ZeroIntelligence.net

Parents attack bathroom policy

Updated 19 Feb 2004

Lawrence, NJ middle schoolers are now limited to 15 bathroom breaks a month. In an effort to limit bathroom problems the school is now locking restrooms between classes and regulating the number of times each student may use the facilities.

As a result, some are afraid to use up their bathroom passes too quickly and end up with a full bladder and nowhere to go.

Some girls feel an even greater need to stockpile their passes so they have them at their disposal when they menstruate, parents say.

The school defends the policy saying bathroom use is a privelege and besides “if a child has to go to the bathroom more than three times a day, we need (to bring them) a doctor’s note.” The obvious problem there being the limit of 15 trips in a month with 20 to 22 school days. Children are also allowed to use the bathroom during gym and lunch but gym is an alternate day class and some students take health class instead.

“Common sense tells you the policy doesn’t make any sense,” said Dr. Christopher S. Cooper, an associate professor of urology at the University of Iowa who specializes in pediatric urology. “When children need to go, they should be allowed to go. It isn’t good to hold it in or drink less fluids. It could have long-term effects on a child’s health.”
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“I see lots of junior high kids every day who have problems with urinary tract infections from not voiding frequently enough,” he said. “There is also an epidemic of constipation because kids are not consuming enough fluids.”
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Laurie A. Couture, a child psychologist and children’s advocate in Exeter, N.H., wants to see such bathroom restrictions eliminated. She says the restrictions are nothing short of child abuse and should therefore be reported to state authorities.

If schools have extreme disciplinary problems, Couture suggests putting bathrooms in every classroom or paying for hall monitors. The use of the toilet at any age is a fundamental human right, she says, and limiting its use not only has physical consequences, but psychological ones.
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“No adult would tolerate such treatment by another adult, and no adult would expect themselves to be able to concentrate on tasks while concentrating on retaining bodily waste.”

Restricting facility usage has led to court cases in the past and I expect that this one will too. It’ll only take one kid who’s used up his passes who is forced to hold it and can’t. The Superintendant has declined to comment on the policy saying it is a matter best dealt with by the school and the parents. I hope he wises up and steps in to do his job before this Pee-Pee Policy does some real harm.

Bathroom passes should be left to teacher discretion.

The policy limited students’ in-class bathroom trips to 15 per month, with another 15 trips for locker visits and other assorted uses.
However, the school administration announced a change late in the day Tuesday, and now students will be permitted to leave class 30 times per month for any reason. We’re pleased the school took steps to change such an unpopular policy and attempt to find common ground with students and parents who were outraged by the initial plan.

Excellent news for student bladders. It is wonderful that the impossible limit of 15 has been increased but the main issue here is still the policy itself. There is something inherently wrong in setting a fixed limit on the number of times a person may go to the bathroom.

Requiring that students have a pass to identify where they came from and where they are going is not the problem. A static limit to the frequency of the pass is the flaw. Teachers should be trusted to determine when and how often students should be allowed out of class. And if there is a fear that students are abusing the privilege by loitering in the hallways, bathrooms or anywhere else they should not be, improved hallway monitoring would be in order.