How to handle too many bathroom breaks during class
Classrooms see dozens of bathroom sign-outs a day because students avoid using the restroom during recess to protect their free time, flooding instructional hours instead. Managing this requires tracking logs and stall limits that constantly disrupt teaching, waste time, and cause administrative headaches while trying to monitor nearly thirty other students.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Taking the whole class to use the restroom right after recessDid this help you?
- 2Limiting students to a set number of bathroom uses or passes per dayDid this help you?
- 3Using tokens, index cards, or coupons to track and restrict bathroom visitsDid this help you?
- 4Banning bathroom use during the first and last 15 minutes of classDid this help you?
- 5using classroom logs and passesDid this help you?
- 6limiting bathroom trips to one student out at a timeDid this help you?
- 7restricting bathroom use during testsDid this help you?
- 8matching the number of hall passes to the number of available bathroom stallsDid this help you?
- 9training their bladders and doing one big bathroom break after recessDid this help you?
- 10encouraging students to go during breakfast or lunchDid this help you?
- 11Using an X passes per quarter policyDid this help you?
- 12Setting up a whiteboard sign up and making students responsible for missed workDid this help you?
- 13Refusing bathroom requests until the lesson is over and work is 50 percent finishedDid this help you?
- 14Saying no to students asking to use the bathroomDid this help you?
- 15Ignoring admin feedback and continuing to let students goDid this help you?
- 16Asking admin for clarity and assistance crafting a new policyDid this help you?
- 17Limiting students to going one boy and one girl at a timeDid this help you?
- 18Considering limiting students to two bathroom times during classDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“i have a log and passes in my room, but logs need to be filled out correctly every time in order to be effective; some kids fill it out wrong on purpose... or not at all and i don’t catch it right away because i’m occupied with 29 other kids.”source ↗
“Had an incident happen that I feel awful about.”source ↗
“I just feel terrible that a child felt he had no choice but to have an accident.”source ↗
“Has anyone had something similar happen?”source ↗
“Admin has been on my ASS as of late. One of the biggest things they have harped on is how much students get up and leave the room.”source ↗
“today I basically threatened a write up on two of my fucking kids because they needed to go.”source ↗
“This is literally the last thing I care about, like legitimately why am I having to police a child’s bathroom habits”source ↗
“If I have to keep track of who's next for the bathroom for one more day, I may explode.”source ↗
“Help with 5th grade bathroom strategy. I have 35 sign outs per day.”source ↗
“However, we i the math yesterday and in 4.5 hours, we had 35 sign outs on our bathroom log. That's insane.”source ↗
“They don't go during recess because they don't want to waste it, and then all have to go right when they get back.”source ↗
“I have a couple students who go 4, 5, or even 6 times during the time they are in my class (and that’s not counting if they go during lunch/recess/specials). It is becoming quite a problem, as they’re missing a good bit of the lessons.”source ↗
“I don’t want to tell a first grader they CAN’T use the bathroom (nobody wants an accident or a parent coming at them for restricting their child’s basic needs) but it’s getting ridiculous.”source ↗
“Our system only allows out the number of kids equal to the number of stalls. The complaints!!!! Why can’t my child go to the bathroom. Well there’s 3 stalls and 3 boys in the bathroom.”source ↗
“I hate the time suck of passes and binders and the train starting up”source ↗
“admin asked me this week to cut down on whole group bathroom breaks due to it cutting into instructional time, however i’m at a loss because before their request to stop, i’ve already had 4 accidents in my classroom alone”source ↗
“yesterday alone - i had 3 of my boys pee their pants/have accidents since i stopped bathroom visits and was told to not give breaks bc if one has to go, then they all need to go and it’s endless non stop and disruptive.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 9Should I let students eat snacks in class?
- 5Kindergarteners coming to school not potty trained
- 4Why are teachers getting written up for using the restroom?
- 4Where should mothers take young sons in public restrooms?
- 8How to report a broken toilet in a public restroom
- 3How to handle potty training while out and about