Help Me Bathe My Babies!

HOW do I get my son to sit down in the tub? Jackson is my REALLY active, all-over-the-place kid. He tries to squirm all around and stand up in the tub. No matter how I ask him to sit down (or try to distract him), he won't. He never really does what I ask, so I think he just hasn't gotten "there" yet... but I am getting SOOO sick of giving two baths every bath night and would really love to be able to give one bath for both boys.

Any ideas?

 

Do you have a bath seat? I would put him in a bath seat! We have the safety first one and I still use it for Elizabeth when I bathe her with C&A b/c I'm worried about them knocking her over, etc.

 

I second the bathseat suggestion. I've also used taking the offender out of the bath when she won't listen. Cuts the fun time down for her and she will sit now because she doesn't want to get out. Good luck.
If I may add, they've got alot of bath toys in there as well that will hold their attention. They favorite are 4 used rinsed out big yogurt containers. They love dumping water back and forth from one to the other.

 

So he will sit when you do one-on-one baths? Does Jacob stay sitting? If so I would bath them together and stay very consistent with ALWAYS making him stay sitting, and if you warn 3 times he comes out (you may have to do a really quick cleaning/rinse), even if that means hanging out in a towel while you finish with Jacob. Do you always do baths alone? Can you make it so you have help for the next 3-4 baths (say bath every other night or so) while you try and get him to get the message?

 

At almost 2 years old, I am still using bath seats. It just makes me so comfortable knowing they are not going anywhere!

 

I hated the bath seats, personally. I have done both boys together in the big tub since they were 10m. However, I resigned myself to the fact that standing up wasn't a big deal, so long as they weren't running around the tub. Sometimes they just wanted to get something, but for the most part, it was just a novelty b/c they were learning to walk and the tub was a great place for pulling up. Yeah, we had a few bruised foreheads, but that was the trademark of the pulling up/cruising/learning to walk phase, and I don't think we sustained injuries at a higher frequency in the tub than elsewhere. We got a really good non-slip mat, and I just sat next to the tub on a stool with my hands in the water and ready to grab them if they lost their balance.

The novelty eventually passed. At 26m, my boys are still tub wigglers, but they are more like snakes slithering on their bellies to reach for a toy or trade positions now. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority with my thoughts on this one.

 

I get in the bathtub with the kids. Have done so since we moved them from the sink tubs to the big tub (6 or 8 mos). Wear a swimsuit if you are a private person. But set up everything you need outside the tub before you get in, and then get in with them. You have more control this way. Also, use time outs. If he won't sit down (and physically show him each time you say it) then put him outside the bath for a few seconds. He's young, and it is just a phase, he will outgrow it, but it is scary. DD did this for a while and nothing was working. I finally spanked her, and felt horrible. She cried and cried, DS cried and cried (DH wasn't home yet) so we all hung out in the tub and cried. But she quit standing up in the tub. Not the way I wanted to teach her, but it is a big safety concern, even with a non skid mat we had accidents that scared the heck out of me.