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From:	Shiny (pcp08425901pcs.lowmrn01.pa.comcast.net)
Subject:	Girls' toilet issue
Date:	September 26, 2005 at 5:52 pm PST

I have somewhat suddenly found myself in the position of nanny to three children, ages five (turning six on Thursday), three, and one. None of the children use the toilet alone - at least, not where defecation is concerned. I find this confusing, since the last childcare job I had was for a three-year old (now four) who always wiped himself. The mother of these children tells me that the three-year-old boy is too young to wipe himself, and the almost-six-year-old girl can't be trusted to do it because a four-year-old girl in the neighborhood got a urinary tract infection from wiping incorrectly. When I raised the issue, she has expressed some openness to having the girl learn to wipe herself, since she may eventually have to do it in school, but it hasn't been introduced to the girl's life yet. I feel tentatively authorized to begin training.

My questions are:

1) How old should children typically be when they learn wiping skills?

2) If you think that six is, indeed, old enough for this, do you have any advice? The girl is very aggressive and stubborn, and she is currently insistant that I wipe her. I generally have to take a very firm hand to get her to do anything, but I don't want to traumatize her when it comes to toilet issues. The whole issue just makes me a bit uncomfortable.

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