7 Tricks to Make Bathing Your Baby Less Scary
Doing anything in the bathroom with your toddler ranges from uncomfortable athletic to downright repulsive; in my house I alternate between persuasion (“Take off your clothes”, “No, stay on the toilet”, “Please don’t spank me from the dinosaur bathtub”) and irritation / disgust, which too often turns into rage (“No, poop stays in the toilet “;” Don’t throw it at your brother! “).
But over the years I’ve gradually learned a few things about how to make baby toilet time easier – basically, brute force doesn’t work that well, screaming just leads to tears, and a little strategy goes a long way. Below are some of the best tricks I and other parents have come up with to make bath time a little less horrible (and sometimes even enjoyable).
Down Dog
This is the best advice I have ever received on how to dry a potty training child. Cleaning your toddler’s couch can be an ordeal – he is fidgeting, perhaps just pleased with himself from his latest achievement, you are trying to get enough toilet paper in your hand so as not to stain yourself, but also not to clog the toilet – the whole dance just sets the stage for a rough accident. So, instead of digging into this area while your child is standing upright, ask him to assume a face-down dog pose, in which the corresponding part of his anatomy will be directed directly at you. Note: I’m looking forward to getting old looking at the folk assholes.
Bath drops
Coaxing a child into a bath at the end of the day, when you’re tired and still faced with a few more things to do before bed is a rather subtle challenge in the annals of parenting. Now you may be tempted to resort to brute force right away, but depending on how big / strong / cunning your child is, you may soon begin to feel like you are participating in a land war in Asia. Three-dollar solution: bath drops , a familiar parent advises. When bubbles are no longer a novelty, choose red, yellow or blue bath water for them. When the novelty on this wears off, bubbles again. When that passes, well, God forbid, maybe they’ll be big enough to take a dip.
Cheerios
Teaching a boy to use the toilet instead of every square inch of the bathroom around the toilet? Throw some Cheerios into the bowl and tell him to aim.
Ring the doorbell
My youngest child has always disliked brushing his teeth and often refuses to even open that mouth. You can do a lot to make a child open his mouth, so at some point we start to “ring the doorbell” – to press on his nose and say ” ding-dong . “ Sometimes he closes his mouth six or seven times while brushing his teeth, and by the end my ding-dong takes on a slightly hysterical tone, but you could quickly examine each tooth before you fall out completely.
Expander mixer
Sometimes babies, even with a chair, cannot reach the tap to wash their hands. A faucet expander brings this smidge flow closer to their outstretched legs. Feeling like $ 10 is too much for something you’ll be using in such a short time? “Cut a hole in the bottom of a drinking glass or plastic water bottle and put it on the tap,” says Megan Zander, mom of two.
Washcloth or plastic visor
Do kids hate rinsing their hair? I always folded a dry cloth in half, asked my son to press it to his eyebrows and look up. This gives me about three cups of gargle before the washcloth is soaked and water flows into his eyes – so it’s okay , but not ideal . Another friend would recommend plastic bathtubs, perhaps the perfect solution? Try it and tell me.
Catalog All food of the day
My oldest child opened his mouth to brush his teeth, but did not keep it open; he was bored and after a few seconds his mouth slowly closed. I wiggled my toothbrush and said irritably nine or ten times, “Open your mouth!” Then I started pretending to wipe off all the food he ate that day: “Oh, I see a little avocado and a little chicken there – oh, I need to get that peanut butter out of my back teeth there …” Sometimes I “see.” things that are not there (I mean in his teeth), for example: “Oh, I have to get this dinosaur out of there – what a dinosaur is doing in your teeth! “I mean, this is not my best comedy material, but children are an easy audience and when their mouths are open it is easy for them to brush their molars.
Any more cleaning tips for babies and children? Let me know in the comments!