Bath question

[teelee]

I've been teaching DS who is 4 to wash himself while bathing. Is this too young? What age did you begin teaching your kids how to bath?

[cjropher]

Around that age, though James is 6 and we still have to make sure his hair is washed properly.

[~Tara~]

Yep, something like that. They play around and 'wash' themselves at 2 or so, but at 4 we work on them doing so more efficiently. I'm still not sure how to go about this with my daughter though..that hair ya know...it's easier with the boys :p

[RhysMom]

My daughter is 3 1/2 and she washes herself with adult supervision to make sure she does it right. I bought her a Dora the Explorer wash mit that fits over her hand so she is able to wash a little easier.

[Skunkers]

Our youngest is 3 & he washes himself. I watch & make sure he gets clean, & have him repeat if he missed anything. I still do his hair tho. (the rinse, make sure all the soap is out)

[Blessed 2 B Zoey]

I am quite slow at this and I still wash Sinead and she is 5. My OH though has a girl who is 12 and he taught her how to wash and respect her body at a young age, I think he started when she was 2 but not sure. He said that she picked up on quite quickly and from about 5 or 6 was doing it all her self.

hth

[PianoMama]

My ds is 3.25 and he does it himself...mostly. He uses a loofah (puffy thingy) and I put the soap on it and tell him, "Wash your arm, ok other arm. Now wash your tummy and leg, now other leg" etc. etc. I put the shampoo on his hair and he scrubs it by himself too.

We are experimenting with showers for him too. He seems to like them! But, getting him to stand under the water to rinse his head off is a challenge...he doesn't like water in his face!!!

[Blessed 2 B Zoey]

Sinead hates showers I think it is the sensation of the water hitting her skin from above. :-(

[teelee]

Thanks ladies. I do supervise and still wash his hair as well. I haven't started showers yet.

[Blessed 2 B Zoey]

Hi just a thought I had, can you buy bath crayons over there. If so you could draw some colour onto her skin and see if she can wash it all clean again. You would have to tell her that she is only to draw on her skin with the bath crayons and nothing else.

Or you could wash her your self then after make a song and see if she can do it her self.

Sorry just throwing about some thoughs from my over crowded mind lol

[Reneemomto5]

As all the other moms said you are right on here. Plus always remember each child is so different. In a family no matter what parenting needs to fit the child.

I had some bathing themselves at 3, some 4, some 5 or 6. Each child has their own quirks and strengths to some its personal hygiene and others nope they need guidance for a while. With my 15 year old its still reminding him to do things sometimes.

Some take to showers better than others and I find the shower they clean themselves easier for some odd reason. The shampoo comes out easier etc. But some don't like the shower, so I just change with the child, explain another step when needed so they understand both.

And also just to add --big deal one time they don't do it perfectly right, scrub where needed etc. That's how the learn, really its by mistakes we all learn. Next time you they bathe just say "now..... remember how you didn't clean your mouth could you do better this time please."

[Godzgirl]

My dd is 4 and washes herself. I come in when she says she is done to revise, mostly it's just the hair that she needs help with.

[marezee]

my 6 & 5 yr olds take a shower. I wash/rinse their hair, they wash everything else. I am just starting to show my 3yr old how to wash.

[JoyLynn]

Like most of you, we started our kids out practicing cleaning themselves at around two, but they understood we would come in and do our own once-over at the end of bath time. We had them all showering and taking over completely between six and seven years old, at first checking them over to make sure they had all the shampoo out and had washed everywhere. After that, we'd ask them when they came out of the bathroom if they gotten everything. It was actually the girls who struggled the most with their waist-long hair. It was hard to get all the shampoo out and sometimes they'd call us in just to check for missed places before they got out. :-D

[loveflag]

Joy [welcomewave]

[kim]

Some good advice! We have started teaching ds to wash himself, but he has trouble spreading the soap on his body well. I never even thought of getting him his own wash mitt or loofah! What a great idea! :D