|
|
I'm glad you've clicked on this page. I hope that when you're finished reading it you'll have a better understanding of what it means to need and use protection. There are millions of us between the ages of 5 and 18 who use protection on a daily basis. Some of us use it during the day, some at night, and some both day and night. There is no reason we should be embarrassed by the fact we use waterproof undergarments to keep from having to explain why our pants are wet!
Sorry didn't mean to shout in the opening paragraph, just I hate being teased because I wear plastic pants. Honestly. I've been wearing diapers with plastic pants for the past five years. I've come to realize I'd feel pretty exposed without them now. I tend to wet sporadically 24/7; using diapers with plastic pants lets me lead a fairly normal life, without always having to explain why my pants are wet. I've been teased ad nauseum over wetting, especially in school. It doesn't make a lot of difference if the person is an adult or a child, the taunts and harrassment are the same. Its embarrassing to be different than other people your age.
No matter how we carve it up, there are always going to be some people who feel it is necessary to point out the fact we are different than the majority of people our age. It doesn't make any difference if you're a boy or a girl, harrassment isn't confined to one gender, its an equal opportunity affair. We can't control what others say about us, therefore we must be able to deal with what they say. We can internalize their slings and arrows, or we can use them as a springboard to better understanding. I've seen a lot of changes in attitude toward people using protection in the past five years. Granted the subject has been kind of close to home if you know what I mean.
Lets get real, jump right into the middle of the whole idea using protection makes us somehow less than our peers. That has to be the single largest factor in our attitudes toward ourselves and others. The fact we use protection, rather than wet all over ourselves doesn't change the fact, we are who we are. What you're wearing under your jeans, or skirt, doesn't have anything to do with what is between your ears, or your ability to achieve whatever you decide is important in your life.
People tease us for an inability to stay dry. SO WHAT!!! The fact my pants are wet doesn't mean I can't be a 4.0+ student, or play soccer, drive a car, swim, dance, act, or do any of the other things I've decided are important in my life. Sure there are times my activities have to be adjusted because I'm wearing a diaper and plastic pants, but its only a minor inconvenience. One of the absolute worst times for me, in terms of embarrassment, came when I started Middle School. I had been attending a country elementary school where all the kids knew I wore diapers, it wasn't a big deal to them anymore.
The first day of Middle School, I was faced with GYM where we had to change clothes in a locker room. Needless to say I was a bit reticent to just whip my jeans off in front of the other boys. I tried to find someplace I could change without having to let everyone know what I was wearing, but there was no place in the locker room that couldn't be seen. I stalled as long as I could, hoping the others would get changed and leave. I hadn't really thought about having to change clothes, so I'd pulled on my favorite plastic pants that morning. (sailboats) Of course all the other boys were wearing regular briefs or boxers which gained little if any attention, it was 'normal'. There were a few snickers about certain cartoon character underpants, but in the main just a bunch of boys changing into their gym clothes. As soon as my jeans came off, one of the boys pointed out to the rest I was wearing "baby pants". With 40 boys staring, pointing and laughing I could only do my best to get my jeans back on. The PE instructor came out to find out what the commotion was all about and didn't help matters any by demanding I show him what I was wearing. He finally sent the others into the gym, telling me to get my gym clothes on and join them. I was so embarrassed by their teasing and so upset with the instructor's attitude, I sat and cried for the better part of the class period. When the others came back to get cleaned up and change I was still sitting in front of my locker in my street clothes. I didn't need to dress so the instructor sent me to the office until the bell for class change. That night my father told me the instructor had called him earlier, complaining I had interrupted class and that he wasn't wild about having a 'baby' in his gym class."
By the next morning the story of my "baby pants" was all over school. We only had gym three days a week, the other two days were Health class. No doubt I'd been a topic of discussion in the "teacher's lounge", the Health teacher was fully aware of the previous day's revelations. I don't think he meant to embarrass me further but he surely did. Its difficult enough to merge into a new school without being highlighted because we are different. The class had only settled down after the bell when he started calling roll, putting faces to names on his roster. When our name was called we were to stand up, kind of an introduction to everyone. When I stood up he looked at me and said, "oh, you're the diaper kid", which immediately sent the class into peals of laughter. What else happened in class that day I haven't a clue - I picked up my books and ran from the classroom in tears.
I asked the secretary in the office to call my dad, ask him to come get me. She said she couldn't do that unless it was some kind of emergency. I wasn't going back to class, in fact, I spent the rest of the day in the office sitting on the bench across from the secretary. It was bad enough I'd been embarrassed to tears in class, waiting on the bench I'd wet my pants and my plastic pants had leaked. Some way to become known in a new school, especially when you're eleven.
I survived Middle School by proving I was better than anyone else, including most, if not all, the teachers. I was harrassed because I used protection, but nobody could put me down for my grades or other abilities. I chose to ignore the "dummies" who thought it enhancing to make sport of me. My father told me, "(I) couldn't change their minds, they didn't have minds to change." You see at home, I'm not handicapped, I'm handicapable. I still wet my pants, I still use diapers, it still hurts when I get teased, but it hasn't changed the fact I'm still better than the rest - because I choose to be better.
If you don't get anything else from this page, I hope you'll see your ATTITUDE makes all the difference in the world. I used to hate using diapers because they were for babies, not big kids. Surprise, big kids use them too! Take a look on the shelves at the grocery store, drug store, Kmart, Wal-Mart, anywhere they sell diapers, you'll see several different selections from Newborn to Adult. If there wasn't a demand, the companies wouldn't make them!! DUH! There are literally hundreds of companies making 'protective' garments for incontinent people. Its a major industry, so forget the idea you're the only one in the world your age that wears diapers or wets your pants. There are millions of us out here that wear diapers every day, they're just special underwear that keep us from having to explain why our pants, or beds, are wet.
The other important factor involved here is the attitude our parents, siblings and others take toward our need for protection. If the atmosphere around home is accepting, its a lot easier for us to accept ourselves and our special needs. At my house, diapers are a fact of life, something we use every day. I say 'we' because I also have a younger brother who needs, and uses protection. It isn't at all uncommon for me, or my little brother, to run around the house in just a diaper and plastic pants. My friends know I wear diapers 24/7 so it isn't a big deal for them anymore. Not to say there aren't occasional barbs from one of them, but in the main its only in fun, not meant to hurt. My father views using diapers as a means for us to lead more normal lives, again just special underwear, nothing to pole vault over.
Over the years, my brother and I have become 'attuned' to other children who probably should be using protection. It isn't uncommon for us to be shopping or elsewhere, and see a kid in wet pants. Some are little kids, some aren't so little, but in either case they've had an accident for the world to see. What I've noticed more often than not, is the attitude their parents take when they discover 'junior' wet his pants. Some parents are merely resigned to the fact he's wet again, mention it in passing, then go on about what they were doing. Other parents nearly go ballistic, making a much bigger issue out of what occurred than necessary. Its the parent who trys to humiliate the child that has the longest battle in front of them. I've witnessed scenes between adults and children that border on child abuse. I've seen children taken out of the store while their parents berate them, or 'remind' them whats going to happen when they get home. I've seen children taken to the baby department, diapered and made to continue shopping fully exposed in their diaper. The whole point is the child had an accident, he's probably embarrassed enough without being humiliated. Almost as bad are the parents who insist their child accompany them when they purchase diapers or pull-up style protection. When you see a boy obviously beyond toddler stage, blushing, while diapers are being loaded in the cart, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who they are for. While purchasing protection may be necessary, it can still be done discretely, without your child being present.
I've accepted the idea I'll need protection the rest of my life, it isn't going to "get better", so why let it have any more importance than necessary. Just because I need protection, there is no reason I can't have some fun with it. Plastic pants come in all sorts of colors, patterns, and styles. You can get almost anything you want if you're willing to shop around. You know, white is so boring, its just white. I like to have a bit of color, maybe poke fun at myself with a pair of plastic pants. Let me show you just a few pair from my wardrobe.
Now as you can see wearing plastic pants doesn't have to be boring, it can be fun. You don't have to wear the same old boring thing every day. My little brother and I, enjoy shopping for unusual patterns or colors in plastic pants. When we find something we really like we get two pair, one his size and one in mine so we can be 'twins'. It all comes down to your attitude toward having to use protection. My little brother and I have chosen to make it fun. What you choose to do is entirely up to you.
I hope over the past few minutes I've helped you look at ways we can make the best of our situation. The fact we need to use protection doesn't make us babies, stupid, retarded, lazy or any of the other labels people want to hang on us. Using protection makes us different, thats all. How we choose to view ourselves, and our needs, makes all the difference in the world. We can choose whether to manage our problem or let our problem manage us. Its up to us - Lets choose to have fun, at least our jeans are dry on the outside.
Thanks for stopping, I hope you'll browse through my other pages, take a look at what I've built. There are some links to other sites listed below - have a ball looking at what some of my friends are up to as well. Until we meet again, I bid you Health, Happiness and Peace.Whitebear
Welcome
Home
Questions or Comments regarding this page can be emailed to
dragonslayer@n2trouble.comCarpe Diem
