Kindergarteners will have serious trouble utilizing the facilities if the restrooms don’t have the proper layout. Toilets, sinks, hand soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers must be low to the ground so the children can reach them. The bathroom should have a single toilet for every 15 students in the classroom. Privacy stalls must be available in the restroom if more than one toilet is present. All the pipes within your bathroom must exit to either a citywide sewer system or a private disposal rig such as a septic tank.
Teaching proper hygiene to children is essential to the health of the children. Speak with them openly about washing their hands after they leave the facilities. Show how to wet their hands with warm water. Have them squeeze soap onto their hands and start rubbing their hands together. Thoroughness is important, so teach the kids to count to 20 when they clean their hands -- some children can time hand washing better if you ask them to sing a song, such as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and continue washing until they finish the song. Teach them to rinse the soap from their hands thoroughly and then pat their hands dry.
Kindergarten students don’t have the ability to wait when it’s time to use the restroom. Allow the children to visit the facilities as soon as they have a need to avoid an accident or an upset stomach. If the bathroom is in the classroom, allow the children to visit whenever they need. If the bathroom is out of the classroom, set up a hall pass system so the child can visit the restroom. The hall pass shows that the child has a valid reason to be in the hallway.
Some children may feel uncomfortable using the restroom due to a lack of privacy caused by misunderstandings on bathroom etiquette, such as people barging in unannounced. It’s not wise to install a lock on a bathroom door operated by kindergarteners, so you need to teach your students about knocking before they try to enter. If the restroom is a mess after a child’s visit, that’s another deterrent for some children. Teach the children to clean up after a visit to the bathroom to make it comfortable for other children.