When do "accidents" stop being acceptable?

 

The topic of the day for a blog about parenting was the conversation around wetting the bed. In the image above, a child is being scolded for wetting the bed. According to the article in which this photo was taken from, most children stop wetting the bed by the age of 5 and an even smaller percent stop at 10. (Parenting Desk: 2019). In society, peeing on yourself is something that is typically thought of for young children, elderly people, and people with an extenuating circumstance (such as a disability or illness). Since the boy does not obviously fit any of those "typical" groups for having accidents, he is punished. Institutions (such as schools, daycare, etc...) and the parents of young children go through this process of potty training their children to avoid them having to use the restroom on themselves. This is not something that is a quick and easy process and it takes some longer than others. However, it is expected that by Kindergarten, or age 5, that the child has pretty good control over their bladders. In the reading from Mary Douglas she talks about what is viewed as dirty to some is not necessarily dirty to others and that it essentially depends on the person/group. (Douglas 2002:2). In her work of "Purity and Danger", she talks about how we revere our bodies, but that may look differently per person or per society. Having an accident as someone who is past the "acceptable" age is seen as dirty is sometimes even shameful for the individual. However, urinating is a normal bodily function and everyone needs to do it in order to survive. It is our way of excreting some of our toxins, however, we have made It so that it can only be done in one way, which is controlled and on a toilet. This is similar to the Durkheimian thought of how we make mundane things sacred and ritualistic.

https://indianexpress.com/article/parenting/health-fitness/how-to-tackle-bed-wetting-in-kids-according-to-a-doctor-6192834/