Insufficient rating for school toilets
More than four in ten students in the study give their school toilet a failing grade. Students avoid the school toilets because they find them dirty and smelly. The representative study, conducted among 1,000 children and young people, shows that inadequate hygiene is an important reason for 61% of those who ‘hold it in’ not to defecate at school. In addition, they are bothered by the taboo surrounding defecation and experience nuisance from fellow students. Nearly two-fifths of the students who hold in their stool at school say that, as a result, they have developed stomach aches.
Shocked
Director Mariel Croon (MLDS): “We are shocked that so many students do not use the school toilets even though they actually need to go. That is reason enough for us to sound the alarm and look at how the situation can be improved. Especially because withholding behavior causes health problems. We fear health risks for thousands of children. We call on school boards, municipalities and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to ensure that schools have clean, safe and private toilets.” The study shows that a quarter of students experience complaints one or more times a month as a result of holding in their stool.
Privacy
Privacy during toilet visits is very important to students. They do not want other students to be able to hear or smell them. In the study, 57% of students say they lack privacy and therefore do not go to the toilet to defecate.
A striking reason for secondary school students not to go to the toilet is fellow students smoking (15%) or vaping (20%) there. Other reasons for not going to the toilet at school are the taboo (44%) and shame (42%) surrounding defecation, as well as school rules that prevent children from going to the toilet (26%).
Consequences of withholding behavior
According to doctors at the Kinderbuikcentrum of Amsterdam UMC, students can develop severe constipation as a result of ‘withholding behavior’, which can lead to stomach aches, nausea and incontinence. Pediatrician Marc Benninga: “We find the number of children who say they have abdominal problems because they hold in their stool alarmingly high, much higher than we had expected. And that is why, in our view, measures must be taken to provide students with a ‘safe pooping environment’.” The MLDS and the Kinderbuikcentrum are joining forces to draw attention to the problem of ‘withholding behavior’ in primary and secondary schools.
Funding to solve the problem
They are calling on State Secretary for Primary and Secondary Education and Equal Opportunities Mariëlle Paul to make funding available in the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science budget to tackle the problem. There should be clean toilets that are checked and cleaned several times a day, preferably using products that combat odors. In addition, measures should be taken to improve privacy in the toilets, for example by installing solid doors and sturdy partitions with an emergency button for safety, ventilation and vape detectors.