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Random Mommy Question: Bath or Shower?

Sara

Sara

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Hey mommies...

At what age did you make the switch from baths to showers for your kids? Or did you?

Bugga just turned six and she still takes baths. And she's still not really super adept at actually doing bath related things independently. We're trying to encourage her to wash her own hair, etc. but she's not very good at it yet. Mostly she loves bath time for winding down and for bath play. We still help her with the the actual bathing part of taking a bath.

The idea of showering makes her feel a little anxious for some reason (as does anything "new", bless her heart). So I'm not really in a rush to transition to a bath, but wondering if I should start to introduce them so she can begin to focus more on taking care of herself?

What has been your bath/shower experience?
 
ezra still takes baths because he likes to play lol! But sometimes we make him take a shower to save on time. :) He gets mad at us but not in a scared way just that he wants to play in the bath so he's going to be mad about the shower for a while.

I was always terrified of showers when I was little..not sure why..I think I was at least 7 before I started showering.
 
I switched connor at 5 or 6 I can't remember. He kept making tidal waves in the bath.. and i live in an apartment building rarah.. one complaint from the people downstairs was all it took for me to ban him from baths :p
 
We still do both, actually, just depending on their/our moods AND the level of filth. ;)

If Colton has been playing (errrr, rolling) in dirt, he has to shower. But if it's a lazy night and no hurries, he gets a bath. Sometimes it's his choice. He started showers at about 4 but only because he wanted to be big like Lane. :)
 
We do both. My kids are used to showers because at one of the houses we rented, we didn't have a tub!! So they don't have a problem with showers, but they still love baths. My 10-year-old daughter still can't wash her hair alone. Well, she can, but she never gets the shampoo out. She has super, super thick hair and it takes forever even for me to rinse it out for her.
 
Mine switch when THEY want to. I'd rather they bathe, they seem to need the extra soak. :rofl

But usually around 7-8 they seem to want to change to showers.

Then from 9-12 they refuse any hygiene at all. LOL
 
Both my kids still take bath's (8 and 7) My daughter hates getting her ears wet/face wet so refuses to take a shower, My son still loves to play in the bath so we aren't pushing a shower just yet :)
 
Oh did that bring back memories of my daughter... She used to hate water in her eyes so I'd shield them with a washcloth every time we rinsed her hair. We went through SO MANY washcloths in the wash each week...

Been a LONG time ago though
 
we do both... We took lina under the shower (well appie did) the first week after being born... When she got somewhat heavier around 8 months and she wanted to move around we stuck with baths only... But ever she can walk, we take her in the shower again, simply cause it's less work and time consuming, cause when this girl takes a bath, it's hard to get her out. On top of that...we don't have a bath, but just the baby bath, so the shower is way easier and she loves is... washing her hair under the shower is also way better then in a the bath with a cup. But we always go with her...I only once put her in the shower real quick, but I got a little soaked too, but she pooped all over herself and just had to rinse her real quick :D
 
showers around 5ish... and then they do their own washing - by then they are completely capable to clean themselves, imo. every once in a while, the girls will take a soaky bath, but that's usually after a cold swim.
 
la said:
I switched connor at 5 or 6 I can't remember.
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La, I have a Connor too! :)

He started taking a shower with assistance around 6 and then totally on his own when he was around 7. Chloe is 5 1/2 and I still give her a bath. She said she takes a shower when she's at her dad's, though, and that he has a "kids" showerhead that she uses. I had never heard of a showerhead for kids so I did some searching. I think this might be what she's talking about. It looks pretty cool. I might have to get one!
 
Mine all take showers. With Savannah (5) we wash her hair and body. She can wash her own body and sometimes she will do that part and we do her hair. But she isn't good about her hair at this point. She has to hold a wash cloth over her eyes while we wash it for her. Ethan (8) does it all on his own (I check him to make sure he washed his hair good etc). Austin (15), of course, is old enough to take care of himself but I do have to *remind* him sometimes to get his stinky butt in the shower.
 
milo82 said:
we do both... We took lina under the shower (well appie did) the first week after being born... When she got somewhat heavier around 8 months and she wanted to move around we stuck with baths only... But ever she can walk, we take her in the shower again, simply cause it's less work and time consuming, cause when this girl takes a bath, it's hard to get her out. On top of that...we don't have a bath, but just the baby bath, so the shower is way easier and she loves is... washing her hair under the shower is also way better then in a the bath with a cup. But we always go with her...I only once put her in the shower real quick, but I got a little soaked too, but she pooped all over herself and just had to rinse her real quick :D
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This sounds almost like a [blackmail] scrapbook page! :evillaugh
 
My boys both started showering at around 5. Somedays my 8 year old will come out of the shower, after 20 minute mind you, and he'll say he washed his hair, but it's still dry in the front. uh... no you didn't So, then I'll send him back to actually wash his hair. My youngest who just turned 6 is actually very good at washing himself and his hair. He gets down to business and then gets out without me having to pry him out. LOL. They both shower every morning before school. We started that with my oldest because he woke up so cranky, but on accident we gave him a shower one morning and he came out smiling. After that... we made him shower every day! :)
 
staciahall said:
Oh did that bring back memories of my daughter... She used to hate water in her eyes so I'd shield them with a washcloth every time we rinsed her hair. We went through SO MANY washcloths in the wash each week...
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I remember doing this when I was a kid. One of my mom's ideas of punishment was to throw water in my face. It took until I was 40 before I could actually get my whole face wet in the shower. I used to wash half of my face at a time at the sink too. Crazy things that stick with you.

Kennedy is two and when he is here, he takes a shower with one of us because DH tore the tub out for upstairs remodeling and it hasn't been put back in yet. *sigh* He'd much rather have a bath though.
 
My dd just turned 4 this week and she mostly takes baths. Every now and then she asks to take a shower and I will stand there with her while she does. She does know how to wash herself up (lather the soap on the washcloth, rinse the soap off, knows areas to wash and how, etc).
 
My oldest started showering around 6 or 7 - 1st grade. She's 8 now and does pretty well on her own - but I still help her wash her hair sometimes because she doesn't seem to be able to really scrub it well. And of course she wants a bubble bath every now and then!
 
my girls (5 and 3) take showers most of the time, although they love a long bubble bath too ... usually when they have to wash their hair or get really clean i throw them in the shower, and when they just need to rinse off or they want to relax before bed i put them in the bathtub. for the shower, i just throw in some bath and beach toys and they will hang out in there for a long time - LOL - that's usually when i fold some laundry, pick up rooms, etc. i still help them with shampoo and conditioner, but they do all the rinsing and washing their bodies stuff themselves. they've been showering forever. they love baths too - but it's harder to wash hair in there (for me) and they make a bigger mess.
 
My son started taking showers around 3. He just wanted to be like Daddy. We have a pretty big walk-in shower so I was able to help him at first without actually getting wet. After a little while he just started going in there himself and taking one. Now at almost 7 I bet he's only taken one bath in the past year and it was just to try out some new water toy that he got. LOL!

It's easier with boys (or mine anyway) because he doesn't have a lot of hair to wash so that's not a hard part.
 
Thanks for all the feedback! We're going to start incorporating a shower once a week and see how she does with it.

It's been neat to read the processes for everyone!
 
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