Wedding Etiquette Forum

Only 3 bathroom breaks per week?

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/19/10190991-teacher-limits-kids-bathroom-trips-3-per-week

There was a 5th grade teacher that gave each of her students 3 bathroom passes per week to get out of class to use the restroom.  There were some parents that got really upset about it and now it will be ending.  The teacher argued that it minimizes class disruptions.

I don't see the big deal.  Assuming the kids get recess at least once a day plus lunch, they have plenty of other opportunities to use the restroom.  My kindergarteners don't even use the bathroom that much.  I had one student that always asked to go within an hour of lunch being done (always during rest time).  I finally made the rule that you must get a drink/go to the bathroom BEFORE rest time starts.  It has never been a problem since.
Not to mention, if it was truly an emergency, I'm sure she'd let them go.  I feel like each student getting up more than 3 times per week during class would be a massive disruption.  Most classes are at least 20 kids apiece, so this means 12 kids a day on average would be getting up.  That's a lot.

WDYT?  Are teachers right when they limit bathroom breaks?  Or is that out of line for them to do so?
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Re: Only 3 bathroom breaks per week?

  • krizzo17krizzo17 member
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    edited January 2012
    I think it needs to be a judgement call on the part of the teacher. There was at least one instance (in 5th grade, actually) of a classmate being told she wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom, and wetting her pants. I for one, however, spent probably half of 3rd grade in the bathroom avoiding the lady who came in to teach reading lessons because I hated her (I still have no idea why). I think a teacher should be able to say to one kid, no, you always go at this time, please wait 10 minutes, and trust another kid enough to let them go whenever they ask.

    I've also heard that teachers have increased risk of bladder issues because they're always holding it for a break, so I think they should get to go whenever, too.

    ETA: I also think the rewards for not using them are BS. Kids shouldn't feel like they're missing out on something cause they gotta go.
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  • edited January 2012
    I think three breaks sounds like plenty. As you said, there are many other times to go to the bathroom. 

    Part of going to school is learning how to interact in society. 
  • As someone who has a very small bladder and once peed my pants in PE in Kindergarten because I was scared to ask the mean teacher if I could go to the bathroom I think 3 passes a week is bullshit. 
  • For real guys, I'm a full grown adult and I go to the bathroom at least 6 times a day while I'm at work. I can't sleep through the night without peeing. 
  • I pee three times an hour so yah...that wouldn't work for me. 
  • I think it depends on the school - in the high school I went to, we didn't have enough time between classes to stop at the restroom, and you needed a pass to leave the lunchroom, studyhall, etc., so basically, the only way you got to go to the restroom at all was on a pass.  If we only got three passes a week, that would've been a disaster - I think at least one pass per day is more reasonable under those circumstances.  That said, if the kids are getting frequent breaks and opportunities to use the restroom without a pass anyway, then I think it might be okay. 
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  • I don't know why this bothers me so much.

    5th grade girls also get their period. I don't know about you, but if I have my period M-F, I need the restroom a lot more than 3 times.

    And now that I'm thinking about it, we weren't allowed to use the restrooms at lunch in elementary school.

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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_only-3-bathroom-breaks-per-week?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:a75ed647-854c-4e38-a13c-5a9b081e9788Post:a08e98f9-72db-40e2-bac0-07fad66ec127">Re: Only 3 bathroom breaks per week?</a>:
    [QUOTE]I think it is really inappropriate for someone to regulate how another human being is allowed to perform their necessary bodily functions.
    Posted by crfb87[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>Also this. I mean if one kid is causing trouble by asking to go to the bathroom once an hour then tell them to cut it out and restrict them, but I don't think everyone needs to be told how often they are allowed to pee. 

    </div>
  • Obviously, if it's an emergency, or if the kid has some sort of medical condition, the kid should be allowed to go whenever.

    Growing up, there were plenty of kids in my class who always asked for bathroom passes so they could wander the halls or smoke.

    Putting a limit sounds silly, but if the teacher didn't do that, parents would get bent out of shape that their special snowflake was denied an eighth trip to the bathroom and another student was allowed to take her first.
  • I think it's terrible to tell a child they can't go to the bathroom. One time I was in first grade and this horribly mean substiute teacher wouldn't let me go- she told me to wait. Well, I snuck out of the classroom and went anyway. 



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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_only-3-bathroom-breaks-per-week?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:a75ed647-854c-4e38-a13c-5a9b081e9788Post:df5645b6-b263-49e7-9b1b-9d0ddee2c3fb">Re: Only 3 bathroom breaks per week?</a>:
    [QUOTE]For real guys, I'm a full grown adult and I go to the bathroom at least 6 times a day while I'm at work. I can't sleep through the night without peeing. 
    Posted by annakb8[/QUOTE]

    That's me as well.
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  • In high school I had some teachers that gave us 3 passes for the entire trimester. We had 5 minutes between classes but with how crowded and big my HS was, going to the bathroom between classes was impossible. Each class was less than an hour but I tended to need to pee at the same time every day...
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  • I understand limiting bathroom breaks, but I don't know when I'll need to go more than others.

    In high school I got in trouble during speech class when we had a substitute.  He was told to not let ANYONE leave the room (apparently we had "trouble makers" in our class), but I had to go to the bathroom.  Ya know, because I was girl and on my period.  The entire class got behind me when I started to put up a fight, and I ended up going without his permission.  I don't think that we got in serious trouble the next day, but we did get scolded a bit.  SERIOUSLY!  I was not the kid who got in trouble and I just had to go do girl stuff.  The restriction was ridiculous!!!
  • My 5th grade teacher got fed up with kids going to the bathroom six times a day to get out of class, so she gave us each two bathroom passes a day.  These were to be used outside of normal bathroom breaks (after lunch, after recess, etc).  You were allowed more if you had a doctor's note.  I don't think anyone had a problem with it, I certainly didn't, at least.
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  • I don't even remember asking by Middle School. I just think this is micro managing unnecessarily.  In the real world, you don't ask to go to the bathroom, you just go.  It's inappropriate to monitor something like this to that extreme.  Try 3 a day. 
  • Not OK. People can figure the fluck out when they need to use the restroom and go. At ten years old, you have plenty capacity to choose when to use the restroom. 
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_only-3-bathroom-breaks-per-week?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:a75ed647-854c-4e38-a13c-5a9b081e9788Post:366d64dc-4c18-43f1-9e5f-b701f27e257c">Re: Only 3 bathroom breaks per week?</a>:
    [QUOTE]I don't know why this bothers me so much. 5th grade girls also get their period. I don't know about you, but if I have my period M-F, I need the restroom a lot more than 3 times. And now that I'm thinking about it, we weren't allowed to use the restrooms at lunch in elementary school.
    Posted by krizzo17[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>Our middle school tried to do something like this. I don't know about you guys, but when I was a 12 year old girl it took me some time to figure out the whole femine hygeine thing- I needed to use the restroom about every other hour on a day or two or three per month. When I told my mom about it, she was FURIOUS. She went to see the principal and mouthed him off "Don't you dare tell a girl she can't use the bathroom!" and they got rid of it very quickly.

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  • I think it's absurd.

    If it's an issue with ONE kid, address it with the kid.

    But yeah. The kids that wouldn't normally skip class to go to the bathroom are now gonna go three times a week. Way to go, dumbasses.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_only-3-bathroom-breaks-per-week?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:a75ed647-854c-4e38-a13c-5a9b081e9788Post:17936b15-3bf6-4cda-a348-fb1c9e859824">Only 3 bathroom breaks per week?</a>:
    [QUOTE]<a href="http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/19/10190991-teacher-limits-kids-bathroom-trips-3-per-week" rel="nofollow">http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/19/10190991-teacher-limits-kids-bathroom-trips-3-per-week</a> There was a 5th grade teacher that gave each of her students 3 bathroom passes per week to get out of class to use the restroom.  There were some parents that got really upset about it and now it will be ending.  The teacher argued that it minimizes class disruptions. I don't see the big deal.  Assuming the kids get recess at least once a day plus lunch, they have plenty of other opportunities to use the restroom.  My kindergarteners don't even use the bathroom that much.  <strong>I had one student that always asked to go within an hour of lunch being done (always during rest time).  I finally made the rule that you must get a drink/go to the bathroom BEFORE rest time starts.  It has never been a problem since</strong>. Not to mention, if it was truly an emergency, I'm sure she'd let them go.  I feel like each student getting up more than 3 times per week during class would be a massive disruption.  Most classes are at least 20 kids apiece, so this means 12 kids a day on average would be getting up.  That's a lot. WDYT?  Are teachers right when they limit bathroom breaks?  Or is that out of line for them to do so?
    Posted by chelseamb11[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>I for one always have to use the restroom within an hour after eating.  Always.  I don't think specific bathroom times are going to work with everyone.  Also, students have to be trusted, so not trusting them to not use going to the bathroom as escaping is BS to me.</div><div>
    </div><div>When you gotta go, you gotta go.

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  • Our middle school tried to do this when I was in 7th grade. We had a notepad with 15 'hall passes' to use for a whole semester, once they were filled you were SOL. Well I have a very small bladder and mine got filled right away. I ended up getting a UTI from holding it and I had to get a DR's note to allow me to use it whenever I needed to.
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  • It should be up to the teacher.

    For me, it's 1 kid at a time and if a kid is consistantly out of my classroom, I talk to them and it stops.

    That being said, I teach middle school and if I have a girl come up to me and ask to go to the bathroom I almost never deny them (yup periods suck and I don't want them to be embarrassed by me asking or them feeling like they have to tell).

    I also have certain kids who have bowel issues. They don't get denied.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_only-3-bathroom-breaks-per-week?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:a75ed647-854c-4e38-a13c-5a9b081e9788Post:332955a1-ebfe-474f-9c93-4bbbc0011410">Re: Only 3 bathroom breaks per week?</a>:
    [QUOTE]My 5th grade teacher got fed up with kids going to the bathroom six times a day to get out of class, so she gave us each two bathroom passes a day.  These were to be used outside of normal bathroom breaks (after lunch, after recess, etc).  You were allowed more if you had a doctor's note.  I don't think anyone had a problem with it, I certainly didn't, at least.
    Posted by baystateapple[/QUOTE]

    In medical situations (even like those of you who go several times a day), I don't see the issue with more passes being given.  But for the average student, they shouldn't need to get up multiple times a day.  By 5th grade, a student (and parents) have a good idea of the child's bathroom habits.  If the 3 passes per week is an issue with a specific student, then it could be addressed on a student to student basis.  I used to be that student who asked to go to the bathroom but then would wander the halls instead. I think this really cuts down on it. 

    As long as the proper accomodations are made for the students who need it more, I don't see the big deal.
  • I understand teachers trying to curb abuse of bathroom breaks, but 3 passes per week is ridiculous.

    My 6th/8th grade core teacher had a good system. Her hall pass was a giant, neon fish. It was probably a good 2.5' long. If you had to go to the bathroom, you had to take the fish. This way, if you were trying to cut class, you'd probably be embarassed out of it. I'm sure some kids found ways around it, like ditching the fish in a planter for a bit or something, but on the other hand, she would know if the fish was gone for an unusually long period of time. At 13, carrying the fish was mortifying, but as an adult I think it was a good alternative to limiting hall passes.
  • Your link doesn't tell the entire story.

    There were fights and sexual activity going on in the restrooms and they tried to deall with this by removing the stall doors.  It was a matter of trying to controll students that didn't work and it was the parents who went to the press
  • I would be beyond pissed if they removed stall doors. No one needs to see me pee.
  • Meh, my rule is you can go whenever you want as long as I am not actually teaching a lesson at the time. If it is an emergency - go. I have a signout system and stuff (they put a toilet plunger on their desk)...if they are having a work period they don't even ask to go, I have two pungers by the signout desk, if there is a plunger available they take it, put it on their desk and go.  

    If a kid abuses their bathroom 'rights' then I talk to them. Some kids do genuinely go more than others, and some of my kids just need a walk now and then.  As long as a habit of dispruting my lessons doesn't form I am fine with it. 
  • edited January 2012
    That's similar to my kindergarten class. We had specified times to go to the bathroom during the day and if we didn't go then, we were SOL. 

    My mom definitely went up to school and pitched a fit.

    Well...not about the sex in the stalls. Just the bathroom break allowance part.
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_only-3-bathroom-breaks-per-week?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:a75ed647-854c-4e38-a13c-5a9b081e9788Post:8621e333-3907-49ec-8cfb-6ba19509fa49">Re: Only 3 bathroom breaks per week?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Only 3 bathroom breaks per week? : <strong>In medical situations (even like those of you who go several times a day), I don't see the issue with more passes being given. </strong> But for the average student, they shouldn't need to get up multiple times a day.  By 5th grade, a student (and parents) have a good idea of the child's bathroom habits.  If the 3 passes per week is an issue with a specific student, then it could be addressed on a student to student basis.  I used to be that student who asked to go to the bathroom but then would wander the halls instead. I think this really cuts down on it.  As long as the proper accomodations are made for the students who need it more, I don't see the big deal.
    Posted by chelseamb11[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>But what if a kid is too embarassed to ask? I was a serious goody two shoes in school and I didn't want to do anything wrong so I would have been afraid to ask for special priviledges. And I don't actually have a medical condition, just a small bladder, I've even talked to the doctor about it because I have to pee so frequently sometimes. So it's not like I could get a doctor's note or anything. I'd probably just wet my pants (which I said I did at least once) or sit there in pain and feel guilty about my bodily functions. </div><div>
    </div><div>I just don't see why the special circumstances couldn't be for those that are truely causing a distraction and not the other way around. 

    </div>
  • edited January 2012
    I mean, I can understand why parents would get upset. They don't like the idea of someone controlling their kids in that way. It's like controlling their bodily functions or something. But at the same time, and this is more of the way I lean to, kids in elementary school like to use the washroom as an excuse to leave and meet up with their friends (I remember reading a young girls' magazine as a kid that suggested if I wanted to see my friend in the other class, make a meeting time and ask to use the bathroom, as if waiting until lunch was too long). There are also the kids that want attention. It's quite a process to answer the kid's hand raise, sign their hall pass, and sign them back in when they return. Minimizes disruption for sure. The only thing I would say, is that there should be exceptions for emergency situations. By 10, you should be able to hold it, but some kids have overactive bladders or medical issues that require frequent bathroom trips.
  • edited January 2012
    That could never work for me. I have a weak bladder that i need surgery for but not until i am for sure not going to have any more children. I could never handle someone telling me i can't go, nor would i want to be ridiculed/made fun of because of how often i have to go by a teacher who wouldn't believe me, especially in front of the class which is usually how it is done. 

    At night i go anywhere from 10-15 times while sleeping, as much as 5 times an hour during the day sometimes, most times it is not that frequent but i can walk out  & right back in. My bladder NEVER gets more than half empty so it fills up fast. I can go without drinking & it won't change a thing, i do find if i drink pepsi/coke it does fill up faster, but other than that it doesn't matter. 

    I went to a wedding once that i missed most of the reception because my bladder was very active & i went every 10 minutes, no exhageration. I am not talking a piddle either, full blown going to the washroom. 


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