Do your kids have trouble getting their hair washed? Man alive, mine do. AJ has never liked baths -- not since his very first washcloth bath in the hospital, I don't think. Not when we got him home and carefully laid him in a terrycloth-lined baby tub, with honey scented Baby Wash and adorable towels that matched his very own bathroom decor. Not as he got older and learned to splash. He has always been too concerned that his head was getting wet, or his eyes, or any part of his face.
It has finally gotten a little better for him in the last year (he's now 5 and a half), and it's partly because he's such a good big brother. He lets KT dump water on his head, actually. It mostly rolls off the front -- I guess the way his hair is cut allows for that -- and thank God, because if it gets in his face he STILL says, "GET ME A TOWEL. TOWEL, MOMMY, I NEEDATOWEL." And he means a dry one. Only a dry towel will do. He won't wipe even one drop of water with his own hands, because they're wet and I guess that doesn't make sense to him.
KT hasn't been quite that severe about her displeasure in the bath, but it seems like when it comes to the washing-hair portion of our program, she always cries. I obviously use tear-free shampoo, and I try to be so careful. I ask them to lean their heads back (using a cup to rinse the shampoo out). I put my hand at the top of their foreheads to stop any drips from entering the facial region. I attempt not to get any water in their ears. AJ requires a (dry) towel over his eyes during the rinsing, and I comply with that.
I just don't understand what is the BIG DEAL? It's warm water, right? I would think it feels nice. They're not drowning in the ocean depths. I have tried singing, being silly, letting them "practice" on a toy/doll, letting them do it themselves... anything I could think of short of getting in the tub with them, which is NOT going to happen. My Mom used to lay us on the countertop with our heads hanging over the kitchen sink. Just like being at a salon. AJ likes that, but KT, so far, freaks out at the upside-down sensation.
So I need some parental advice. I'm wayyyy too late asking about this, but I'm finally tired enough of the bathtime drama, and some of our friends with 4-year-olds report their kids taking their own SHOWERS! I can't even fathom (heh). Before *I* drown, throw me a life-raft. Help!
*One of the boat songs I sometimes sing them in the bath is "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat," from Guys & Dolls. It's fun, useful (Sit Down), and I happen to know all the words. "Dreamed last night I was on the boat to heaven... And the people all said sit down, sit down you're rocking the boat.... And the devil will drag you under by the sharp lapels of your checkered coat! Sitdown sitdown sitdown sitdown, sit down you're rocking the boat." Maybe it's that one line that's scaring them??
8 comments:
You always make me laugh. Madison LOVED baths as a baby. Loved lying on her back and kicking. So I'm not sure what happened. Now she refuses to lie down to rinse her hair, so I have to pour the water over her head, and oh the trauma when it drips in her eyes. Hands grasping blindly for a towel -- Momma, towel! I want her to lie down, dang it. At least now I only wash hair every other day -- surely every day was overkill anyway. No tips here! But I'm going to keep working on the lying back, so I'll let you know.
Ava HATES getting water in her eyes and always asks for a towel as well. One thing that has worked is letting her hold a dry washcloth over her face while I wash her hair.
Also, she likes to take showers and doesn't seem to mind water in her eyes as much in there (though I still keep a washcloth right outside the curtain just in case she freaks out).
NO great advice - but my son used to do the exact same thing by freaking out and having to have a towel when his face got wet (during the same time that he learning to swim and was like a fish in the pool). He got over it and now (5 1/2 also) loves baths with his baby sister (she doesn't have any issues....yet). Good luck.
Laura
Oh, ugh. Anything that makes bath time a trial is no good. I think when I was a kid I held a washcloth over my face/eyes while my mom rinsed my hair. All of my kids do okay with the hair washing, although some cried at first. I'm really just mean and dump the water over their head and get on with it. I guess you are looking for something gentler though. ;)
I'm feeling so relieved that it isn't just my kids. thx, y'all...
We use bath visors (featured here). They're made of foam and have velcro on the back. Before I put the visor on, I rinse the sides and back of the kids' hair. Then I put the visor on and rinse the top.
Hope you're well!
Umm... I almost hate to say this, because I feel like I'm outing myself as a bad mom, but... I just dump the water over Maddie's head at this point.
I tried to get her to lean back. No dice. I tried to cover her eyes, which she hated. She would cry and splutter and get SO.MAD every time I washed her hair, and one day I just did it.
Cup over the hair, quick like a bunny, pat the face with a wet washcloth afterward to catch the drips. I was very cheerful about it, very nonchalant, and she's *mostly* followed suit. She still splutters a bit, but it's not a big deal or a fight anymore.
So basically I stopped caring whether it got in her eyes because it is WATER, oh my lands! And she pretty much stopped caring too.
I'm waiting for this summer's trip to the lake to see if this tactic has helped us in the swimming department as well.
(As for showers, I've got nothing. They freak her right out - she cries "Oh NO! It's RAINING IN THERE!!")
bessie, no, it tells me you're stronger than I am!! I am a marshmallow and too often give in to the drama and whining! ;) "Quick like a bunny" is very cute. Might try that.
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