Ever since I became a mom I’ve read tons of articles and had friends and family tell me how much they love bath time with their children.
Which is great.
For them.
Because somehow that’s never been my experience.
Susannah struggles with being afraid of the water, the kids cry, fight, make giant messes (like the kind that destroys the floors), and in general it’s become a stressful time for all of us.
So I’ve grown to dread giving them baths or showers instead of it being the special bonding time that I always read about.
That said…I found this great article recently and it has inspired me to change my attitude regarding bathtime.
Maybe, over time, and with a lot of patience on my part, we can implement some of the ideas the author outlines.
And just out of curiosity, am I the only one who deals with this? Or does everyone else really love bathtime with their littles?
Nope. We struggle too. After a couple years of semi-happy-bathing, I decided to get rid of the slimy toys. Then they had nothing to play with so splashing all the water out onto the floor became the next best thing.
Seems like we’re either carrying a kicking and screaming I-don’t-want-a-bath child to the bath, or trying to pull a wet slippery I-don’t-want-to-get-out-of-the-bath child OUT!
Messes. Crying. Not much bonding here. :)
But we’re transitioning toward showers for both and they seem to be happier with that.
I absolutely DREAD bath time/shower time with my kids too…..for a lot of the very same reasons. I can’t wait until they are old enough to bathe themselves. The littlest two I mean. Thankfully….I’m half way done with the bathing/showering!
I’m lucky my daughter loves the water except getting her hair washed, but my nephew had a huge fear of water when he was younger. Even on the hottest days we couldn’t get him in to swim with us let alone take a bath without it being a struggle. So you are definitely not alone.
As much as Susannah loves her pool, and the ocean, I am surprised she has problems with baths/fear water. I am going to check out the article. :)
I should have clarified. They both love the water. They’re afraid of having their hair washed. Crazy because Susannah will dunk her head under the water in her pool but is terrified of the shower spray.
My kids go in the tub fine, they play good and love the water till you start washing them with it. Then the screaming and yelling begins. VERY STRESSFULL. We went from 5-6 times a week down to 2 at the most. LOL They hate it and so do I. I’ve tried everything and just figured I had to deal with it till they were old enough to bath themselves. Your not alone. We are big fans of sponge bathes or bird baths as some say. I guess that makes me sound bad. But it’s a war at my house to do baths. They know that we take a bath for church on Wednesday and a bath for church on Sunday.
Let me add if it wasn’t for Church my kids would never get baths. LOL
mostly it’s frustrating for me too…..occasionally we experience a miracle and my girls are perfect angels while being bathed/showered. but usually…..not so much. it helps ME to stop and realize they won’t need me very much longer to help them. it kind of re-orients my perspective.
mckinley adore her bathtime… even more when i let her in the jacuzzi with me… getting her out is the only issue… she would stay in there forever if i let her…lucy haa has 3 baths so far, and each time she gets very peaceful,i think she likes the warm water(: