Learning to wipe your bottom

This advice aims to help you with supporting your child learn to wipe their bottom after going to the toilet.

What can be difficult?

When learning this skill, children may experience difficulties with:

Knowing where different parts of their body are and feel where they need to wipe without being able to see.

Establish a regular pattern when your child has time to wipe and is not in a rush.

The wiping process needs to be practiced and your child needs to be able to feel stable when trying to do so for example, feet supported while sitting on toilet, leaning against the wall, holding a sturdy rail, kneeling on the floor.

Wet wipes can be easier to use and have a nice smell. If you choose to use them, try to keep it to a minimum and always pop them in the bin - not the toilet - as all wet wipes can have an impact on the environment.

Play “Hunt the object” where the child sits on the floor and feels for objects behind them on the floor without looking/eyes closed if possible. (Placing one object at a time). Make the game more challenging by asking them to identify what they’ve found by touch alone.
Place sticky tape or pegs on their clothing near the bottom of their spine to reach for.
Practice wiping blobs of paint off a plate using kitchen roll (this could be part of an art activity) to reinforce the movement and pressure of ‘wiping’ using tissue on a wet or sticky surface. This can also be done with food items like wiping a blob of jam with bread or the remains of soup in a bowl with bread.
Pass an object like a bean bag, small soft toy or scarf around the body at waist level, firstly in one direction then the other. If this is achieved without the object being dropped and with reasonable speed, progress to passing the object round and between the legs in a figure of eight. This can be done either standing or sitting on the edge of a chair or low bench.