I am usually a pretty easy going person without a lot of ill will toward others, but that changed last week. I was ready to strangle the person who decided automatic flushing toilets were a great idea for an elementary school. What child doesn’t love very loud toilets that go off seemingly on a whim? (If this is a new topic to you, you should know that the sensors for automatic toilets in public places are usually set too high to notice children, so the toilet often flushes while a kid sits on it- terrifying!) My first grade daughter, a normally happy, well adjusted kid, was reduced to tears a few times over her absolute refusal to use the bathroom at school. That wasn’t much of a problem when she was a half-day kindergartner, but now she’s at school for 7 hours which is asking a lot of her bladder.

I didn’t want to make a big deal out of her problem at school, so instead I stewed and stewed over a solution that would keep the staff out of it. Then my husband, who has an occasional flash of brilliance (but don’t tell him I said that) suggested that she keep a pack of sticky notes with her. Yep, that easy. A sticky note over the sensor keeps the toilet from flushing (or as we say at our house, puts the potty to sleep), so my daughter can get up, get her clothes pulled up and open the stall door before she flushes the toilet. And I think, really, that is the big difference- SHE flushes the toilet. She’s never surprised or worried that it will go off when she’s not ready. Since dealing with this problem, I’ve looked it up on the internet. There are entire blogs dedicated to children afraid of automatic flush toilets and solutions to the problem. My husband wasn’t the first to come up with sticky notes, either. Also, if the sensor is out away from the wall, you can drape a piece of toilet paper over it for the same effect. (Normally, I’m not one to encourage wasting paper, but since my daughter is in school I can’t go in with her and cover the sensor with my hand. I’d recommend that for smaller children.)

My daughter’s friend came out of school the other day looking very distraught. I asked her what was wrong, and she said she REALLY had to go potty, but refused to use the school toilets. I passed on our tips to her mom, and this morning, the little girl looked happy as a clam. My daughter, her friend, and (I bet) a lot of other kids have the same fear, and I’m sure a lot of us moms curse the name of the person who came up with these monsters. But don’t worry- we can give our kids tools to overcome the terrible toilets!