Patches had an unpleasant dose of reality this evening. It began when Kiki and Gleek decided to shower together instead of separately. The shrieks and giggles (and splashes and puddles) from the bathroom convinced Patches that “Shower” was the coolest thing going this evening. So when the girls got out and I sent Link in for his shower, Patches was right on his heels to participate in the fun. I helped Patches undress amid giggles and joyful cries of “Show-a”. Then he took one step into the shower and under the stream of water. Water-in-the-face is cause for major Patches sadness these days. He never used to mind and in fact used to shower with me very happily. I don’t know what changed, but somehow Patches remembered “Show-a” as a happy-fun place and completely forgot the water part. Tears ensued. Many tears. I rescued him from his terror-frozen position in the water stream and wrapped him in a towel. He was angry with me for removing him and cried “Show-a!”, but when I offered to let him get back in, he didn’t want anything to do with that watery chamber of fear. For the next 15 minutes while I dried him off and dressed him Patches continued to cry for the lost joys of “Show-a” and the way it betrayed him. Fortunately a snack, a story, and a bedtime made everything better.
4 thoughts on “The Shower”
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erf.
Though it is strange, the things that toddlers don’t like. Do you have any idea why Patches doesn’t like water-in-the-face?
Vorn
Being afraid of water in the face/eyes is actually very common for young children. They’ve figured out that they can’t breathe water and so they panic when water touches their face even in fairly small amounts. Some kids are naturally fearless, some can be carefully trained to not fear it. Most kids will learn to tolerate putting their face in water somewhere during the preschool years. Usually when they learn to swim.
Scarlet (my 3 1/2) has never feared water. For a long time, she was convinced that water was the ultimate expression of God’s love for HER and noone else. She’s gotten past that bit, but she still loves loves loves water. Bath, shower, pool, hottub, drinking fountain, puddle, dog dish, whatever. Once, on our way north out of SLC, there was bad bad traffic, so we stopped to change Scarlet at one of the rest stops … I don’t think it was a far north as Centerville, but it was after wherever the freeway goes down to two lanes. There is a drinking fountain there, on a rock and concreete pedastal, that could double as a bird bath. Or a Scarlet bath, which it did.
Indy (1 1/2) is more like Patches. She was growing used to the water idea, and then she got a bath by Aunt Sammy, who I guess doesn’t do it right or something. There may have been some “ok, you kids play for a while” from the Aunt and some “let’s get indy wet!” from sissy and cousin; the chain of events is unclear. She wouldn’t get in the bath for a week or more, until daddy held her in the shower and let her remember the happy fun times in the water, while safe in daddy’s arms.
It was pretty traumatic, apparently, but she’s back to taking baths and yelling when we try to wash her hair 😉
My son is seven, and still doesn’t like to have water on his face. I’m not sure why.