How Bath Time Stories Can Get Your Child In and Out of the Bath With Ease

Sometimes we work so hard to correct or establish a behavior in our children that we overlook the possibility that our efforts may actually work..

.

too well. For example, have you ever tried everything you could do to get your child to learn to wash their hands only to then not be able to get them to stop? Or work so diligently with your child to get them to learn to speak...

only to then wonder if they'll ever stop talking shortly thereafter? Sometimes children cling to the awesome new things they've learned and then want to obsessively do those things.

Bathing is prime example of an activity that little ones seem to be completely hit or miss on. With my son, we go through periods where he simply refuses to go willingly into the tub.
Trying to make any human being do something they don't want to do is hard enough..
.
but when that human being is 2 foot tall, completely naked and slippery as an eel in jello..

. it's a battle to say the least! And then there is the other problem.
.
.

what to do when the little guy suddenly rediscovers his long lost bathing passion and wants to stay in the tub till the sun comes back up.
Fun and creative soaps, coupled with engaging bath time stories, have been my go-to for getting my kiddo into the bath but I've discovered something really neat during this process.

The story can also be an integral part in getting him out of the tub! The children's book is essentially the bookends that start his bathing session and also end it.
It may take a time or two to establish the routine with your child, but once you make them associate bath time being over once the book is finished it becomes a much smoother transition than when your child perceives that you just arbitrarily chose to end their fun splash time for no reason.
I do get encore requests and yes, I honor them.

.

.
but we are at least then in an accord that the duration of the bath is correlated with the story we're reading.
Most children's books are short and not very wordy so to successfully apply this method, it's vital that you engage your child with the story.

We're not reading a news report here. Talk to your child about the pictures and ask them questions.
Encourage them to think and give you their thoughts on the story.

This is prime, hot off the grill, super bowl commercial, beachfront property quality time we're talking about here so soak it in.
These are memories that you are creating for yourself as well so get involved and engage your little one.
Once the story is finished, close the book with a playful "The End" (or "All Done" which is what my son likes) and place the book in a dedicated spot reminding your child that you'll both go on another adventure again tomorrow evening.
After a session or two, you may be very surprised at how well your child falls into the routine and follows suit without fuss.
Not only have you given them playful motivation to get in the tub, you've done so with parameters and with a solid way to signify the end of bath time built right into the equation.