I really do not understand kids, particularly mine. Amina has an odd obsession about, yet fear of, water. She has, for the most part, always hated bath time. There was a period of time when she figured out she was free to play in the water, and she loved taking a bath. It was short lived. Suddenly she flipped her switch back to hating bath time.
Aj never “loved” water, but did like his baths. He would sit there and just enjoy the warm water and the rub down. Unlike Amina, who fought with me about baths since her first one that I gave her in the NICU, I thought his calm demeanor meant no bath time fights. Relief did not describe my feeling.
Then one day, Aj turned off the liking-bath-time switch on me too. He screamed at the top of his lungs, and just overall would not cooperate. I’m not exactly sure if he developed this on his own, or if he took his cues from his big sister. Whatever it is, I am not a fan.
What I truly do not understand about my daughter is, she LOVES water any other time. She may be apprehensive because she’s kind of a cautious kid (sometimes). She’s the kid who comes home from daycare at least twice a week in her extra set of clothes simply because she got carried away playing in the sink and water fountain. All summer her class had water day on Fridays, and she could not wait to get to school every week. When it rains, jumping in puddles I specifically told her not to is a favorite past time. So what is the big deal about a bath??
I truly do not understand why Amina will play in a puddle, but will try to jump out of the bath tub. Especially when I’m giving her the green light to play in water. Now that Aj can pull himself up and start walking, he’s also trying to climb out the tub. Bath time just overall stresses me out. I’ve tried everything to make it enjoyable or at least tolerable. Nothing convinces them that screaming at the top of their lungs isn’t necessary.
I just try to surprise bathe them quickly to decrease the volume level throughout the house.
What techniques do you use to make bath time enjoyable?
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