I was posting on facebook tonight about how lazy I have gotten this summer about bathing my children. If they have even made eye contact with a sprinkler, I consider them good to go! Or even if the law of averages applies…2 of them have either bathed or been swimming, or even just washed their hands with actual soap…I am giving the third kid a pass.
I was happy to learn that I am not alone in this summer hygiene hiatus. It seems that a dip in the lake, or even a future swim marked on the calendar count as Get Out of Bath Free cards.
So tonight, with one kid having already been swimming today, one in the sprinkler and another in a pool yesterday, and possibly all 3 heading to a pool tomorrow…why WOULD I give them a bath. That’s just environmentally irresponsible.
And then I fed them drippy, sticky watermelon. Outside. And egg salad sandwiches. And Maggie has insisted on wearing the same shirt for 4 days straight. And I am not entirely sure that she even got her hair wet in the pool.
So I caved and gave them all baths. Molly screamed bloody murder in the yard for 20 minutes because I think she thought hygiene was just a phase, like my cooking, and that we had moved past that nonsense. No one volunteered to be the first bather, until after awhile Grace said she would. At which point Molly shouted that she wanted to be first, and tried to tackle her on the deck. I’m surprised no one called the police. Or that she didn’t wake the raccoons.
So let that be your lesson. You have a garden hose for a reason. Don’t be afraid to use it. Refer to it as your “Outdoor Shower” and no one needs to know that instead of talking about this Pinterest worthy addition to your yard:
you are in fact talking about cleaning your children the same way that you would hose out the garbage cans, or scare off solicitors:
Besides, mosquitoes and wasps all like clean people. As for the flies…maybe throw a fly-swatter in your purse. The kids all want to hit each other anyway…may as well make it productive.
Shayna Murray says
OK you know the bugs like the sticky sweet people right? Yeah you do.
Sprinklers definitely replace baths in our house too. It’s the first thing she says when I turn it on for her to play in – I don’t have to have a bath to night mommy! It may be her favorite thing about it.
Tara (Nerdgirlmom) says
Sounds like you have a smart kid!!
notesfromheidi says
I sometimes forget how long it’s been since my nine month old had a bath…and he doesn’t spend any time in the sprinkler, pool, or lake. Bath water is actually the only water he’ll tolerate. Other than drinking water, but I’m not crazy enough to bathe him in drinking water. 😛
Tara (Nerdgirlmom) says
I didn’t do a lot of baths when they were young either. Don’t want to dry that skin out!! 😉 Plus I could never get the timing down right so that it wouldn’t screw with their sleep schedule…it either made them so angry that they wouldn’t sleep at bedtime, or put them immediately to sleep 2 hours too early.
This Mom says
I think my girls just went…well, I don’t actually want to admit the number of days in print…without a real shampoo. They were in swimming lessons every morning and our pool every afternoon, so I kept telling myself that they were clean, and what’s the point shampooing when they’re just going to be in the chlorine and saltwater again the next day? I finally caved when we were heading to a family party!
Tara (Nerdgirlmom) says
I knew I liked you!!