bath time woes for older children

[westslope]

Hi.  I am having trouble with bathtime and am looking for suggestions!

1.   WATER WATER EVERYWHERE.  so much that I can't even have a bathmat outside of the tub and go through too many towels to clean up after.  Saw a baby tubguard that suctions to either side of bathtub... wondering if it works or looking for anything that does!

2.  Older child bathtoys that are interestin and fun.  I have a 7 and 4 year old.

3.  Washing hair is a challenge because

     a.  I use burts for shampoo and conditioner because of less toxins, but then daily I use suave spray in conditioner.  I don't want the chemicals to be washed into the water and then have them sit in it.

    b.  They hate water in their face and I make them wash their hair before the bath and let the water drain so they don't sit in the chemicals, then fill it up.

THe whole experience is messy, hectic, and stressful.  Advice and tips pLEASE!

[AllisonR]

I have a 4 yo and 6 yo. I just ask them not to splash. If they do splash, then they are responsible for cleaning up the mess. That is the natural consequence. You splash. Then when you get out of the tub, you get a towel, you clean up the water on the floor, you hang up the towel to dry. They do that once or twice more, then realize what hard work it is to clean up the mess, and stop. They can still choose to splash, but they know they have to clean up, so they are not interested. 

[Alyantavid]

Showers.

My 9 year old has taken showers since he was 4ish.  He very rarely takes a bath anymore so I don't have the water everywhere issues.  My 5 year old still mostly takes baths but he knows not to splash water everywhere and helps clean it up if he does.  I just wash his hair and body right before he gets out.

Mine usually just take whatever in with them to play with.  I don't really care as long as it doesn't have batteries and won't get ruined.

[LynnS6]

Hair washing:

Visors for keeping water out of the eyes: http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=536715&parentCategoryId=85180&categoryId=85201 + a spout attachment that allows me to spray their hair. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AZHM1O/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001ANN288&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1AG7SPHGJ4JQ97TYKSQ1

Water on the floor. At 4 and 7, they'd spend a good 15 minutes cleaning up the water themselves with me supervising. They're old enough to learn to not splash, and there's nothing like having to clean up your own mess to reinforce this.

[reezley]

My boys are 4 and 6 now.  I've had a no-spilling-water-out-of-the-bath rule forever.  Now that they are really old enough to know and follow the rule, I end the bath for the kid splashing.  I get the washing business done first, so it's the playtime that would be cut short if there's too much splashing. (They are generally very careful, but with the occasional overtired antics toward the end of a late bath.)  I also lately put the towel on the floor next to the bath, so if it splashes, it gets soaked up by their own towel - and they might end up being dried off by a damp towel. And I explain that to them.  

As for toys, they are still easily amused by their same old big plastic bath toys as ever. A few different sized bowls/measuring cups. A few little people, rubber ducks, random stuff like that.  For washing hair, maybe it's different for boys (or short hair, because it's a quicker washing process?) but I just don't get water in their faces.  They tilt back and I carefully pour water so it drips back. (They still yell "towelll!" right after anyway. It's pretty much usually a joke at this point.) And we used to use those visors, they work too.

[Peony]

By 5, my kids seem to prefer showers over baths which I like as well, less mess! I have no splashing rule as well but water still seems to get everywhere. I finally gave up and now expect it, I lay out two big beach towels on the floor prior to the bath which collect most of the water and make clean up easy. We also wash hair right before they get out of the tub. Favorite bath toys? A plastic tea set actually! And the odd assortment of funnels and measuring cups that we've used for years.

[kayleesmom]

we do showers and my youngest has been taking showers since he came home from hospital. and my kids are 4 7 and 2.5 and they prefer showers. we never dealt with the bathtime thing since my son was born.

[mommy68]

My oldest is 15 so he has taken showers for a long time, since he was around 6/7. :-) My 9 yr old likes showers and prefers those but still needs help because she isn't good with rinsing her hair and needs conditioner because she has thick hair that tangles easily. She does occasionally take baths and sometimes with her 2 yr old sister. When this happens the water usually gets on the floor. I will ask her to stop but usually just get some thick towels and clean up. I realize now that I have a teenager that they grow up soooo very fast and a little water on the floor every now and then isn't gonna hurt anything.

As far as washing their hair, they sell these things you can use to put water through and pour over their head so it doesn't go in their face. I've seen them at babies r us in the past.