Kids transitioning from bath to shower

[dismom2005]

Ok, this may seem like a silly question but i'm not having much luck getting my son (7) to transition from a bath to the shower. It seems as if it should be an easy thing, but I guess because he's the oldest he was the one who was babied the most...

He is at the age where I think he is too old to bathe with his younger sibling and i'm getting to the point where I don't want to see him nekkid anymore either.... My issue is that he just doesn't seem to "get" how the shower works without help - he will either turn on the hot water full blast and not be able to figure out how to balance the hot/cold and how to maneuver the shampoo and soap to make sure he is clean. Please tell me i'm not the only one who went through this and how did you get your child to figure it out?

 

[Gina]

It took some doing for me to convince DS that a shower was the way to go too, but what helped was 1.) a hand-held showerhead and 2.) combination shampoo/body wash. (Suave for kids) That was when he was just about you son's age, maybe a year older.

Good luck!

 

[blu3d3vil]

I just put a bunch of toys in the shower and let my son sit in there and play with them before he bathed. It made for an easy transition.

 

[bumcat]

My son is 15, he has not transitioned yet.

 

[powellrj]

I always took my kids in the shower with me when they were babies so they were always use to the shower and dropped baths to just showers once they started school.

Does he take swimming lessons, my kids took swimming lessons and they had to shower before they got into the pool, so maybe you could try that.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

You practice. Eventually they get it.

I have a 12yodd who won't shave....so my transition is STILL not complete.

 

[NAB]

I have an 8 year old girl that hates the shower too. She may never like the shower. Just as long as she is washed what does it matter.

My son is 11 and only started to use the shower won't bathe anymore . I bathed him or should I say ran the bath for him and washed his hair in the until he was 9-10.

It was easier to get him in the bathtub. Now we are always fighting with him to get showered even though he doesn't mind one he just thinks it is a chore.

 

[mjkacmom]

I learned to start early, about age 2 or so. Even my 5 year olds (the babies) take showers on their own, and haven't taken regular baths in years. I LOVE the fact that I can tell all of my kids "go take a shower" after so many years of baths!

 

[mjkacmom]

I have an 8 year old girl that hates the shower too. She may never like the shower. Just as long as she is washed what does it matter.

My son is 11 and only started to use the shower won't bathe anymore . I bathed him or should I say ran the bath for him and washed his hair in the until he was 9-10.

It was easier to get him in the bathtub. Now we are always fighting with him to get showered even though he doesn't mind one he just thinks it is a chore.

My ds10 would never let me see him naked!

 

[mickeyboat]

DDs 8 & 9 take showers most of the time. When they first started I helped them set the temperature and turn on the shower spray. I also helped them wash and rinse their hair. They still don't do a great job getting themselves clean, so I encourage baths every once in a while, and help them with their hair.

7 is a great age to start.

Denae

 

[NAB]

My ds10 would never let me see him naked!

Heck I have to remind him that he has to close the bathroom door when he is at home, he only does this at home. I think it was because when they were young I didn't bother to close the door myself because I knew they would just follow me in anyway. Now everyone closes it when they are in there but him.

He is also know to go across to his bedroom nekid from the bathroom. I am turning to break him of that habit since he is getting older and has a sister and me that will see him.

 

[mjkacmom]

Heck I have to remind him that he has to close the bathroom door when he is at home, he only does this at home. I think it was because when they were young I didn't bother to close the door myself because I knew they would just follow me in anyway. Now everyone closes it when they are in there but him.

He is also know to go across to his bedroom nekid from the bathroo. I am turning to break him of that habit since he is getting older and has a sister and me that will see him.

My oldest dd was like that - she's 12 now, and modest, but I was really starting to be afraid she was going to be a nudest!

 

[ajk912]

I think he is kind of young to do it himself at 7. I shower all my kids now, it's just easier. My kids are 9, 7, and 4. I do turn on the water for them and adjust the temp (I don't want them to get burnt!) and wash their hair (and condition the girls' hair). I usually get a little wet in the process. And then all of them, including the 4 year old, scrub themselves down with body wash. Oh, they all shower separately, I mean!

 

[Becky2005]

Eh, I don't know...my DH only takes baths still. He just prefers those over showers.

No big deal except for PE when they get into Middle & High School and showers aren't even required after those anymore (they really wouldn't have time anyway -- they get 3 minutes between classes in Middle School -- not really enough time to take a shower! Luckily, they do give them a wee bit of extra time for changing clothes but I think it's about 5 min. according to DD).

I still can't convince my 11 year old that showers are better than baths. He doesn't like water sprayed on him in general. My 8 year old has even worse sensory issues for that & I think the entire neighborhood would hear him screaming if I tried to force water spraying on him like that. I haven't even attempted with the 5 year old but he'd might just love it.

My DD does take the showers but she prefers to take a bath over a shower.

 

[freckles and boo]

I think he is kind of young to do it himself at 7. I shower all my kids now, it's just easier. My kids are 9, 7, and 4. I do turn on the water for them and adjust the temp (I don't want them to get burnt!) and wash their hair (and condition the girls' hair). I usually get a little wet in the process. And then all of them, including the 4 year old, scrub themselves down with body wash. Oh, they all shower separately, I mean!

I do the same. My eight-year-old tries to wash her own hair but it is very thick and wavy so if we want it to actually get clean I wash it. She takes showering very seriously and will scrub every inch of herself. More than once I have turned off the water to hear "But I haven't cleaned my ELBOWS yet!!!" They still love baths but I feel they actually get clean if they shower.

 

[bellebud]

my ds7 showers, and sometimes he enjoys sitting on the floor of my stall shower and playing w/ his toys... he puts the washcloth over the drain and makes a tiny bathtub and bubbles w/ the shampoo. he loves the steaminess of the shower. of course he knows to not let the water overflow. he's always jumped in the shower w/ me from about age 2, so he's always been a shower-er. And ditto to a pp - I LOVE being able to tell both kids "please go take a shower". OH, and I have sat in the bathroom many, many times and 'coached' the kids on correct showering techniques and how to get really clean, but I still have to threaten ds sometimes "i'm going to smell every single inch of you when you come out, so you better really wash!"...

 

[mjkacmom]

I think he is kind of young to do it himself at 7. I shower all my kids now, it's just easier. My kids are 9, 7, and 4. I do turn on the water for them and adjust the temp (I don't want them to get burnt!) and wash their hair (and condition the girls' hair). I usually get a little wet in the process. And then all of them, including the 4 year old, scrub themselves down with body wash. Oh, they all shower separately, I mean!

My 7 year old has been showering herself for years, and my 5 year olds for almost a year - and they come out clean (they like to take LONG showers...). Our shower is set to a certain water temperature, we have 2 nozzles (one on an arm, so it's low), so they just need to turn it on and off. The shampoo and conditioner are pumps, which makes it easier.

 

[Kathi OD]

Color me confused! Why are you pushing the shower issue with a 7 yo. Let him continue to take a bath, but not with the younger siblings. All my children continued to take baths until they were well into their teens and then they made the decision to make the transition on their own. Maybe he'll never make the transition. My dad is 80 and still prefers to take a bath over a shower. It's just a matter of personal preference.

 

[KateandEmysmom]

My older DD started taking showers when it became too difficult to rinse her long thick hair. The best tip I can give you comes to the shampoo. Because they dont know quite how much to squirt and that bottle can get slippery when wet, I would put the shampoo in a dixie cup and leave it on the side for her. This way, all she had to do was dump the cup on her head and scrub.

She's 10 now and showers daily without issue. She started taking showers when she was about 7. It took about 2 weeks for her to have the system down pat.

HTH.

 

[mookie]

My dd is 5 1/2 and is starting to shower. The one thing she hates is turning the shower on herself. She said it's scary. Maybe because our pipes and the burst of water make some wierd noises?

Anyway, I do like the fact that I can say "go take a shower." What I DON'T like is the huge water bill I get from her taking so dang long!