Before half-term we spent some time with the children reading and talking about a book called ‘The Story of the Little Mole who knew it was none of his business’. This book tells the story of a little mole, who wakes up one morning only to have one of the other animals ‘do its business’ on his head. The Little Mole then sets out to track down the culprit to exact his revenge in his own little way.
The children had great fun reading the book, and the book allowed us to address the anxiety that some children have about ‘doing their business’ in a fun way.
It is very common for children to become anxious about doing a poo on the toilet, even when they seem take to toileting relatively easily at the beginning. It can be distressing for both you and your child, and can develop for a number of reasons.
Our focus with the subject was to allow the children to have fun with the play leaders and their friends, and to talk openly about ‘Poo’. Once we had read the story, we made special ‘poo play dough’, recreating the animal poo from the book. The children were encouraged to investigate and explore the colour, shape and texture of the ‘poo’, and to take part in a game to guess ‘who done it’. The children then had lots of fun making their own animal ‘poo’.
The overall message we wanted to convey, was that ‘doing your business’ was nothing to feel embarrassed about. It’s something that everyone does, sometimes a bit differently, but that everyone does it – even superheroes, dinosaurs and the Queen!
There is some further information regarding toileting online here. If you are at all concerned about your child please visit your doctor or health visitor.