers from Green Bay on

have you tried the toddler wipes? they are flushable and may help him get a little cleaner.

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