Bathing and showering 3 small kids...

Discussion in 'The Toddler Years(1-3)' started by MrsWright, Oct 30, 2013.

  1. MrsWright

    MrsWright Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    How do you do it?  Currently we bathe all 3 at the same time (roughly every other day)...which just creates fighting, water on the floor, everyone wants to lay down ect ect.  The bath is big enough but really, just getting too big.  They like showers but prefer baths.  We thought about just setting up a schedule so one child would get a bath a day but in the summer they would be disgusting!  How do you with 3 small children get baths done?!?! 
     
  2. megkc03

    megkc03 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    If my kids get a bath once a week I'm happy. Lol! All three go in at the same time, unless I can con them to take showers(usually with me as it's fast and much quicker). That usually happens if we have somewhere to be.

    I try to do baths Sundays and Wednesdays. But we are never home, so if I can manage once a week-I cal that a success! Lol!
     
    2 people like this.
  3. southernmommy

    southernmommy Well-Known Member

    Since there are 9 of us I have a schedule. Sun, Tues, Thursday night 3 kids get a bath or shower. Mon, Wed, Friday morning 2 kids get showers before school.(unless they have a sports practice or game then they get a shower that day too) M&M get baths on Monday in the afternnon before dance and then it varies for them since they don't go to school yet. Sometimes they will get a bath with their older brother during the week. They make a mess but it gives me an hour to do whatever.
     
  4. cheezewhiz24

    cheezewhiz24 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    Do one at a time for awhile. The baby gets about 5 minutes of playtime then is washed, lotions and dressed. Kid 2 is called upstairs while the baby is getting washed. Kid 2 gets in when she gets out and gets about 15 minutes to play. I help him wash his hair and call up kid 3. Kid 2 out; kid 3 in. I usually wash kid 3's hair right then and supervise the skin cleaning. Then he can play until I need him to get out or the water gets cold. This process takes as little as 45 minutes but an hour is common. Sometimes the last kid gets more hot water and plays for 45 minutes! It's great!

    Oh and we do every other day.
     
  5. monica77

    monica77 Well-Known Member

    I only have 2 kids but I thought it doesn't hurt to tell you what I do. I stopped giving my kids a bath around 2 and a half when they started to make a mess splashing water everywhere. Ever since then they are taking showers every night. We have a shower head with a hose, so I take it in my hand and wash the kid as I need. I pick up a kid, put him/her in the tub standing, then I wash them, make them hold the showerhead while I shampoo their hair and wash their body with soap, then I rinse them in a minute and take the kid out of the tub. Then I repeat the process with the second kid, I don't even turn the water off in between kids. Vanessa has long hair so we don't wash her hair every day - maybe once or twice a week - other than that I put her hair up with a hairclip during showers.  They take a shower every night, we only skip it if we went out for dinner and it's really late. I think the whole process takes about 3-5 minutes per kid, it's faster with Max. After their shower they brush their teeth and we brush and dry their hair.
     
  6. gina_leigh

    gina_leigh Well-Known Member

    We do showers nightly. My kiddos play outside a ton and would be a filthy mess if they didn't bathe every night. 
     
    We stopped doing baths around 4. They started making a huge mess and getting too big to bathe together. So we have a detachable shower head that we use. In the last week we got an extension rod to lower the shower head and we've started having them learn to shower themselves. 
     
    Reagan goes first because of her hair and while she showers, J brushes his teeth. She gets out and brushes her teeth while he showers. 
     
    We start our routine 30-45 minutes before bedtime. It doesn't take that long, but they like to chat while I tuck them in, so we build in extra time for that. 
     
  7. MrsWright

    MrsWright Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    I would LOVE to do showers but they love baths! Maybe I'll bribe them with staying up later;). And yes they are outside all the time so they would be disgusting if I waited any longer than the 2 days:-X. And in the summer with sunscreen and all yuck!!!!! How do I convince them to shower?!?;)

    Michelle..how do you keep the other 2 occupied (& out of the water) while you bathe the last one? My kids are drawn to water like fish, they hang over the edge to splash or touch the water when I try to do them separate.
    I have done on my days off and can start earlier, alone bath time. So they each get their own new bubble bath and I just leave them alone to play....it's amazing #1 how much less mess it is and #2 how much faster they want out when they don't have cohorts to goof of with;)
    Ps I'm also complaining about this because dh usually does baths but is a farmer so I've been alone for a few weeks and it's getting to me;) LOL
     
  8. weegus

    weegus Well-Known Member

    If I am alone, I bathe them all together by putting all three boys in the bath tub and the youngest in a clear rubbermaid tote next to the tub.  I cannot trust them yet to occupy themselves if I bathe them separately.  If my husband is around, he will bathe and dress two in one bath tub and I will bathe and dress the other two in another tub.  Or, I will bathe 2 and he will dress them when they are finished.  Meanwhile, I will bathe the next two and he will dress them when they are done.  Bath time is an event in our house.  I am happy if they get two baths a week.
     
  9. Danibell

    Danibell Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    I'm also doing fab if mine get 2 baths a week, and I'm thankful I'm not the only one who has this issue!  My oldest is 11, and he showers pretty much every morning otherwise he smells (hello pre-teen!).  My oldest daughter is 7 and we try to shower her 2-3 times a week.  The twins bath or shower sunday night for sure, and then it's hit/miss when it happens again.

    What I did when they were younger was bath them together, but I have a big corner garden tub, plenty of room for 3 kids (I actually threw all 4 in there together sometimes).  Anyways, yes, they did make a mess, but we tried to supervise and keep the mess as contained as possible.  Even now, at nearly 5 yrs old, they still tend to splash everywhere.
     
    Bath time now starts right after supper, the twins go into the bathtub, and then dh helps the 7 yr old shower and wash her hair (she has super thick hair and can't wash it herself yet).  Then she washes her body, and he washes the twins, then lets them play for awhile.  15 minutes or so.  If we're in a rush, he jumps in the shower and showers the twins first, then helps Kaelyn wash her hair before getting out while she finishes washing up.
     
  10. AimeeThomp

    AimeeThomp Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    My 3 take a bath together every night. I don't make them wash their hair every night but they have to bathe. I don't think mine are good wipers after they use the bathroom, so nightly baths are a must.
     
    Sometimes the girls will shower on their own and Cooper gets the tub to himself. But most nights it's 3 kids in bath together.
     
  11. 1stbabies

    1stbabies Well-Known Member

    In case you can use what working most of the time with my two in the shower together:
    I cut some sponges and they can only use that to wipe the water off the wall (not each other) , that keep them occupied and less fights.
    Also there is soap bar too that they can play with on their to keep busy.  (we don't use soap bar and sponges outside of the shower at home; so it is a novelty for them = )  Also they like seeing how to make the hard/dry sponge becoming soft ... ) 
    Yes, I still raise my voice to keep them in line when they play too rough in the shower sometime = )
    Also the $1 store had some animal kid showcap too sometime , they like that too under the shower ... once they are used to that, we use that showcap on the day we don't wash hair...
     
    On bad day that they don't want to take shower together , they  get quick bottom wash (as they are really stinky after school since they cannot wipe their own bottom = ( ) I tell them in advance that it would be a quick bottom wash if I'm short on time. 
     
Loading...
Similar Threads Forum Date
Bathing together, or alone? Childhood and Beyond (4+) Jun 10, 2014
Bathing Twins Together? The First Year Dec 26, 2011
What age did you stop bathing your kids? Childhood and Beyond (4+) Oct 22, 2010
Bathing babies too big for the baby bathtub The First Year Jul 6, 2010
Bathing Twins By Myself The First Year May 16, 2010

Share This Page