My 2-year old son absolutely loathed taking baths. Everytime I told him that it was time to get clean, he would immediately run and hide in the nearest empty, not-so-easily concealed space. Sometimes, I would even have to drag him in and plunk him down in the freestanding bathtub–kicking and screaming. Of course, no mother wants to see their child in such dismay but what am I going to do? Let him have all the dirt cake on his skin and have him stink of old crayons? Certainly not.
Lately, I’ve been hearing from other mothers of creative ways to get their tots into their bathtubs. Apparently, the tried and true method is to coax them with toys. Depending on how old they are, they can opt for the colorful plastic squirties or you can allow them to bring in their favorite superhero figurine. Another suggestion that can be enjoyed by both boys and girls are the washable bathtub crayons. They are perfect for your little one because they are non-toxic and completely safe. It’s also nice when you don’t have to spend hours scrubbing on the tiled walls because the marks left on these bathtubs by your mini-artist wash off with ease. My favorite idea, however, was the foam numbers, letters and shapes. They are so simple yet when put together, they can turn bathtime into fun learning time.
Yesterday, I tried again to get my son to willfully approach the watery destiny of the walk in bathtub. This time, I was equipped with a bag of goodies that I told him I would only reveal once he followed me to the bathroom (a trick mothers know full well) and rather unexpectedly, he did! When I showed him all the toys and crayons, he was estactic and offered to open the bag for me while in the bathtub. What a gentleman! Once his bathtime was over, he tried to convince me to let him stay for a little bit longer. The next time, I’m sure he’ll be running to the bathroom for all the excitement he knows is in store.
