Soap woes

[Rose-Roget]

Ds is almost 6. He's a good kid. Gets very distracted sometimes, and I question some sensory issues.

I am going nuts about soft soap for washing hands and bathtime. He constantly plays in it and ends up dumping the entire bottle down the sink. In the shower, we use Burts Bees because he has skin sensitivities, so it's not exactly cheap. He's usually pretty independent in the bath and/or gets a little play time. Dh and I have decided that both of us need to ration the amount he is allowed for that time each time he takes a bath/shower.

But the soap for hand washing is different. I can't escort him to the bathroom to supervise his soap use every time. But when I refill a bottle one day and 2 days later it's completely empty, I get so mad! I've tried bar soap and he demolishes that too - soaking it in water so that it gets all mushy and then sticks to the soap dish.

We've talked about it. He understands, but he continues to do this. How do I get him to stop completely wasting the soap?!

[lonegirl]

For what it's worth....my bar soap gets stuck to the soap dish too.
Have you tried just getting his own bar of soap and soap dish (unbreakable), or rationing the soap in a soap dispenser of his own?

[lifeguard]

What about trying one of those soap dispensers that foams the soap? It would take an awful lot of work to empty it in one go.

[BellinghamCrunchie]

Originally Posted by lifeguard

What about trying one of those soap dispensers that foams the soap? It would take an awful lot of work to empty it in one go.

That's what we do for my 5 year old, who would otherwise dump the entire bottle of shampoo/liquid soap/whatever into her bath. And when the foam soap is empty, it only takes a few drops of liquid soap and the rest water to make it full of foam again. I will even refill with a bit of her Burt's Bees shampoo and water, works just fine, and doesn't take much shampoo at all to make it foam.

[Rose-Roget]

Thanks! I'll try the foam soap idea. Even if he empties it, it won't be much soap that's being wasted.

[One_Girl]

Does he get an allowance? My dd went through a phase like this and I talked to her about how many squirts she could use and about having to use her own money to pay for soap if it kept going that fast. If there is no allowance then talk about not getting other treats because you have to use money on the soap. I also put the shampoo and conditioner into an empty hand soap container and that saves a lot of soap.

Just a side note: Have you tried the softsoap bath wash and herbal essance shampoo? My dd has sensitive skin but has done fine with the pomegranate softsoap body wash and the herbal essence in the orangish bottle. She can't have any olive oil because it gives her hives so I have had to get creative with testing out products she can use that don't have detergant like things and the wrong fragrance (which also give her hives) but also don't have the olive oil (which is what the hypoallergenic things tend to have. These things are much cheaper than the Burt's Bees stuff so the stress isn't there as much if she chooses to use too much.