Children ‘sent to school in nappies by lazy parents’

CHILDREN are being sent to school in nappies because parents are failing to potty train them, a council has heard.

Councillors have been told that some parents in Gloucestershire were not “motivated” enough to teach their children to use the lavatory.

Speaking at the health and care scrutiny committee, Collette Finnegan, a community nurse specialist and councillor, said that teachers “now have to deal with children wearing nappies”.

She advocated a new way of thinking after it was understood that a former headteacher had called for parents to “clean the child up”.

She raised her concerns in response to Sarah Scott, the director of public health at Gloucestershire County Council, talking about a programme that aims to support struggling parents.

However, Ms Finnegan said that few would want to participate, claiming: “They want to sit at home and do nothing with the children half-dressed.”

But Ms Scott said that there can be legitimate reasons for children in nappies not being toilet trained.