Bath time in our home is a key part of our bedtime routine. However, it is also a monumental production… for two reasons:
First, the bathtub has morphed into another playroom. There are more toys in there than an average daycare has in its entire building. That’s not counting the 31 “flavors” of bubble bath, gels, beads, funny foam and other various accoutrements that my daughter chooses to enhance the water with on a nightly basis. This, of course, turns what could be a simple 5-minute wash-n-go, into a 55-minute (when I’m lucky) play-a-thon.
Second, my preschooler screams like a tortured cat when water or bubbles get anywhere near her eyes. This fact makes sticking her in the shower impossible.
Yes, I am fully aware that I have dug my own hole. In trying to make bath time fun (back when she was an infant) I’ve created this bath-loving monster (of sorts) and perpetuated our current routine.
In regards to my daughter’s fear of getting her eyes wet; oddly she has no problem dunking her head in the swimming pool. Heck, she’s even been fully doused by waves before without so much as a single flinch. Even more perplexing is the fact that she happily stands under the showers at the beach, but refuses to do so at home (granted, I don’t wash her hair at the beach, but she’s still getting water on her face).
Which begs the question: At what age should the transition from bath to shower take place?
I know some parents, who stick their 18 month olds in the shower, simply because they don’t want to deal with time consuming baths. Conversely, I know a family with an 8-year-old, who won’t step foot in a shower stall. Each night her mom draws a bath for her and she happily scrubs up in there.
Showers use a lot less water than baths, they’re faster, and they require less supervision. That being said, you’d think every parent would be itching to graduate their child from bath to shower as soon as the kid could stand on their own.
On the other hand, there is something to be said about sitting on the toilet making lists of the endless chores, errands and projects I have to complete while listening to my young daughter sing about dinosaurs, daisies and dog food while baiting her Elmo fishing rod with Diego’s baby jaguar.
When did you pull the plug on nightly baths and move your children to the shower?
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