When did taking a bath become a battle? The Mommy Moments theme for today is ‘Bath Time‘, as you see from my earlier post this morning. When the Princess Nagger was younger – you know, a year ago – she loved to take baths. In fact, whenever she’d take a bath, she wanted no less than an hour in the tub – even if the water had gotten cold, she’d pitch a fit when it was time to get out. Now she’s resistant to baths. Refuses to take them. Stomps her foot and says ‘I do not want to take a bath!’ Trying to get her into the tub yesterday, this conversation took place:

Me: “Time for your bath – I’ve got the bubbles all ready for you!”

Princess Nagger: “I do not want to take a bath – I hate taking baths!”

Me: “You used to love taking baths, and you really don’t have a choice – you need to take a bath.”

PN: “I will take a bath after-after-after tomorrow – I will take a bath next year, but I will not take a bath today!“

Me: “You better watch your tone of voice or we’ll start by washing out your mouth with soap.”

PN: “Mamaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!“

Then she stands there, with her arms crossed, her eyes closed and her nose pointing straight at the ceiling.

Me: “Do you need an attitude adjustment? Because I’ll be happy to give you one if you need it.” (Crap! When did I start to sound like my parents?)

Me: “Besides, if you wait until next year to take a bath, you’re going to be really dirty – and smelly. You don’t want to be dirty and smelly, do you?”

PN: … (tapping her foot)

Me: “Get in the tub, now, please.”

PN (walking over to the tub and putting one foot in): “This is all I’m putting in the tub.”

Me: “I don’t think so…you need to put your whole body in the tub, since your whole body is dirty, not just that one foot.”

PN: “I do not want to take a bath!”

Me: “Fine. I’ll drain the tub and you can take a shower instead.”

PN: “Nooooooooooo!!! I do not like showers! I do not like having water on my head…but wait, it’s like having rain on your head, right?”

Me: “Yeah – you like dancing in the rain, why wouldn’t you like showers?”

PN: “Because I do not want to take a shower, I never want to take a shower!”

Me: “Well then get in the tub and take a bath. You have 20 minutes before I come back up here to wash your hair.”

PN: “20 minutes? That’s not very much time to play!”

Me: “If you weren’t refusing to get in the tub you’d have more time…now get in! 1….2….3…”

PN: “Fine!”

She plops down into the bubbles, keeping her arms crossed and throwing me a sulky look.

PN: “I am not going to wash myself, I’m just going to sit here like this! Hmmmph!“

Me: “You better watch that attitude or you’re going to be in big trouble!”

PN: “Mamaaaaaaaa!“

Me: “I’ll be back in 20 minutes.”

20 minutes later, I enter the bathroom – she’s playing quite happily with her bath toys, has them all lined up on the edge of the tub while she pretends to swim…

PN: “Has it been 20 minutes already?”

Me: “Yep, time to wash your hair and get out.”

PN: “Nooooooo! I want to play some more – you didn’t give me enough time!!”

Me: “It wasn’t me who didn’t give you enough time – if you had gotten in the tub when I first told you to, you would have had more time to play.”

This has been pretty much par for the course for bath time the past few months – a battle of wills transpires trying to coax her into the inviting bubbles. I would kill to be able to have the time for a leisurely bubble bath – pre-child days I would set aside Sunday evenings as a ‘pamper me’ evening…I’d give myself a facial, soak in a nice hot bubble bath with candles, soft music, a glass (or two) of wine and a good book. I can’t tell you the last time I was able to pamper myself like that…now it’s a quick shower in the morning before the busy day starts…if I’m lucky! 🙂

I just thought of something – I can incorporate this post into an Aloha Friday moment! Ready?

Welcome to this week’s Edition of Aloha Friday.

“In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.”

My question for this week is:

Is your Bathtub a Battleground? Do you have the perfect routine or fail proof method to convince your kids to take a bath?

Happy Aloha Friday!

Go to An Island Life and answer her question and check out the other questions too! Let me know if you post a question on your blog and I’ll be happy to stop by and answer yours!

60 Comments

  1. The bathtub was never a battleground with my daughters! They loved taking baths….more like playtime! And now my grandkids love it as well!

  2. wow, i cant say i ever had a kid who refused to take a bath.s or, if they did refuse, they were willing to take showers.s im so sorry… i have no wisdom to offer you but im quite sure by the time she is 13 she will have done a complete 180 and you will be as hardpressed to get her out of the bathroom as you are getting her into it now!! hang in there – just a few more years 😉 !

  3. Haha! Love it!
    s
    What is with kids thinking bathtime is a choice? lol!
    s
    And I think I’ll start using that phrase…as in…I’ll start my diet after-after-after tomorrow! 😉

  4. No, the bathtub is no longer the battleground but now it’s the kitchen.s Nobody wants to do the dishes.s You remind then and you get the sighs and the eye rolling.s So in a way, Water is still the Battleground.s What’s up with that????
    s
    Happy Friday to you gurl.

  5. My son hates to have a shower (he thinks he’s too old for baths now at the old age of nine). But when he gets IN, he doesn’t get OUT until all the hot water is GONE!s lol

  7. We have a jacuzzi in our bathroom amd the kids have their own bathroom so we are so lucky that tub time /shower time is usually fun for us. But my kids are older too… though sometimes explaining to Jojo why she needs to take a shower gets frustrating… she isnt real big on hygeine. Please checkl out my post from yesterday…. I GIFTED YOU AN AWARD!!!!

  8. Thankfully both my kids LOVE the tub and it is usually me that is refusing to give them ANOTHER one cause they just had one. Then I can’t get them out!

  9. Wells~ sLOL b/c my "kiddies" are 29 & 30! This is one of those days when I feel like I am way too old for this stuff – ha!s At any rate, my kids loved their baths and all their toys in with them!

  11. I am happy to report that tubtime was never an issue with my children.s
    s
    But we have issues with bedtime.s Even now, my 11 and 13 yo can make bedtime a fiasco.s We finally have said in your rooms by 9pm and you can quietly do whatever you want.s You can choose what time you want to fall asleep, but remember you do have to get up on time in the morning and you can not be grumpy!s
    s
    This is working just fine for us.s Most evenings they are in their rooms by 9 and sometimes earlier if they want to watch a movie.s They have learned how to calculate when they need to start an activity so that it can end when they need to be getting to sleep.s
    s
    Sure they have their times, but for the most part things are a lot more peaceful in the evenings.
    s
    Sharinskishe

  14. My kids loved baths when they were little.s For a while we had troubles getting our son to actually use soap when he showered & what a joy that was!
    s
    thanks for the giggles!

  15. Just dropped by to say hi :)s Don’t have any kids (except for my furbaby) but I just LOVE to read your stories about PN and every time I go to your blog and see your header it makes me grin.

  16. Sorry my little man loves taking a bath. ANds even when he doesn’t he is neutral to it. He does not want to go to bed without one though.
    s
    P.S. I gave you an award over at my place – Our Life Upstate

  17. My fourteen year old – I can not get out of the shower!
    My eleven and seven year old fight me every step o the way!
    My littlest two love the bath!!!!
    My newest – not sure yet!
    s
    I think it is a vicious cycle with lots of twists and turns!!

  18. From time to time our boys do not want to go. We basically just push and they go and cope. Good luck with your little one.

  21. Neither of my kids like to take a shower.s They do like baths in my tub, but it is huge and requires an enormous amount of water.s I only let them do it occasionally.s Shower time is usually a battle.

  22. definitely not a battlefield.s the only battle is that my son would spend his life in the water if we let him.s he never wants to get out!

  23. My kid does the same thing.s They just want to assert their independence even if it’s for no good reason.s It’s so frusterating.s Last nigh tmy son pitched a fit while gettign a haircut because it ‘hurt his hair.’s Wonderfull…

  24. If she takes swimming lessons, you can tell her it’s time to practice. One of my daughters used to like practicing putting her face underwater. This doesn’t work well if bubbles are involved 😉 And she might not like swimming, but it worked for us at least once, anyway!

  25. Sprite doesn’t mind baths at all. Of course, she’s two. She’ll believe anything we tell her right now. 🙂

  26. I guess I’m disqualified from this due to the age of my children. But my son HATED taking a bath. He was fine except for the rinsing of his hair. He couldn’t stand that!!!!!

  27. How old is PN now?s I tell you what, you’ve got the patience of a saint if you really stood there having that lengthy conversation.s I would have slam dunked her straight into the bubbles the first time she tapped her foot.s ROFLMAO!s This was a great story though!
    Never did have this problem myself, thank goodness.s The only time my girls bitch is if they don’t get enough hot water.s THEN you’re going to hear some yelling and foot stomping.
    s
    Justine 😮 )

  28. My Princess use to love bath time Now not so much 🙂 sbut I love your conversations with your little Princess 🙂

  29. Sounds like what used to happen with my sister.s She NEVER wanted to get clean.s Silly kidlets!

  30. Would you hate me forever if I said my kids cry when I tell them they CAN’T have a bath?
    They love it. Sorry…

  31. I don’t know why the Princess Nagger has changed her outlook on baths – the only thing I can think of is that it ‘takes away’ from her playing other things…she usually is playing with her toys, and when I mention it’s bath time, she’ll respond with ‘But I’m too busy right now!’ 😉 s Once she gets in, though, she’s all about the bath…just getting her in there is a challenge when it didn’t used to be…I’m hoping it’s just a phase and she’ll go back to loving her bath time! 🙂 s Thanks so much for stopping by!

  32. LOL Annie!s She used to LOVE baths, but I think now that she’s into playing with her myriad of toys, she thinks I’m robbing her of playtime…maybe I need to get some bath toys that are more fun…then she’ll WANT to take baths more often! 😉

  33. LOL Alicia!s Yeah, when did they figure it’s a ‘choice’?s Her phrase is funny, isn’t it?s She won’t use ‘day after tomorrow’, she always likes to say ‘after-after tomorrow’…then extend the ‘after’ for however many days after tomorrow it is…LOL!!

  34. Ahhhhhh!s So that’s where Princess Nagger is reversed…she doesn’t want to take a bath, but she tries to help wash dishes…once she figures out that washing dishes is a chore and bath time is fun, she’ll probably switch! 😉

  35. Oh that’s too funny – that is one thing the Princess Nagger said, that she’s too old for baths…heh, heh!s But she still doesn’t want to take a shower.s And once she gets IN to the bath, she doesn’t want to get OUT – even when the water has gotten cold and most of it has slowly drained away… 🙂 s Thanks so much for stopping by, Jen! 🙂

  36. First, I love your blog background..its so pretty! s
    s
    Okay..the bath times varies.. my 15 month old LOVEs the bath.. my 4 1/2 year old son.. it just depends on his mood. sMost of the time its fine.. but I will tell you what the conversation you have above sounded so familiar lol sWhy are we the parents the back guys in the end..because our kids didn’t listen in the beginning ??? lol sToo funny how life comes back around. s

  37. Ooooh!s A jacuzzi in the bathroom is on my list for our next house… 😉 s Bet the Princess Nagger wouldn’t be resisting bath time if we had one of those! 😉 s Awwww, thanks for thinking of me for an award!s Can you please give me your blog link so I can hop over?s This comment thingy doesn’t link URL’s yet (unless you put one in manually).s Thanks so much!!s 😀

  38. LOL!s That’s how the Princess Nagger used to be…I have no idea why she’s changed her mind about baths being fun instead of a chore…I imagine she’ll swtich back at some point (fingers crossed!) 🙂 s Thanks for stopping by, Petra! 🙂

  39. LOL!s So I take it you get no resistance from your 29 and 30 year old kids when it’s bath time? 😉 (grin!!!)s Thanks so much for stopping by!s 🙂

  40. LOL!s Maybe Princess Nagger will revert back to loving baths when she gets older… 😉 s Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂

  41. Princess Nagger has momentary lapses in attitude at bedtimes sometimes, too…heh, heh!s She used to love taking baths, but for some reason has been resistant the last few months – I’m hoping it’s just a passing phase and she’ll go back to loving her bath time… 🙂 s Thanks for the link to your blog, I’ll be stopping by shortly for a visit! 🙂

  42. LOL Harriet!s So true…I’m trying not to blink so it doesn’t happen so soon… 😉

  43. LOL!s Must be a ‘guy’ thing – hubby used to use shampoo in lieu of soap…since he won’t use my body wash, you know, too ‘girly’…heh, heh!s I started buying him some ‘manly’ soap instead… 😉 s Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂

  44. I think since the Princess Nagger is 6 going on 30, she thinks she has a ‘choice’…heh, heh!s Not so much! 😉 s Thanks so much for the award – I’ll be making an Award post in the very near future! 😉 s You’re so sweet to think of me! 🙂

  45. LOL!s I believe you’re right – it’s definitley a vicious cycle with lots of twists and turns! 🙂 s Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂

  46. Wonder if Princess Nagger would be less resistant to a grandmother giving her a bath?s I bet she’d be all over that… 🙂 s Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂

  47. Our tub is fairly ‘small’ compared to other tubs – I wonder if she’d like it better and be less resistant if it were bigger so she’d have more room to ‘swim’… 🙂 s Showers are definitely not an option since she really doesn’t like them… 🙂 s Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂

  48. Ahahahaha!s Hair cut ‘hurt his hair’…that’s too funny!s Well, not so much for you… 😉 s I think you’re right – it’s another way of asserting her independence just because…great observation! 🙂

  49. That’s the thing – she LOVES being in the water in the pool…and she used to love playing with the bubbles in the bubble bath, then ‘practice’ swimming when all the bubbles had popped (she’d insist on staying in long enough so she had a chance to ‘swim’ in the tub).s Maybe she’ll get back into loving baths in the summer because of the season – could be with winter being so cold, she doesn’t want a bath because then her head gets cold… 🙂 s Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂

  50. LOL!s When Princess Nagger was 2, we got her to do a lot more stuff…now we can’t get away with anything! 😉 s Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂

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