112 Building Toilets
Toilets for Children
Children have a high risk of illness from poor sanitation. And while adults may
live with diarrhea diseases and worms, children can die from these illnesses
(see page 51).
When children have toilets they feel safe using and have an easy way to
stay clean, they get sick less. Pit toilets can be dangerous and frightening for
small children because of the darkness and the large hole. Many children,
especially girls, leave school because schools lack safe toilets.
Allowing children to help build toilets and teaching them about illnesses
caused by poor sanitation helps them develop healthy behaviors.
Every school should have safe toilets and a way
for children to wash hands after using them.
Helping small children stay clean
All feces carry harmful germs, and handling them can cause serious illness
in children and adults. In rural areas, parents can help children too small to
use a toilet by making a hole near the house and adding a handful of soil after
each use. It is also important to:
• Wash babies and young children after they defecate.
• Wash your hands after handling babies’ feces.
• Bury the feces or put them in a safe toilet.
• Wash soiled clothes away from drinking water sources.
Teach boys and girls to wipe or wash carefully, and to wash their
hands after using the toilet. Girls especially should be taught to wipe
from front to back. Wiping forward can spread germs into the urinary
opening and the vagina, causing bladder infections and other health problems.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012