ERIC eNews

ERIC Always Happy to Help

Traditionally, December is a quiet month for the ERIC Helpline, parents and children are busy with Christmas activities, preparations and shopping, so probably a call to ERIC has to go on the New Year ‘to do’ list!  This rare quiet time gives us a chance to catch up with all those non essential admin tasks that get put on the back burner and forgotten!  It also gives us a chance to read through some of the latest research in the field of childhood continence.  This is something that we can’t put on the back boiler and forget for very long as it’s very important for us to be aware of developments in the field so that we can provide accurate and up to date information for callers to the Helpline.

Since the beginning of the New Year though, things have really been hotting up on the Helpline as normal business is resumed!  The Helpline has been kept busy with lots of calls and emails and texts, including an increasing number of calls from children; which is good news as we work hard at raising awareness of our service to children and young people.  The website message boards have been as busy as ever and we are in no doubt from the feedback we get that this resource is an invaluable source of support for all who are affected by childhood continence problems.

Our Helpline is open from 10am – 4pm on weekdays, so give us a call on 0845 370 8008.  Our email address is info@eric.org.uk and you can text us on 447 624 811 636.  We’re here to help.

We have also published a new leaflet!  ‘ERIC’s Guide to Childhood Daytime Wetting’. You can download a copy of the leaflet from our website www.eric.org.uk or call us on 0845 370 8008 to receive a copy.  Bulk orders can be made through our webshop www.ericshop.org or call 0117 3012101.

In the last edition of ERIC’s e-Newsletter, we said that we would start a regular feature focusing on the types of enquiries we have on the Helpline.  Here are a few examples:

A young person contacted us who had a combination of continence problems wetting and soiling, along with some special needs.  She didn’t have access to the web, felt isolated and just needed to talk over her problems and wanted reassurance that she was doing the right things.  We were able to give her the time to talk her through some of the issues and then post her some information so that she had it for future reference. 

Among the many parents who have contacted us recently was a parent whose 4 year old son had experienced constipation since he was a baby. He had developed classic behaviour to deal with his constipation over a long period of time – holding on to his poo, taking himself off to do a poo, denying having poo in his pants when it was evident he had, etc.  Although he was being clinically managed by a Paediatrician for his constipation, his mum wanted some practical ideas on how to get him to start using the toilet.  We were able to assure her that the fact that he was pooing was very positive, as opposed to not pooing.  It’s just that currently he wasn’t pooing in the right place.  Strategies were discussed about creating a regular ‘fun’ toilet time, after a meal, for him, with the emphasis on having fun as opposed to producing a poo; putting in place a reward system that rewarded steps in a process as opposed to an outcome, as this would be more likely to ‘engage’ him as he could start having rewards quite quickly.  It was suggested that they read story books together to help him to understand a bit more about the pooing process.  We also talked through how he should sit on the toilet and games to play on the toilet to help the poo to come out. And, not forgetting to encourage the parent to use the Helpline again for continuing support throughout the process as realistically, it may take a little while to see improvements. 

We get many calls from parents to the Helpline and messages posted on the ERIC message board, regarding weeing and pooing accidents at school. 

It can be incredibly frustrating for a parent that despite having ensured their child has been toilet trained before starting school, when picking their son or daughter up from school they find the child has wet or soiled pants.  Understandably parents can feel upset and distressed or that they have failed their child in some way.

 We easily forget what a massive adjustment starting school is for children and it can take a while for them to get into a good school toileting regime.  If you look at it from a child’s perspective, they have to get used to new teachers, classroom rules, socialising, other children, the daily timetable, new surroundings and new routines.  Disturbing what they are doing and getting themselves quickly to the toilet for some children, is not always their top priority and despite having a good toilet routine at home it can sometimes take time to adjust it to fit in with school.  

Getting to grips with actually acknowledging the need to wee or poo in enough time to get the attention of the teacher, being allowed to leave the classroom and find the nearest toilet, getting in there, closing the door and pulling down their clothes and sitting on the loo or standing …all has to be done in good time! A child has to develop a lot of coordination and excellent timing skills and it can take a while for children to easily put all of this together, some timing issues can take a little longer to get to grips with and for some, gentle intervention may be needed.

If you find problems are still arising after the settling down period has passed, have a chat with the teacher.  Sometimes children find it very hard to be brave enough to interrupt the teacher to ask to go to the toilet.  A simple adjustment in the classroom can resolve this.  It’s not unusual for children to dislike using school toilets, maybe they smell a little or seem echoey – reassurance can help resolve these problems –perhaps a buddy system to use the toilet.  A sympathetic teacher will help find an effective resolution.  

If the problems still persist, contact the school nurse and discuss your concerns with her, she can assess a child’s wetting and toileting problems and offer advice and intervention, she will also liaise with the school if necessary.  

In order to develop good bladder capacity and help many continence problems it is really important that your child drinks water based drinks regularly through out the school day.  Good practice at home can become a natural progression when in school and don’t forget to remind your child about drinking and using the toilet when you drop them off in the morning.

ERIC’s Bog Standard and Water is Cool in School Campaigns seek to ensure that every school child has access to clean water and toilets.  To find out more about visit www.bog-standard.org and www.wateriscoolinschool.org.uk. 

Anyone that needs information or support on any childhood continence problems doesn’t have to cope on their own – they can make use of the support, resources and services available from ERIC.  It’s what we are here for and we are always happy to hear from anyone who is affected by any childhood continence issue. 

We look forward to catching up with you again in our next e-Newsletter which will be out in the spring when the snow and cold will (hopefully) be behind us!