At what point should a child be able to wipe themselves?

[Carrots]

I am curious because my 4 year old still has us wipe her after she pees. Poop, I do the wiping, but pee? Should I start having her do it herself?

Thoughts?

[hillview]

well it depends on the child but my 4 year old will at least TRY to wipe poop so I would think he could wipe pee himself. My 6 year old on the other hand ...

[daisymommy]

At 4 she should absolutely be able to wipe pee. Even at 3 usually.
Poop yes usually by 4 as well, with occasional help if it's messy. I used to teach 4 yr old Pre-K and only had to wipe poop maybe twice.

Time to teach her and hand over the reins!

ETA: meant to type Pre-k, not peep
Darn auto correct!

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[Carrots]

Originally Posted by daisymommy

At 4 she should absolutely be able to wipe pee. Even at 3 usually.
Poop yes usually by 4 as well, with occasional help if it's messy. I used to teach 4 yr old peek and only had to wipe poop maybe twice.

Time to teach her and hand over the reins!


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You have no idea how relieved I am to hear this. No.idea. The reins are being handed over!

[longtallsally05]

Start working on it. It is a skill in which your child will absolutely need to be proficient by kindergarten (age 5).

[Canna]

I agree - pee wiping from around 2. My DD is 4 and took some encouragement to wipe her own poop but now she does it without question. Flushable toddler wipes at home help her (um...I like them too).

[hoodlims]

My 2 year old wipes herself. She even wipes poop but if it is a smudgy one I do it. Usually it's a pretty clean break.

[twowhat?]

Our 3.5 yos wipe pee (and even then they wipe the front and when they stand up they still drip because some of it gets on their butts) but I have never let them wipe poop yet...I do use toddler wipes...just afraid that they'd get poop in the wrong places.

Any good tips for teaching preschoolers how to wipe poop? I can only get a good wipe if they are leaning way forward, and then I wipe front to back. That's also how they do it at preschool - have the kids stand and lean forward/grab their own feet and teacher wipes poop. My kiddos have soft poop that do not usually make "clean breaks" (LOL!!)