Children and humans in general have a few very basic needs that at minimum should not be restricted. They are the need to breathe, the need to eat, the need to eliminate. Without these needs, a child will be unable to learn, focus, and even survive.
This past week there were two incidents in the news where the basic need to eliminate was denied to two middle school boys. The first incident involves an honor student child in California who claims the teacher told him to urinate in a bottle instead of allowing him to go to the rest room. The child was suspended and the teacher was transferred to another school. The child is the person who reported the incident to administrators. Yet, he was still punished. Today I read that a 6th grade boy in Ohio was denied a bathroom break during a test and accidentally urinated on himself. Administrators have apologized to the child and placed blame on the teachers’ overzealousness. There is no information as to how the teacher was punished.
My son had bathroom issues when he was in public school. He was born with colitis, which the doctors called a slow colon. Because of bathroom rules at school, he was not allowed to take the time he needed to eliminate, and so the problem escalated into a chronic condition that had us at our wits end. Doctors could do little to remedy it and their attempts made it worse. We eventually found a home remedy that made the situation better, but the problem would come and go, getting worse during the school year.
The year we started homeschooling, the problem took care of itself. Because he was able to go the bathroom whenever he wanted instead of being forced to “hold it” until he was too constipated to go. While he still has a slow colon, his problem is manageable with herbal tea and being able to use the bathroom at will. This was an unexpected benefit of homeschooling.
I sure am glad we homeschool.
*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.
*Want to know more about homeschooling? Start with the 2006 homeschool blog in review!