TO pee or not to pee... School loos, even at a girls’ school, in the 1970s were pretty rank. In my memory at least, I picture concrete, damp, dankness and an unmistakable animalistic whiff.

Like many girls horrified by the thought of sitting down on a public loo, I was an early adopter of the infamous hover manoeuvre which means that decades later the only part of my untoned and unexercised body with any muscle strength at all are my thighs.

The horror of a public loo with no hook to hang coats and bags on also means that behind the doors of public toilets across the western world are a host of women managing to hover, wear and lift up all the layers and coat they’d otherwise remove, tuck handbag under arm and still manage to grab loo roll with one hand while ensuring they don’t use the first few sheets.

For the super paranoid, skills extend to opening doors with elbows and using taps without using hands. Hovering though is not healthy – it introduces physical tension and restriction that can even lead to urinary tract infections if the bladder isn’t emptied properly.

It’s well known that anxiety about school toilets can be so great children reduce fluid intake. Becoming dehydrated can cause unpleasant bladder problems so, as a parent, I have always encouraged my child to ensure she’s hydrated properly during the school day.

As night follows day, inevitably, being well hydrated means needing the loo. Across the country this past week, children in schools have been causing disruptions including actual riots in response to new rules that forbid them from visiting the school loos during lessons.

At secondary schools where girls are getting used to managing their periods in public spaces and all children are as subject to a sudden need to go as any adult, restricting access to toilets is in my view wrong. It will traumatise young people who may have accidents or young girls who leak when their periods start.

I do though feel pity for the poor teachers. They are in the horrible position of applying rules that will cause discomfort to the innocent in order to prevent bad behaviour by a few trouble-makers.

Surely though, rather than stopping children from going to the loo when they need to, we should be funding schools properly so staff can do as they once did and patrol the corridors during lessons to pick up any nefarious behaviour!

The children’s bowel and bladder charity ERIC states that: ‘Banning toilet breaks during lessons or restricting access to the toilets can aggravate or even create continence problems.

Consequences can include:

► Soiling and wetting accidents in the classroom

► Urinary tract infections

► Withholding which can lead to constipation

► Children reducing the amount they either eat or drink in the mistaken belief that this will stop them needing to use the toilet

► De-hydration and lack of concentration which affects their school work

► General anxiety around using the toilet outside of the home

This decision to enforce waiting to wee is another example of the wrong solution for a real problem. – bad behaviour by a few.

For more info to support families of children with bladder and bowel issues, see: https://eric.org.uk/