To Bathe Or Not To Bathe

The question of the day, no? In our home, it is the question that I ask every single day-twice a day in fact!

Bath time is supposed to be a fun, relaxing time.  Mothers are encouraged to bond and create memories with their babies during this time.  If you search for “bath time” on Google 11, 600,000 articles will pop up. Imagine that! We don’t even think about it or prioritize it.  Bathing is something we take for granted.  Just jump under the shower, soap yourself, rinse, and dry off.  No big deal, right?  Ha! Not so in the Craigs’ household. 

In our home, bath time is anything but that; in reality, it is an agonizing and complex process, a dreaded time that involves tears, threats, and many levels of frustration.  

We start with the usual prompt.  “Zayne, time to go bathe.”  Predictably followed by one of the following responses:

 “Catboy don’t need to bathe” (Really?! Catboy will be the first superhero to be spanked by his mother.)

“I did already!” (Yes… last night.)

“Let Zizi go first.” (I pretend not to hear this.)

“I not going to school today.” (You do realize your mother is a teacher!)

“No bathe- just wipe down” (Okay- the resorting to trickery comes so easy now.)

or even worse…

Bawling and screaming followed by a struggle to get him to the bathroom and a tug-and-war session to remove his clothes.  We surely meet the standards for a WWE Raw episode!

Many times, my husband and I have to tag team so as to not lose our cool.   I balk at what our neighbours might think of us.  

Like I said, it is a complex experience. See, to get Zayne in the shower might be a struggle, but he actually enjoys the bath itself.  The water, of course, has to be cold, no matter the temperature outside.  This is certainly due to sensory issues and probably explains why he doesn’t like to shower.  If left unattended, he will spend an inordinate amount of time playing with toys that are now permanently part of the bathroom décor while the shower is running. 

Subsequently, we have had to mop up flooded bathroom messes and resort to hiding toys so we have space when we need to take a bath.  Zayne has been scolded countless times not only for emptying bottles and bottles and bottles of shampoo and conditioner but also for drenching us many times.  

After getting all sudsy, he proudly calls out to us to show us how he looks like Olaf the snowman. 

When it is time to get out of the shower, the whole cycle starts again.  

“No, I not finished yet.”

“Please don’t turn off the water.”

“Don’t count, please don’t count.”

Bribery works so well to get him out of the bath, and as he walks out of the bathroom wrapped in his towel he calls out excitedly, “Next!”

Ay, there’s the rub until the next bath time. LOL!