Parents: How would you want your child's teacher to react if they pooped on themself during school?

Question

One of my second-graders is lactose intolerant. He accidently had a bowel movement on himself. The substitute teacher completely freaked out. She started yelling and she made her get paper towels and clean up the mess (even though his pants were dripping with diarrhea).

The other kids were all grossed out and saying ew. Some ran from the room covering their nose and had to be forced back into their seats.

The sub then sent him to the nurse's office.

Should I talk to the class about what happened so they're not shady when he returns to school?

Answer 1

i am a grown woman and i've had the same thing happen. knowledge is power. yes, i would talk to the class a.s.a.p. and take some snacks too. kids react nicely to things like that.

the sub is an idiot. i would climb the corporate school ladder until she's dismissed. i would call CPS on the witch for mentally abusing him. i would make sure she's never near another child again.

i'm soooooooo mad i can't even type anymore.

tell your child that grown ups have to wear diapers because we have accidents. best wishes.

Answer 2

Since it was a sub, I would talk to the regular teacher about what happened and ask her if you can come in and give a slight presentation about being lactose intolerant. In the kindergarten class I was teaching a boy was lactose intolerant and would have accidents once in a blue moon. The first time he did, the kids reacted badly, but then we sat them down and discussed why he had the accident because of his medical condition and mentioned that we knew everyone in the class had been sick before and had an accident. If the kids can relate to the situation, it often makes them feel a bit better. Try asking the children how they felt last time they were sick. Ask they if they would want to be teased for something that wasn't their fault, like throwing up in front of the class.

Once we described everything and made sure the class understood and had their questions answered (and heard about 5 stories about their own accidents!) they treated the boy normally, and when he had his next accident about a month later, they all hushed about it and when he was cleaned up into his change of clothes, all said they hoped he felt better.

Either way, talking with the teacher about options is probably a great idea :)

Answer 3

How awful!! What a stupid sub!! You should do your stuff to try and get her fired!!!

As for the class, I'm not a teacher, I'm not an adult, and I know nothing about bowel movements so i might not be much help, but i could give you a little insight on a child's perspective.

If i was a student in that class, I would probably avoid the child that got sick for a long time. You should do the same thing that a teacher would do for his class if a child vomited. You should probably have a day teaching to class about diseases, disorders and all that good stuff, but don't make any references to the child that got sick in class. Like, describe what being lactose intolerant is about and talk about how it may be similar to some other disease/disorder/syndrome/whatever and talk about the effects of it and all that. This way the children will understand what happened in class was a result of being sick, also, that is it not contagious.

Either this or just never mention it again and make sure that the child that got sick gets included in the projects like getting some kids to work with him and give time-out to anybody who calls him names, as you would any other student. When I was little and kids would throw up in class I didn't even know about it because the teachers were so calm about it and then by the next day it would be forgotten (by me anyway, but i never knew them very well. i was a little loner).

I hope this helped.

Answer 4

I teach first and second graders and I would definitely talk to them, preferably when the little one who had an accident is out of the room. Explain to them that accidents can happen to anyone, adults or children, and that they are embarrassing. Ask them to recall a time when they were embarrassed and have them brainstorm things that would have made them feel better.
I feel horrible for your student.....I think your sub should be removed from teaching for awhile, if possible, or at least receive a disciplinary letter from the principal. That it is the sort of thing that can scar a kid for life, so it's important that the boys and girls deal with it correctly in his presence.

Answer 5

The substitute teacher reacted badly to the situation. She should not have yelled at the boy- it was an accident and it's not like he did it on purpose. She needs to learn how to handle things better because her reaction made all the other kids freak out and be grossed out. You could mention it to the class, but they are 2nd graders so it's not like they will remember it forever so it might just make it worse by reminding them of it.

Answer 6

How awful for this child, the sub should have called to the nurses office to get her to take the child there, she should have tried to be discreet so the rest of the class did not find out what was going on and if they did she could say he got sick and how sad for him to feel that way and draw on the empathy this age group is quite capable of displaying, Her reaction was immature and ineffectual, and will cause further distress to the class and more importantly to the child, please talk with the class and impart your wisdom and help them to empathise, this poor wee soul must be terrified to come back to class, what a shame!

Answer 7

The sub's reaction was unprofessional. Perhaps she needs to find another profession. Your job now is to do damage control or this will follow the poor kid through high school. Explain to the class that he has an illness and needs their understanding. (Do this with him out of the room.) Talk to his mother about putting him in some kind of protective pants. Let him know you do not blame him and that the sub was wrong. And make sure he does not inadvertently eat anything with dairy in it.

Answer 8

I would. Even though it will bring it back into their memory banks...it was not a good reaction from the sub and the kids are likely to take that and run with it (teasing). I would explain that his stomach was not feeling well and they would not like it if they had gotten sick and everyone was making fun of them. Just explain that sometimes things happen and they need to be understanding that it was not his fault. And I would see about that sub...what a horrible reaction to have!! Obviously not a compassionate person to be treating a poor child like that. I would have that one addressed by an administrator.

Answer 9

yes you need to tell the class that he has a medical problem and couldn't help it. It was hard enough for him and they do not need to make it worse. Get them to imagine what it would be like if that was them and explain if they tease him in any way there will be consequences,
I hope the parents talked to the principal as that teacher should be spoken to and told how inappropriate they were. If that was my child i would want a written apology and a formal apology to my child for handling it so badly and inappropriately

Answer 10

I don't know how you should react about talking with the class but you should talk to the school board about the behavior of the teacher. That was a completely horrible reaction. That poor child lost control and she/he made HIM clean it up! That is outrageous!