Why children refrain from using toilet facilities in school?

Instilling personal hygiene practices among children, such as regular and thorough hand washing, can prevent the spread of many illnesses, both common food poisoning and more serious diseases, among which viral hepatitis, commonly known as "dirty hands disease", can be particularly dangerous. Well-equipped bathrooms effectively help to prevent such threats, but it turns out that many students deliberately avoid using toilets in schools and kindergartens. Why?

Alarming statistics

Essity, a global company providing health and hygiene solutions, which includes the Tork brand offering professional toilet equipment, soap, disposable paper towels in folds and rolls, as well as all other bathroom consumables, decided to conduct extensive research on the state of hygiene among different age and social groups in 2018-2019. Using data from 20 countries - including Australia, Russia, China, Belgium, Switzerland, the United States, Mexico and Germany - a report was created with the aim of examining the needs of people whose voices are often unheard. This group included preschool and school-aged children, among whom, as it turned out, more than half deliberately avoid using the toilet in their place of learning.

The alarmingly high percentage of children who have objections to the toilets designated for them is caused by many factors, among which the most commonly mentioned is the lack of proper care for the level of hygiene in the toilets. Unfortunately, this leads to situations where students, wanting to avoid a dirty environment, and therefore acting in their opinion absolutely correctly, ignore the need to wash their hands before starting a meal, after playing outdoors, and in other situations that are particularly conducive to the spread of bacteria and viruses. This, of course, brings about the opposite effect to the intended one, especially considering that the young body is characterized by significantly lower immunity and even a small amount of harmful germs, entering directly into the digestive system, can lead to such unpleasant symptoms as diarrhea and vomiting, forcing the child to stay at home and miss potentially important lessons, thus making it difficult to absorb the material for learning.

Bathroom problems that are not talked about

School toilets are primarily deterred by dirt and low levels of hygiene, but these are not their only sins. Other significant problems that students pay attention to are the lack of necessary consumables for proper toilet functioning and the inability to relax and feel comfortable enough in the bathroom. Both of these issues, although they may seem to concern completely separate aspects of proper toilet functioning, can be closely related, mainly because when equipping toilets, it is easy to forget that the necessary products do not only include soap and toilet paper, but also hygienic materials that provide psychological comfort. Among them, paper towels can be mentioned, which, in addition to their basic function of drying hands, also allow for wiping dirty clothes, but equally important are often overlooked paper bags for hygienic waste disposal.

Numerous studies indicate that in many countries, too little or too late is said about the role of menstruation in women's lives, which is why for a significant percentage of female students, their first period can be not only unpleasant, but also an extremely stressful experience. Associated with the ovulation process, bleeding is often perceived as something shameful, and therefore can evoke a strong feeling of embarrassment and a desire to hide their condition from their surroundings among maturing teenagers. In such a situation, which is invariably associated with psychological and physical discomfort, it is particularly important to have an environment that provides a sense of security and allows for the preservation of dignity. Therefore, it is important to equip women's restrooms with containers for paper or plastic sanitary bags, which allow for the proper level of sterility and the disposal of used tampons and pads without unnecessary nerves. This is also important because these products, intended for women, often end up in the toilet instead of the trash, where they swell and block the pipes, causing clogs. We have already written about this when discussing a list of items that most commonly cause clogged drains.

Teaching Responsibility

A well-designed and managed school bathroom must therefore be prepared for high traffic and intensive use during short breaks between classes, while also providing at least a minimum level of comfort. In this type of restroom, the best solution will be spacious dispensers and dispensers for consumables equipped with visors that allow for control of the amount of soap or towels used, avoiding situations where, during peak interest in the toilets, it turns out that one of the containers for hygiene materials is empty or under-equipped, and its contents will run out long before the next bell rings. A good idea is to install soap dispensers with a refillable tank, which can be refilled at any time when you see that the level of hand washing solution is dangerously low.

However, it is not only a well-equipped toilet that should be paid attention to, but also promoting proper habits and practices. Infographics with instructions for proper hand washing, placed in toilets or classrooms, are one of the most basic ways to reduce the number of diseases among children and increase hygiene levels by more effectively removing germs from the surface of the skin. However, nothing can replace direct conversations about daily personal hygiene or ways to properly take care of one's health during menstruation - and, as it turns out, parents are often unaware of how important and necessary this is, while teachers, limited by the framework of classes, are not always able to allocate enough time for it. Meanwhile, only regular and comprehensive reminders of the fundamental role that cleanliness plays in human life can bring about the desired effects and reduce the number of diseases among the youngest.

Children's health is priceless

Research conducted by Essity has proven that money invested in schools to increase hygiene levels and awareness about the physiological aspects of the menstrual cycle pays off multiple times, reducing expenses for parents on medication and doctor visits. Cleaner hands for children not only prevent individual absences from school, but also decrease the risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases in educational institutions. These outbreaks can disrupt the school year and cause significant delays in the curriculum, affecting the academic performance of students attending the school.

However, more important than all of these undeniable benefits is saving our youngest from the unpleasantness of dealing with various illnesses and their complications, as well as the stress of being excluded from their peer group. The ability to comfortably tend to all physiological needs is crucial for maintaining good well-being and high levels of concentration during lessons. This not only affects the physical aspect, but also the mental aspect, making a well-equipped school bathroom play a significant role in transforming the educational institution into a friendly and conducive learning environment.

This post was created based on a report prepared by Essity company and the United Nations Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.

Ryszard Kurek