Did a parent or teacher ever prevent you from going to the bathroom?
By bassman21
@bassman21 (20)
3 responses
@monochrome_lie (407)
• Canada
21 Jan 08
A good portion of my 1st grade year I was forbidden from using the bathroom during school hours.
It all started one day when I had gone in to use the bathroom. I had this "friend", who was kind of a troublemaker. I think we had initially started hanging out mostly because we were both kind of "bad kids"... never paying attention, never could sit still, always off doing our own thing (ADHD to the core, at least in my case). So I'm in the bathroom one day taking a pee and my "friend" is in there too, and all of a sudden the whole room goes dark. I stumbled around for a while before I found the light switch, and opened the door to find my teacher staring at me with a not so impressed look on her face. In the elementary school that I went to all of the little kids washrooms had big cinder blocks holding the doors open. My "friend" had turned the light off on me in the bathroom (which had no windows in it), kicked the cinder block out from the door and shoved it in front of the door. So now here I was, in all kinds of trouble. I even remember thinking at the time that it didn't make sense that I could have done this myself what with the block being in front of the door that I was on the other side of, but the teacher wouldn't listen to me. I was banned from using the washroom for the rest of the schoolyear for messing around in the bathroom and my "friend" was praised for ratting me out to the teacher.
When I was in kindergarten, I also went to a very strict French Catholic school, and if you couldn't ask to go to the washroom in proper French grammar they wouldn't let you go.
Personally, I think it's appalling that something that is a human necessity be used to punish children. Peeing is a right, not a privilege in my books.
@bassman21 (20)
•
21 Jan 08
So you had to hold it all day and stand there and watch while the rest of the kids had to go? And for the rest of the school year? Wow! Did you tell your parents that the teacher would not let you go? Did the teacher ever make an exception if you had to go really bad? They use to do the same thing when I was in school, but it was usually only for a day. I remember kids bursting in to tears because they had to go so bad!
@monochrome_lie (407)
• Canada
21 Jan 08
No, I don't remember there ever being any exceptions made for me. Though I do think I snuck in there a few times during lunches and things when I thought I could get away with it.
I definitely told my Mom, and she told the teacher that she thought it was cruel but there wasn't really anything she was able to do. If anything over my years of public education I kind of learned that parents are often kind of helpless when it comes to their children and the school system.
@bassman21 (20)
•
21 Jan 08
I know how you felt. I went through the same thing with a feeling that my parents could not help me. I also learned that telling my parents would cause the teacher(s) to retaliate aginst me. Now teacher get fired in some schools for the stupidest things while other continue to abuse kids and get away with it. Anyway I had a small bladder growing up and do not think I could last all day in the first grade. Your lucky you never had an accident. Also I hope your "friend" got hers later in life.
@shymurl (2765)
• United States
21 Jan 08
When my son was in the first second grade he had to go and the teacher wouldn't let him. And when my daughter was kindergarten the teacher wouldn't let her go and had an accident. I got a call to come get her and while I was on my way the teacher made her stay in the bathroom by herself till I got there. I crawled all over that school. Now I don't seem to have a problem with them.
@monochrome_lie (407)
• Canada
21 Jan 08
Good for you Shymurl for sticking up for your children with the school! So many parents seem to think that the schools know everything but we're all people, and we all do some pretty outrageous things.
@Rozie37 (15499)
• Turkmenistan
21 Jan 08
When I was in the second grade we had a substitute teacher. I asked her if I could go to the restroom and she said no. So I sat right there and peed on myself. The teacher called the principal and there was all these people standing around upset with me and fussing.
All I knew was that I had to go and I went. My older sister was sent home to get me a change of clothes and they kept my wet clothes in the office. I took them home when school was out. I do not remember what my mother said when she got home, but I know that I did not get in trouble for it.
