Bathtime Battles

Some of you are having trouble getting your child to take a bath. This isn’t for you. No, the bathtime battle I am referring to is trouble getting your child out of the tub! My daughter loves taking baths, so much so that often she does not want to leave it. One day (when she was 3) she decided that this time she was simply staying put. When it came time to get out of the bath, my daughter refused, and squirmed away from me when I tried to get her. It’s very difficult to get a wet, slippery child out of a big tub without falling in or somebody getting hurt! I quickly decided that I was not going to struggle with her. Instead, this is what I did:

Me : "Jada, it’s time to get out of the bath now."

Jada : "I don’t want to."

Me (graciously giving one more chance, only for this first training session.): "Jada, you are disobeying me. I’ll give you on more chance… get out of the tub."

Jada : "No." squirm squirm

Me : "Okay." I quickly turned on a cold water shower.

Jada : Stunned and utterly surprised, she hopped out of the tub as fast as she could possibly manage!

Jada : Crying. "Why did you do that?"

Me : "Baby, I’m sorry I had to do that, but I had to teach you a lesson. You were disobeying me. I told you it was time to get out of the tub, and you refused to do what I said. Now, you owe me an apology for disobeying me."

Jada : Tearfully "I’m sorry." "Mommy, I didn’t like that."

Me : "I know hunny. I won’t do it again as long as you obey me the next time I say it’s time to get out, okay?"

Jada : "Okay Mommy."

Now, when bathtime is coming to an end, and she begins to hesitate when I say it’s time to get out, all I have to do is reach for the water knob and she is out of the tub in a flash. It only took one training session; I’ve never had to do it since then. But if she ever tells me "no" again, you better believe that shower will be on before she can blink, and with no warning!

Now, I realize that this may sound mean to some of you, but a brief second of my child getting sprayed with cold water is nothing compared to the life lesson she is learning about doing what her parent’s tell her, and the consequences of disobeying. I love my child too much to allow her to disobey me, and breed rebellion in her heart. It is so crucial that training begins at the first sign of defiance, and if tub time is a struggle for you, I suggest you give this method a try. It just might be the solution you’ve been looking for!