first shower without the TV babysitter -- not good.

[because]

DS (28 mo) managed to get a paper cut on his penis; hit the dog with a book; colored on the sheets with a crayon; colored on the shower door with same crayon (crayon is now in shower on shelf); dumped my contact lenses on the bed; and erased half of DD's dry-marker book work while she was rescuing my contact case...

What is your fail-safe, TV-free way to get a quick shower?!?!?!

I can't lock him in the bathroom with me because there even more dangers lurking in the low drawers and cabinets.

We're new at this... help!

[Anno]

I'm afraid I dont leave my 3.5 year old - I only shower when DH is home or DS is sleeping. Or I take a bath with him which he finds hilarious because I let him wash my hair.

Sorry - wish I had a tip, but I am in the same boat as you, it seems.

[Arwyn]

Bring him into the shower with you? Stop up the drain if it's a combo and let him splash in the water - that usually works here (though I have a 13mo). Mostly I take showers in the evening, though.

How hard would it be to toddler proof the bathroom? Could you place out a messy art project in the bathroom, knowing that you'll have to clean it up later?

[Hannahsmummy]

I was going to suggest bringing him in the shower as well.

Do you set up an activity or just leave him to it? I like the idea of setting up something in the bathroom for him to do.

[goldfinch]

I wait until DH is home or the kids are asleep or at preschool or something.

I've also changed my whole notion of how often I need to shower.

[boatbaby]

We always shower together and make a big play date out of it. Either that or I shower at night when DH is home.

[amandaleigh37]

Sorry I'm no help either.... I bring my 17 month old in the bathroom with me. There's one drawer in there full of stuff he can get out, and it usually amuses him long enough for me to shower.

Or I fill the sink with soapy water, or add some food coloring or some other toys/objects & let him play in the sink while I shower.

[LittleYellow]

Originally Posted by goldfinch

I've also changed my whole notion of how often I need to shower.

:


But on the more practical level, here are some things that have worked for me....

Bringing dd's in the shower with me with the promise that when I'm done I'll fill up the tub.

Letting them know that if I have a calm shower, then we will be able to do something else desireable after (eat yogurt, go out to play etc.)

Showering when-ever my sister drops by bc/she won't go through a big negotiation session like dh.

Endure the big "shower negotiation session" with dh, just to get a shower.

[NYCVeg]

I usually shower in the morning when dh is home, but sometimes I just set dd up with her toothbrush and a trickle of water in the sink, and she'll happily "brush" her teeth for 5 minutes while I shower. You can always baby proof your bathroom--just put some locks on the cabinets. Or, as others said, bring ds in with you or shower after he goes to bed.

(A paper cut on his penis?!?)

[jtbuko]

My number one rule is to lock the dog in a bedroom so that even if the kids get into something they can't abuse our dog.

We also have childproofed things to the millionth degree, but sometimes I'll gate everyone upstairs with me so they are close enough for me to hear if they are fighting and hop out to flash the neighbors and resolve the issue if needed. They have access to me in the bathroom, the hallway, their room which is mainly just mattresses and books, and whatever cool toys I put out for them.

Another strategy is to leave DS to play downstairs and bring DD upstairs with me. Or let DS shower at the same time in the other bathroom and DD shower with me.

[earthgirl]

I tried bringing DD w/ me, but she HATED it. Now I can only shower when DH is home.

[goldfinch]

Endure the big "shower negotiation session" with dh, just to get a shower.

Should I even ask? Yikes!

[onlyzombiecat]

When my dd was young I would bathe or shower with her. She needed to get clean too so it saved time. Otherwise I would wait until I had someone to supervise dd.

I would not leave the dc with the dog unattended again.

[weliveintheforest]

Originally Posted by because

I can't lock him in the bathroom with me because there even more dangers lurking in the low drawers and cabinets.

Don't know if it would be enough to help, but I LOVE tot-loks for this.


My dd will also come in the shower with me if I put the plug in so she can play in the water.

[loraxc]

I had a playpen that was used almost exclusively for this. I put her in it during showers till she was pretty old, though I forget the exact age. At a certain point I started bringing her in the bathroom with me and closing the door--she couldn't work our doorknobs for a long time. Around 3, she became responsible enough to just let 'er roam.

I take short showers, just FTR. Shaving is strictly on weekends.

[MCsMom]

We have pretty seriously babyproofed our house.

Sometimes they are both in with me, sometimes just one or the other.

Sometimes DH is home and will watch them.

I always take a shower when we go to my parents house, hanging out with grandma is fun.

I make sure to bring shampoo when we go swiming at the Y.

[VBMama]

Showering & cooking dinner are the hardest things for me to get done. If I'm desperate for a shower when dh isn't home I either wait till ds2 is napping, bring him in the shower with me, or pretty much let him tear apart the bathroom cabinets and be as quick as possible. Ds1 does fine by himself, either just playing or he gets computer time when I'm showering & when putting ds2 down for a nap.

BTW, I'm at the paper cut on his penis - while that specific situation hasn't happened here, we've had similar "you managed to do WHAT?" moments.

[because]

Alright, I showered again (HOW long ago was that first post?! )

I put him on a stool at the sink with some plastic eye droppers, a little boat, and a tiny tea cup. I only had to get out three times to pull the plug on the sink drain but there were no major catastrophies or floods. Yay!

FTR, I know the dog/book bit sounded bad but really neither is a threat to the other. DS is actually very good with the dog and the dog is a hearty yet docile 15 year old terrier (he only got docile in his teens for those of you who know terriers and don't believe me). Really, really, really I'm a very careful person when it comes to kids and animals abusing each other and I promise this isn't a bad situation.

Those magnetic Tot-loks are the only locks that would work with our cabinet style but I just can't stomach the start-up price. Aren't the first 4 and key like $30 or something?

Actually, the kids seemed to have calmed down a bit after the initial TV withdrawal symptoms have worn down. I'm going to employ some other ideas from this thread (not the part about negotiation with DH, though ) but I think we're off to a good start.

[goldfinch]

Only 4 days ago. You're way ahead of me in the shower department!

[tracyhos]

During my last shower during the day (with no DH home to supervise the kids), my 2 y.o. torn about 20 keys off my Mac laptop. I feel your pain, Because.

That was like 2 weeks ago. Sooo...now I shower at night (when DH is home). It's just easier. I suppose I could get up at the crack of dawn before he leaves and goes to work....but at that hour sleep wins everytime. Although, countless times during the day, I tell myself I should have gotten up to shower.