A little school girl looks longingly into an ice-cream parlour on her way from school while her companion rests on a table placed outside.
Dimapur | February 7 :The practice by school teachers to prevent or deny children from relieving themsleves during class hours is very common. Despite this common practice of forced retention of bodily waste, little has been done to address this issue let alone consider it a health hazard and a violation of a child’s right.
What most teachers think is that, requests for a relieve, is an excuse for the student to escape lessons or that it can wait till the period is over.
However, what most teachers fail to understand is that, each child’s excretory system functions in a different way from that of adults and as such making them “hold on” can cause multiple health and most importantly, psychological problems. Sadly, no voices have been raised against such mean practices by teachers.
Tolu, a four-year old student of lower kindergarten in a reputed school in Dimapur, recently came home after wetting his pants while in school. His teacher had refused to let him use the toilet during class hour. Unable to control his urge to urinate, Tolu wet his pants leaving him embarrassed in front of his classmates.
Similarly, eight year old Kinvi’s mother speaks about her son’s traumatic “hold on” moment in school a few years ago. She says he passed “stool” in his pants after his class teacher prevented him from using the toilet.
Kinvi’s mother recollects the problems she took to bring back her son home. “He couldn’t sit in the auto nor could he walk,” she says. To add to his already awkward amd embarrassing situation, his brothers kept poking fun at him which ended in a fist fight in their sitting-room.
While in some cases children voluntarily “hold on” till recess, the underlying fact is that most children realise they will in any case not be allowed to excuse themselves.
Dr. G Zhimomi, a paediatrician, explains that the direct consequence of denying children the right to use the toilet is ‘Urinary Tract Infection’, which if neglected, could have long-term health implications. This also increases the risk of kidney infection.
“Up to a certain age, the ability to control urination is very less,” he explains and strictly discourages teachers not to suppress children’s urge to relieve themselves. Dr. Zhimomi says that it could also result in psychological problems like stress or shame and make the child docile.
Another consequence, other doctors warn, is that such practices of denying a child the use of toilet could also result in dehydration.
This generally happens when the child stops taking in enough fluids in order not to urinate often. Dehydration in turn leads to multiple health risks like constipation which can later develop into bile problems. Factors like weather and overactive bladders should not be ignored, Dr. Zhimomi says.
While it seems like an excuse for teachers, some parents are of the view that teachers, especially those teaching at primary level, should be “trained” to understand the physiology and psychology of children.
Also denying a child the right to remove bodily waste is directly harming the child thus suppressing their liberty of using the toilet. And as the world now considers the issue of “right to toilet” at the annual World Toilet Summit, allowing a child to use the toilet is not a big thing to ask for.
Morung Express News
What most teachers think is that, requests for a relieve, is an excuse for the student to escape lessons or that it can wait till the period is over.
However, what most teachers fail to understand is that, each child’s excretory system functions in a different way from that of adults and as such making them “hold on” can cause multiple health and most importantly, psychological problems. Sadly, no voices have been raised against such mean practices by teachers.
Tolu, a four-year old student of lower kindergarten in a reputed school in Dimapur, recently came home after wetting his pants while in school. His teacher had refused to let him use the toilet during class hour. Unable to control his urge to urinate, Tolu wet his pants leaving him embarrassed in front of his classmates.
Similarly, eight year old Kinvi’s mother speaks about her son’s traumatic “hold on” moment in school a few years ago. She says he passed “stool” in his pants after his class teacher prevented him from using the toilet.
Kinvi’s mother recollects the problems she took to bring back her son home. “He couldn’t sit in the auto nor could he walk,” she says. To add to his already awkward amd embarrassing situation, his brothers kept poking fun at him which ended in a fist fight in their sitting-room.
While in some cases children voluntarily “hold on” till recess, the underlying fact is that most children realise they will in any case not be allowed to excuse themselves.
Dr. G Zhimomi, a paediatrician, explains that the direct consequence of denying children the right to use the toilet is ‘Urinary Tract Infection’, which if neglected, could have long-term health implications. This also increases the risk of kidney infection.
“Up to a certain age, the ability to control urination is very less,” he explains and strictly discourages teachers not to suppress children’s urge to relieve themselves. Dr. Zhimomi says that it could also result in psychological problems like stress or shame and make the child docile.
Another consequence, other doctors warn, is that such practices of denying a child the use of toilet could also result in dehydration.
This generally happens when the child stops taking in enough fluids in order not to urinate often. Dehydration in turn leads to multiple health risks like constipation which can later develop into bile problems. Factors like weather and overactive bladders should not be ignored, Dr. Zhimomi says.
While it seems like an excuse for teachers, some parents are of the view that teachers, especially those teaching at primary level, should be “trained” to understand the physiology and psychology of children.
Also denying a child the right to remove bodily waste is directly harming the child thus suppressing their liberty of using the toilet. And as the world now considers the issue of “right to toilet” at the annual World Toilet Summit, allowing a child to use the toilet is not a big thing to ask for.
Morung Express News
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