Secret code: "enema tonight" (??)

Late 1940's, maybe I was 6 or 7, playing at a friend's house one Saturday. We had to walk past bathroom to go outside. The bathroom door was open and his father was sitting on the toilet. We both giggled and kept going;; I think our giggles mean we knew "you're supposed to close bathroom door" or something. But now I wonder if dad was sending a coded to enema message to mom: "this is what's up tonight" -- as though my pal would spend Sat night at grandma's house, leaving the parents home to play. Maybe my overactive imagination -- but considering that a few years later I really did see our next door neighbors in the bathroom one Sat night, naked, with their enema bag -- maybe it was all part of the Golden Age.

I was raised by my father. He was a single parent, and from an all-boy family.

We didn't really have a "code" but there was a hand signal that we would use in any place where we were not sure the conversation was completely private. So subtle that if you didn't know both of us, you would NEVER pick it up, and even if you did, you might not. We were careful to turn away from other people when we used it.

Any message for enema night or enema morning, afternoon or evening is a good thing

Secret code "enema tonight" ??....Whenever the Enema appeared there definitely was no secret about it....you knew straight off what was about to happen....if not to myself, it's presence suggested a family member had a date with destiny.

Mom, would just say "time to take your medicine."

[...] a family member had a date with destiny.

:-D

Often the code word was, "Go spread out the Sunday Paper for me, honey."

Children less than 10 years old are overly sensitive to their auto reflexes. Spreading out news paper to minimize the mess was first in the order of business. With those instructions we were expected to drop everything else and get with it for Momma. Eager compliance was rewarded with her tender touch, soft coaching, and happiness all around. She would discuss what went bad last time and how to make it better. Think happy thoughts and listen to Mamma. That news paper was used a bunch of times before it was thrown away, with the final application taking "Cling-ons off of Uranus!"

In germany my mother said to us: Antreten zur Reinigung des Hinterteils

No "secret codes" in our house as a young child. If I had been sick for more than two or three days, our Mom would simply get me out of bed, take me into the bathroom, and have my lie on the bathroom floor while I received a nice warm soapy Ivory soapsuds enema. We always got our enemas from the standard Red bag, red hose, and black bakelite enema nozzle, with Vaseline used as the lubricant. I knew what was going to occur when I was first asked to get out of bed, and go in the bathroom for an enema. It was just a natural event in our household. No funny words or codes were necessary. And since they felt kind of good, I never minded getting them anyway. Still makes me erect thinking about them today.

It was easy in our house to know when my sister was about to get one, as Mom would boil water and shave soap into it. The smell would fill the whole house and my sister would come running to the kitchen and plead not to be given one. Never worked of course.

I usually stated early in the evening, "Honey, you need to take a shower before bed tonight and after you get clean on the outside we're going to get you clean on the INside too"!

she always asked (although she knew what THAT ment) "What do you mean"?

"You're getting an enema tonight."

Most moms know the answer before they ask the question. Growing up my mom would ask "Have you gone to the bathroom lately?" Both she and I knew that the answer was likely to be "no". It was a signal that there was to be an enema given soon so when called to the bathroom sometime later it was not a surprise. Also, when called to the bathroom there was only one reason, too, and upon seeing the full enema bag there were no longer any doubts.

Emom is right. Most moms know, at least if they are paying attention. Rarely did I give my daughters enemas. Jen had occasional bouts with constipation, usually from stress like her mom, and I could tell when she was moping around. She would sheepishly tell me that "she hadn't gone." She didn't drink enough water. That was part of the problem. Nearly always, a few chugs of extra Gatorade over a few hours, and a game of tennis at the park, and she was fine. In her later teens, she knew that I'd let her take a mild overnight laxative or a suppository, if she really needed it. I guess you could call it a code between us. She'd tell me that "nothing worked." I remember a couple of nice mother-daughter chats while in the bathroom. She didn't freak out about having me give her an enema, just "a little boost in the butt," she once joked.

Never needed a 'secret code' when my sister and I were in our 'single digit' ages ... mom administered enemas on a regular basis (usually once a week) whenever dad was not home. When she taught us how to self administer ... and gave us permission to take an enema whenever we felt we needed one ... my sister and I would give each other enemas on an even more regular basis, if you know what I mean. Because we got home from school (junior and senior hs) a few hours before they got home from work, we took advantage of the privacy by frolicking naked (it was so much fun) and doing our enema thing (we both enjoyed enemas). So, as you can see, we didn't need a code ... there was no secrecy or fear regarding enemas.

Like Diana's experience, we never needed a secret code: Sis and I knew that we would get enemas every Saturday morning after breakfast. We normally ate Saturday breakfast in our PJ's, and always with a Dulcolax suppository working inside our rectums. Mom would wake us up and ask us if our castor oil was working. Inevitably, the answer was "Yes", then, she allowed us to do what castor oil makes us do. After we finished, she would tell us to roll onto our left side. She would pull our bottoms down enough to expose our rosebuds, and ease our suppos home. We usually managed to hold our suppos through breakfast, and were allowed to relieve ourselves. Then, we knew to remain in the bathroom and remove our clothing. Mom would start our first enemas. We knew there would be at least 2 SSE's and a rinse.

As a child, my mother always gave me my enemas in my bedroom. It was not on a regular basis, but mostly when I was sick, and she thought a good internal cleaning wold help me to recover. In order not to embarass me in front of my brothers, she would tell me, at the end of the evening meal to go up in my bedroom, she would come later and bring me some nice and warm herbal tea : that was the "secret code" meaning she was going to give me an enema.

When I was a boy, one of my mom's secret codes for "you're getting an enema" was "I don't want you going outside right now" - spoken shortly after I arrived home from school. Or sometimes in the morning: "Don't go out after you get home today, we have something to take care of." The latter had the added bonus of my anticipating the upcoming enema for the entire day. My concentration on my lessons certainly suffered on those days!

Similar to a few of the posts here, there were a few times when I got home from school and my mother immediately said ‘go upstairs I will be up in a minute’. This usually mean she had found evidence of me staining my underware and was mad. Other times, if I was sick for example there was no code all I would hear is ‘Isaac I’m going to give you an enema.

Don't go out after you get home today, we have something to take care of." The latter had the added bonus of my anticipating the upcoming enema for the entire day.

This is awesome to me and I can relate. I get so excited knowing in advance and thinking about the upcoming event.

No "secret codes" needed. I was an only child, so I knew if an enema was coming. Sometimes I would be allowed to sit on the toilet and try to go one last time, as my mom filled the red combination bag. Then it was down on the floor for my enema. The relief was WONDERFUL! The warm water surging against my prostate was not so bad either! 😉

No secret code was needed when I visited my old girlfriend at her apartment. After becoming comfortable with our mutual enjoyment of enemas, she would have the bag and hose, the bulb, liquid soap, towels, pillow and lube all neatly displayed and ready for use in her bathroom. Those were fun times.

Mom would say you getting a you know what today

No secret code at my house. Mom was very matter of fact. “I need to give you an enema” or “I spoke with the doctor and he said to give you a good enema”. I never had a bad enema, they were all good, warm, soapy, and became a pleasure. A few timesI asked her for an enema, and she always honored my request.

There was no secret code in our family either. Mom was completely comfortable talking about enemas in front of anyone. If she was planning to give me an enema, she'd just announce it at the dinner table, in front of Aunt Norma, etc. It was very embarrassing for me at times.

Nope. It was always enemas or suppositories (or whatever oral thing we were using to try and keep things moving). I was sufficiently oblivious at the time that I was young to where I didn't realize that the rest of the family knew (extended family, not immediate - I found out when my grandfather was talking with me about using an enema and his bowel problems, then looked at me and said "but you know all about that..."

No secret code in my house. Mom would announce that she had an enema ready and I needed to go get undressed and lay down on the towels she had laid out on my bed. Didn’t matter who was around to hear.

There was no secret code in my house either. If my mom suspected that I was constipated she would ask me when I last went to the bathroom. After giving me a laxative, she would tell me that if that didn't work she was going to have to use the syringe on me to make me go. If the laxative was unsuccessful, which was most of the time, she would take me into the bathroom and give me an enema of Ivory soapsuds using the bulb syringe.

It was not a "secret code", but in my grade school and junior high years if mom told me before I left to walk to school to "come right home after school", and I know it had been more than one day since I'd "moved my bowels", I could expect an enema when I got home.

This had the effect of me dreading/anticipating the coming enema all day at school. A bit distracting when you're that age. I remember sitting in Social Studies ruminating on the coming procedure once I returned home.

Sometimes when I got home, mom would have the bulb sitting on the sink in the bathroom waiting for me - the nozzle pointing up obscenely - waiting to be coated with Vaseline before being introduced to my protesting pre-teen bottom.

Five words (secret? they were often said in front of my sister) that caused a full day of dread/anticipation!

Not really a secret "code" but a hand signal that was so subtle and non-obvious that you would have to be someone who knows us well to pick up on it.

I still use it with my husband.

Like with my father we turn away from others and make it as subtle as we can.

Not really a secret "code" but a hand signal that was so subtle and non-obvious that you would have to be someone who knows us well to pick up on it.

You got me wondering what that hand signal might be, and I'm smiling thinking of all sorts of ones 😁