  Forced Retention of Bodily Waste: The Most Overlooked Form of Child Maltreatment
Letters from Parents About Denial of Toilet Usage in their Child’s School
The Medical Risks Of Forced Retention of Urine
The Medical Risks Of Forced Retention of Bowel Waste
Personal Stories from Children and Adults who Suffered Forced Retention of Bodily Waste
Personal Experiences of the Editor: Why I Take this Seriously
Media Stories Involving Children Being Denied Use of Toilet
What to Do if Your Child’s Teacher Restricts or Denies Toilet Use
University of Iowa Study: Elementary Schools Need A Lesson In Bathroom Breaks, by C. Cooper, M.D
Parents Attack bathroom Policy: The New Jersey Times Feb, 16, 2004
Letter to the New York Times Re: "Teacher in Urination Flap", by Laurie A. Couture, February 11, 2000
Letter from a Registered Nurse Re: Toilets Locked in PA
Letters from Helpful Organizations
Letter from a retired school teacher who respected children's rights
Teacher Arguments About Toilet Use Restrictions
& Research-Based Answers
IMAGE: First graders, Wesley School, Houston, Texas: "One of the school's special aspects is its regimented bathroom break every morning," Contra Costa Times, February 11, 2001.
What to Do if Your Child’s Teacher Restricts or Denies Toilet Use
© 2004 by Laurie A. Couture, M.Ed, LMHC
I receive many letters every week from parents requesting assistance with how to protect their children from a teacher or school that restricts or denies their children the right to use the toilet at school.
Here is the protocol for protecting your children if:
- Your child’s teacher or school has a restrictive or regimented toilet use policy
- Your child’s teacher has denied your child use of the toilet
- Your child has been punished in any way for using or needing to use the toilet
- Your child has received a reward for NOT using the toilet
- Your child’s school locks student bathrooms
- Take the issue seriously. Listen to your child. Get all the facts. Tell your child that he/she has a right to use the toilet whenever needed and that you will protect that right and seek justice for him/her. Tell your child to get up and walk out of class if a teacher denies him/her use of the toilet again.
- Contact your child’s teacher. Explain to the teacher that toilet use is a right, not a privilege. State that your child is to be allowed to use the toilet whenever he or she has the need. Furnish information from the Medical Risks pages on this site on the medical and health risks of retaining bodily waste.
- If your child’s teacher complains that your child has been misusing the bathroom pass, develop a plan for your child to use the toilet in the nurses’ office for a few weeks. Never settle for your child’s toilet use to be restricted!
- Follow up with a written letter. Do not use the words “bathroom privileges” when you discuss the problem- that is the language of schools. Toilet use is a RIGHT, not a privilege.
- E-mail your child’s story to us at childadvocacy@hotmail.com. PLEASE include your STATE, country if out of USA and your children’s grade or age.
- If the teacher refuses to honor your request, contact the school principal and repeat the above protocol.
- Involve your child’s school guidance counselor.
- Explain to the principal that you will not allow your child to serve any punishment in connection with using or needing to use the toilet.
- If the school principal refuses to honor your request, explain that you will contact the Superintendent, school board, child protective services, the local media and if necessary, an attorney.
- Follow up with a written letter.
- Contact your child’s pediatrician and request that he/she write a note to your child’s school that your child is to be allowed to use the toilet anytime he/she has the need.
- If the school principal still refuses to honor your request, contact the Superintendent’s office and the school board and explain your child’s situation and the school’s refusal to honor your request.
- Report the teacher/school to your local state child protective services for neglect of basic biological needs and/or abuse if your child was denied toilet use as a form of punishment. You can get the phone number from the information operator. Often child protective services is not helpful in toilet use denial cases, however, it is important to document the incident. After several complaints, the state is often required to investigate. If the school is locking bathrooms, ask to file a report of institutional abuse and neglect.
- Rally support from other parents. Post a webpage, start a petition and…
- Take the matter to your local media. Contact your local newspaper, write a letter to the editor and call your local TV station. If they seem reluctant at first to take your story seriously, continue to call, encourage other parents to call and use the information on this site to build a case.
- Contact major news media (CNN, etc) for very serious situations.
- Contact an attorney until you find one that will advise you on your child’s situation. Or, contact a legal referral service and ask for the name of a children’s rights attorney in your state.
- In order to protect your child, consider removing your child from his/her classroom or from his/her school and place your child in a child-centered school, or consider home schooling. There is information on this site about both at: http://www.childadvocate.org/1e_alternatives.htm
- Consider contacting your state’s Civil Liberties Union and report your child’s situation. You can search for your state at: http://www.aclu.org/ Please note that the Civil Liberties Union only deals with constitutional violations, so you may need to appeal and try to make a case. If enough parents and children contact them, they may realize the scope of the problem.
Helpful Resources:
- ChildAdvocacate.org offers parents the service of writing letters on behalf of your child, contacting your child’s school by phone and/or researching further options to seek justice for your child. Please contact us at childadvocacy@hotmail.com for fees for this service.
- Request that ChildAdvocate.org post your child’s story in the next newsletter. This has proved helpful in some situations, as our national and international readers have many resources and contacts to share.
- Contact Robert Brubaker at The Public Restroom Initiative in Alexandria, VA at http://www.metroped.org/pr/index.php or http://metroped.org/pr/fightback.htm. This organization “advocates for the increased availability of public toilet facilities”.
- Public restroom building codes, which apply to schools, can be found here: http://metroped.org/pr/policy/building.htm and http://metroped.org/pr/policy/ICC_403.PDF.
- Contact Tom Keating of Project CLEAN, a project for clean and assessable school restrooms, and inform him that children are being denied access to school toilets when needed. He can be reached at http://www.projectclean.com/toms_bio.html
- The Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence (ERIC) in Bristol, UK can be reached at: http://www.eric.org.uk/ This organization launched the Water is Cool in School campaign, which brings attention to the body’s need for water and dehydration’s effect on learning: http://www.wateriscoolinschool.org.uk/
- Contact The North American Restroom Association in Baltimore, MD at: http://americanrestroom.org/ and inform them of your child’s situation.
- Contact The Simon Foundation for Continence in Wilmette, IL at http://www.simonfoundation.org/html/ and inform them that children are being denied access to school toilets when needed.
- If your child has difficulty urinating in public restrooms The International Parauresus Association in Baltimore, MD may have some helpful information for you at: http://www.paruresis.org/
- The World Toilet Organization in Singapore has information on health risks of bodily waste retention at http://www.worldtoilet.org/health/health.htm
- Hazards Magazine’s (Sheffield, UK) website http://www.hazards.org/toiletbreaks/ discusses the health hazards to adult employees of retaining bodily waste. Contact them and inform them that children are being denied access to school toilets when needed.
- Dr. Christopher Cooper has publicized his research on toilet use restrictions in elementary schools. The University of Iowa Health Care Pediatric Urology Clinic where he is affiliated can be reached at: http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/pediatricurologyclinic/index.phpl
- Contact The National Kidney Research Fund in Peterborough, UK at http://www.nkrf.org.uk/pages/contacts/index.php and inform them that children are being denied access to school toilets when needed.
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