Slippery When Wet

I've finally found a way to keep my son out of the bathroom.

I know, I know, I wish it were that simple, we can't just shut the door.

We have a cat. It's my husband's cat. He's had him for 16 years now. His name is Hobbes. Hobbes' litter box is in the bathroom, so the door to the bathroom must be kept open at all times.

Due to the open bathroom-door policy in our house, there is a point in everyday that I have to drag my son, screaming out of the bathroom.

He loves to play in the bathroom. He likes to play in the toilet, he likes to play in the sink. He likes to move my daughter's Dora the Explorer stepstool all over our tiny little bathroom. Mostly to move it over to the sink, where he steps on it and says, "bath, bath". That's how he tells us he wants to wash his hands.

One day, while moving the stool, he fell into the litter box. We heard, "Mommy, Mommy," and there he was sitting in the cat box, crying and scared, with his little bottom lip curled under and quivering, as his little legs and feet dangled over the side.

He likes to brush his teeth. a.k.a. suck the toothpaste off of his toothbrush and then run around the house with it.

When my daughter is taking a bath, he cries to join her. Again, "bath, bath." We always let him go in and he's fine until the time comes to wash his hair. I pick up the big red plastic cup from the ledge, used to pour water all over his head, and he immediately starts to get upset.

This tiny act sends him into a panic. He stands up in the tub and will not sit back down. He's crying at this point and puts his arms out to me, as if to say, Mommy get me out of here!

So, I quickly wet, wash and rinse his hair. I do it really quickly because hysterically crying, wet and slippery baby, standing up in the tub, gives me a little scare. By the end of the hair washing, he is absolutely beside himself.

This has been going on for months now. Stephen and I always comment on how he HAS to go into the bath tub, yet HATES it.

This morning the light bulb finally went off. I see my son in the bathroom, standing by the side of the tub. He's pulling the shower curtain back with his little left hand while pointing into the bath tub with his right hand, saying, "bath, bath."

And it finally comes to me....I say,

Hey there honey, want to play in the bath tub? Mommy will make a nice bath for you!

I then proceeded to fix my right hand as if I were holding the big red cup. I made a pouring motion and said..

Mommy will pour the BIG red cup, FULL of water, ALL OVER YOUR HEAD... I'll wash your hair!.... I then used my hands to pretend that I was washing his hair and said Washie, Washie!

This sent my son running and screaming OUT of the bathroom.

Ahhh...if only I had thought of this sooner.