Why bath times can be a struggle
Have you ever wondered why it it hard getting your child to bathe, and only when you had finished bathing your child, only to find your child whining not wanting to get out?
There is a reason why this is so. Moving from one state to another, from ending what the child is doing, to getting into the bathroom, being in the bath, getting out of the bath, then getting dressed, all these transitions can be difficult for a child. This is because children do not have the concept of time and space, they tend to live in the moment. They also do not understand
I know your pain. Here I have illustrate a few steps how to make bath times less stressful for both you and your child.
Navigating Transitions
We can always try to make transitions more concrete and understandable for children. One way we can do this is to map out what is going to happen. We can squat down, look into the eye of the child and verbalize to the child our intent. We can also draw this on the paper or come up with a routine card.
Another way is that we can make the transition to bath time more enticing. We can have some creativity by putting a tiny pinch of food colouring into the bath. Then, we can find toys that match the colour of the bath wather. If you are worried about the impact of food colouring on the sensitive skin, we can use a fruity tea bag.
We can also create nice sensations and aromas in the bath by using skin-friendly bubble baths that smells nice and can create bubbles in the bath for water play as well.
Most important, the end of bath time must also be clear to the child. For example, we can have a timer or a song can be played during bath time to signal the end of bath time when the music ends. Also, we can have a story to transition out of the bath as well. When the story is finished, this clearly signals to the child that bath time has ended.
Avoid Overstimulation
It is also important to make sure that your child is not overstimulated before bath-time. Adding on top of overstimulation with all the transitions or sensory inputs happening during bath time will not do any good (trust me, I have been through meltdowns that are very distressing due to this). Bring bath time forward and have it in the day time instead of having bath time in the evening. For evening meals, we can do a wipe down after a messy meal.
Conclusion
Do not be exasperated if you are struggling with bath-time like me! It is just a phase a child is going through and try to enjoy every moments you have with your child!