How do you handle bathing small kids in showers?

[2krazykats]

My kids have never had a shower in their lives (OK so they're only 2 and 3 so they haven't lived all that much).

 

One thing they love is to take baths and go swimming. But what they absolutely hate (the screaming, crying kind) is having to shower with the water running down their heads.

 

Hubby and I have been on 2 cruises, pre kids, and are planning on taking the little tykes with us for a cruise in the fall. We'd like to get a nice, big suite with its own whirlpool tub but having to pay for both kids' airfare now is no cakewalk for us. So, it'll be at best a balcony room which comes with only a shower.

 

Has anyone figure out how to get your kids clean without having to subject them to the shower nozzle and possibly being hauled away as child abusers as your kid screams bloody murder while you try to get them clean? :D

 

TIA

[caribbean dreams]

Maybe you could keep trying to get them used to the shower at home, you will have all summer to practice with them.

I feel your pain, i had a few that were the same way.

[camperhawk]

see this thread! hope it helps

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=493842

[crusinmama06]

What cruiseline are you taking? I know that RCCL has tubs in their Junior Suites which are pretty much nothing more than a balcony cabin.

 

But I agree with the other posters, definatly practice at home or bring an inflatable.

[Lady_Gamecock]

Baby_G will be nine months old (next week!) and we're going to bath her in her Inflatable Pool. We'll use it on deck for her to splash in and in the shower for her to bathe in.

 

And yes, practicing in the shower helps, a lot. We shower with her here at home, but she's so slick, I worry that one of us will drop her aboard ship.

 

Happy Bathing!

 

Lady_ & Baby_G

[I&MsMom]

Not sure which cuise line you'll be on, but Carnival has an adjustable shower head. When DD was two, I would just lower it all the way, and it was at about her height. I turned it on to the slightest water pressure that worked, and she was fine with it.

 

Good luck, and enjoy your cruise!

[rebeccalouise]

Disney cabins have bathtubs. they also have babysitting during the day and night for kids under 3. This is probably the best value for the money with little ones.

I did the Wonder and loved my roomy stateroom. It was over 200 square ft. with a split bathroom. Toilet and sink on one side and tub on the other.

The cabins are really roomy. The best standard balcony stateroom I have ever been in.

At age 2 and 3- Disney is perfect. There is a babypool for kids in diapers.

[2krazykats]

I think I'll nix the inflatable tub idea. It's a neat concept but I've been in cruise cabin bathrooms before and they are smaller than my walk in closet! I can't imagine trying to empty out the tub every time and then store it somewhere...

 

We are looking at Carnival as well as Princess and knowing that Carnival has an adjustable shower nozzle adds another + to that column.

 

I liked that "baptismal" method mentioned in the other post! ;)

 

They sure will miss their bubble baths for a few days though!

[2krazykats]

RebeccaLouise:

 

Thanks for the info on Disney. I did like the fact that their cabins were so roomy compared to the other cruise lines and the split-bath - wow!

 

However, their itinerary didn't work with our schedule.

 

Wish every cruise line would follow their cabin layout when they make new ships or refurbish existing ones and offer them to all categories and not just the high level ones.

[dosi]

Ahhhh just dip em under the shower and let em holler. They will stop after a minute or two and no one will pay you any mind at all. Our son used to raise a major ruckus about the shower, but he lived through it and no one tried to haul us away. Really the kids will be fine!!

[Paleochick]

Have you considered letting your kids have a bath at the bottom of the shower? Granted it would only be in 2" of water, but that's enough for a kid who doesn't want to shower. I've considered taking a rubber drain cover (flat, round disk of rubber) for the bottom of the shower, to cover the drain. I think you can get them at Walmart of Home Depot in the plumbing area where drain plugs are. It would take up a lot less space than an inflatable tub. Just a thought.

[2krazykats]

dosi:

Yes, that might be our final solution! Maybe I will ask hubby to do it. :)

 

Paleochick: That's an interesting solution and we wouldn't have to lose suitcase space either!

 

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions. I'm sure whatever we chose, we'll all live through it.

[bmgaritty]

Ahhhh just dip em under the shower and let em holler. They will stop after a minute or two and no one will pay you any mind at all. Our son used to raise a major ruckus about the shower, but he lived through it and no one tried to haul us away. Really the kids will be fine!!

 

 

I'm sorry, but the people in the cabin next to you won't really appreciate it all. A kid screaming in the shower?

 

Try practicing at home or bring a snug tub.

 

Some children will get used to a shower. We set up a hose outside as a shower to "play" under. It worked.....my daughter started taking showers at 18 months. Great for cruises!

[Sale Away]

It's the water in the eyes that's usually the big complaint. We "practiced" standing in the shower with my daughter holding her head so that her body got wet but her face didn't. She holds her head back to get her hair wet for shampooing with minimal water getting on her face.

 

Dontcha just love how you can't get them out of the pool with water getting all over their faces but you can't get them in the shower to wash all that chlorine off their faces?

[wsue22]

I took a practice shower with my 3 year old daughter yesterday and she was not a happy camper. This is one part of my upcoming cruise that I am not looking forward to!

 

I like the rubber stopper idea - I'm going to look into that. I wonder what the lip is like in a RCL interior promenade stateroom shower?

[dosi]

I'm sorry, but the people in the cabin next to you won't really appreciate it all. A kid screaming in the shower?

 

Try practicing at home or bring a snug tub.

 

Some children will get used to a shower. We set up a hose outside as a shower to "play" under. It worked.....my daughter started taking showers at 18 months. Great for cruises!

 

See the best part is that bedtime for the kids is usually around 8 or 9 pm. Most all of the adults are gone to supper, dancing or shows!!! Trust me if you do it quick enough, it won't bother anybody!!! I have had "happy" couples in cabins next to me that were far louder than my little boy ever was!!!;)

[2krazykats]

wsue22:

 

We were on RCCL and had an outside cabin. At the time, they moved us to a handicap accessible room so it will be different from what you'll get, I guess but since it was handicap accessible, there was no lip and it was nice and spacious. However, I've heard that people have said it's about 2 inches high... very shallow tub!

 

One idea I'm contemplating and we won't know if it will work until we get there is buy one of those huge drinks which is served in plastic ups (like a Big Gulp) and then turn the shower head away from the kid as much as you can. Let him/her stand there while you catch the water in the cup and then poor on their body. You'll get the chance to enjoy a nice, cold pina colado (or drink of your choice) and then use the cup for bathing. Obviously rinse the alcohol out first so you don't have your kids smelling like whinos... might raise some eyebrows. ;) :D

[bmgaritty]

See the best part is that bedtime for the kids is usually around 8 or 9 pm. Most all of the adults are gone to supper, dancing or shows!!! Trust me if you do it quick enough, it won't bother anybody!!! I have had "happy" couples in cabins next to me that were far louder than my little boy ever was!!!;)

 

 

Not all adults or children are at the shows. It's pretty self centered and insensitive to other passengers no matter how you try to soft peddle it!

[gerif]

Will they tolerate a hand-held shower massage type thing that doesn't spray on their heads? I travel with show Persians and bring one along to bathe them in whatever hotel we are in. Sometimes you need a special wrench to remove the original shower head, but your room steward should be able to help you with that.

[Angie-Pangie]

We just returned from the NCL Pearl. We had an inside stateroom, shower only. However, the shower nozzle detached so we just sprayed him and had the sink with soap and water. So, it took 2 of us (one standing inside the shower) with one being the sprayer and the other the soaper. A quick 2 minute wash. Our 2 year old wasn't thrilled with it all but he sure smelled better afterwards!

[2krazykats]

gerif: I thought about that too but like you said, it might require removing it which, boy, that makes me nervous. The hard part is not knowing what the shower nozzle looks like until we're on the ship. I guess I could ask the folks on the Carnival and RCCL boards but I doubt many people would remember how the shower was setup. And if they did... how much time were they spending in the shower?? :D

 

Angie: That visual made me smile. :) The things we do for our kids!

[gerif]

gerif: I thought about that too but like you said, it might require removing it which, boy, that makes me nervous. The hard part is not knowing what the shower nozzle looks like until we're on the ship. I guess I could ask the folks on the Carnival and RCCL boards but I doubt many people would remember how the shower was setup. And if they did... how much time were they spending in the shower?? :D

QUOTE]

 

I've only encountered problems a couple of times - plan B is to use the ice bucket to pour warm water over the cat to wet down and rinse - that works, too, and maybe you could sit the child in the bottom of the shower stall and use water from the sink to pour over? Not like you'd have to carry it very far.

[dosi]

Not all adults or children are at the shows. It's pretty self centered and insensitive to other passengers no matter how you try to soft peddle it!

 

 

Well I don't know how loud your child can yell, but mine just cried hard for a couple minutes and that was it. No soft peddling here, just the honest truth. It really wasn't that big of a deal. I wouldn't do it in the middle of the night, but a couple of sobs in the middle of the day isn't going to hurt me, my child or anyone around us. I have heard loud conversations outside of my cabin door, every night after I go to bed during a cruise. However, we go to bed early and I certainly don't expect everyone to walk down the halls whispering because someone might be asleep at 10 pm. And I don't expect anyone would be surprised or put out to hear a child cry for a couple of minutes at 8 pm. I have heard walkie talkies in the halls making far more noise and for a much longer period of time than my son ever did.

[bmgaritty]

Well I don't know how loud your child can yell, but mine just cried hard for a couple minutes and that was it. No soft peddling here, just the honest truth. It really wasn't that big of a deal. I wouldn't do it in the middle of the night, but a couple of sobs in the middle of the day isn't going to hurt me, my child or anyone around us. I have heard loud conversations outside of my cabin door, every night after I go to bed during a cruise. However, we go to bed early and I certainly don't expect everyone to walk down the halls whispering because someone might be asleep at 10 pm. And I don't expect anyone would be surprised or put out to hear a child cry for a couple of minutes at 8 pm. I have heard walkie talkies in the halls making far more noise and for a much longer period of time than my son ever did.

 

It's all relative, I've had the screaming kid in the room next to me.

It's a pain when you're trying to nap.

 

If you know you are going to cause your child to cry, it's pretty insensitive to other passengers - plain and simple. O it's just for a mintue or two.....so what if it wakes someone else up? :rolleyes:

[dosi]

I understand the idea you are putting forth, that my causing my child to yell for a minute or two may wake someone who is taking a nap and therefore would be insensitive. But along those lines, wouldn't anyone speaking loudly or yelling in the halls, be just as guilty?? And yet that happens all the times. I think the only solution is for the ships to ask for "quiet hours" the same way that campgrounds do. Say from 9pm to 8am or something. I think it is unrealistic, given the diverse mix of people and their needs on a cruiseship to expect that ship will be absolutely quiet enough during regular waking hours that you are guaranteed to be able to nap undisturbed. While I wish it were so, because God knows I love a good nap, I just don't see that happening. So in the big ole mix of noises that occur on a cruiseship during normal waking hours I still say that I don't believe anyone will really be put out by hearing a child cry for a minute or two. They are children, it is what they do. They cry. Hopefully not all the time and most hopefully not in the middle of the night, but sure as shooting they will cry at some point or another.