How do you handle bathing small kids in showers?

[bmgaritty]

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.

 

Some children cry more than others. If I am on vacation, yes I am put out by hearing a child cry if I am trying to nap or put my daughter down for hers. The "kids will be kids thing" is just an excuse. If you are doing this knowingly (which you are) it's still insensitive.

 

That's the whole reason I taught my daughter to take a shower prior to the cruise. She still loves them to this day. But, trying to be prepared, I brought a snug tub just in case she didn't like the cruise shower. I wouldn't want to disturb other passengers:rolleyes:

 

BTW- the conversation has to do with bathing children -not yelling down hallways. Why are you using it to justify your actions?

[dosi]

Sheesh....this is really draggin out and yet I cannot seem to let go!!!:D

 

I was not using the yelling down the hallways to justify my actions....my actions need no justification. I was merely trying to show that there are a lot of noises around when you take 3000 people and stuff them all into a cruiseship. And in my selfish, self centered, insensive, center of the world opinion I do not believe anyone will bat an eyelash at hearing a child cry for a couple minutes during the early evening hours. It wouldn't bother me to hear someone's baby cry for a few minutes, and I don't think it would bother a lot of people. Some people are extra sensitive to sounds and it would probably bother them, but then I would think ALL of the noises on the ship would annoy them and not just my child. I think it is great that you prepared your daughter for the whole shower ordeal and I think it is even more wonderful that she adapted so well. But some kids don't. Luckily mine got over it after the first cruise. Even luckier still is that neither of us are raising my niece. She screams LOUD every night before she goes to sleep....for like half an hour. So perhaps it is all relative (excuse the half of a pun there)....I consider myself lucky that my son just cried for a minute or two, and you consider yourself lucky that your daughter didn't cry at all. I think all of us want to have a nice cruise, and sometimes that involves turning a deaf ear for a minute or two when your neighbor is simply trying to wash their baby.

[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!!

 

 

Dosi,

 

You're original post about creating a major ruckus - now its just 'crying a minute or two"?

 

Please don't try to minimize you're original post. Not quite neighborly for the people next door now is it?

 

Have a good evening

[dosi]

I believe I also said it would last a minute or two....which it did. Maybe I was lucky, my son settled down very quickly, others may not. A major ruckus in our household lasts minutes, not 10 or 15, but 2 maybe 3 maximum. So we again come to interpretation. Our ruckus is a relatively short time period, while perhaps the ruckus' in your home last longer. Additionally, I don't know the volume your child was capable of producing, but my husband can sneeze and snore louder than my son would cry. Maybe we are just more muted than the average family, but really, I do not believe my son and his shower induced crying ever disturbed anyone more than it disturbed my husband and me. And since it was the only time during the entire trip that my son cried, I would say all in all, we were successful in impacting others with our presence as minimally as was possible.

 

I know that many folks that read this board take much younger infants on their cruises with them. I think it is unrealistic that they, or their fellow cruisers, expect those babies to remain silent during the entire cruise, nor do I believe they will be able to have the babies cry only when no one else is in earshot. I am just trying to let the folks know that not ALL of us are as bothered by hearing the occasional cry of a baby as some of us seem to be.

[AngelOfDistress]

I don't know how the showers are configured on other ships but on Carnival ships, you can take a little towel and put it over the shower drain. Then, you can let the water go up about 2 inches. That was more than enough for me to wash my 2 years old little boy.

[pg.]

Dosi, I am with you, a child crying , even for a full 5 minutes, once a day between 7 and 9 wouldn't bother me a bit, and my nap schedule is my problem , not yours. I wouldn't like to deal with this at 7 am, or 11 pm, but I do think an early evening shower is fine, perhaps even knock on nieghbors door and let them know what is about to happen, most likely they won't even be in their cabin. MOST people are understanding, especially once situation is explained to them.

 

So many cruiseers are not campers, and have no real concept of community living. We have a motorhome and RV every year for 3 weeks at a time. Campgrounds , especially family ones, can be a bit noisey. Families LIVING mean hearing kids crying, dogs barking, hubbys calling etc.. Most of it is fine, as long as it quiets down after 9 or so, and doesn't start too early in am. Motorhome walls are thin, tents even worse, there has to be a bit of put up and shut up when living next to 300 people folks. Cruise ships are similar in that you are LIVING with thousands of people, some right beside you.

 

Some of you really need to win the lottery and buy your own yacht, then you can control everything. ;)

[walkswife]

Get a grip people... a child crying for two minutes a day is going to disrupt your cruise..... It is a family oriented cruise line.... you will probably hear babies crying and children not happy more often than that.... Ok at dinner or a show if the child is screaming for more than a minute or two walk out with them and calm them down.... but in your cabin taking a shower or trying to get them to take a nap....Have you people had children... it's what they do:rolleyes:

[bmgaritty]

Dosi, I am with you, a child crying , even for a full 5 minutes, once a day between 7 and 9 wouldn't bother me a bit, and my nap schedule is my problem , not yours. I wouldn't like to deal with this at 7 am, or 11 pm, but I do think an early evening shower is fine, perhaps even knock on nieghbors door and let them know what is about to happen, most likely they won't even be in their cabin. MOST people are understanding, especially once situation is explained to them.

 

Doris makes No mention of even trying to be polite - just throw the kid in the shower and cause a ruckus.....explaining the situation to neighbors might go a long way.

 

So many cruiseers are not campers, and have no real concept of community living. We have a motorhome and RV every year for 3 weeks at a time. Campgrounds , especially family ones, can be a bit noisey. Families LIVING mean hearing kids crying, dogs barking, hubbys calling etc.. Most of it is fine, as long as it quiets down after 9 or so, and doesn't start too early in am. Motorhome walls are thin, tents even worse, there has to be a bit of put up and shut up when living next to 300 people folks. Cruise ships are similar in that you are LIVING with thousands of people, some right beside you.

 

I'm sorry, cruising is not RV'ing or camping -I've done both - I don't drive my RV on the ship..:rolleyes: And yes, living with 3000 people, you need to be polite, respectful and responsible. Knowingly causing and suggesting to other passengers that it is OK to "cause a ruckus" in such tight living quarters is impolite, disrespectful, and irresponsible.

 

What I don't understand is why not give the child a bath in the bottom of the tub or use a Snug-tub, and not disturb other passengers? Why is it so hard for a parent to be sensitive that other people are living around them? It's not the toddlers fault for crying....it's the parents fault for traumatizing them and other passengers everytime they need bath.

Most parents are responsible enough to realize that not all people want to hear their angels crying if at all possible. The kids will be kids thing is ridiculus....it's not kids being kids in this instance, just a self centered/absorbed parent who knows they will make their child cry (cause a ruckus) with NO concern for other people around them.

Do I really have to wonder why there are so many people averse to children being on cruises? :(

And the horse has been beaten:rolleyes:

[pg.]

Well perhaps some us don't parent with the sole goal of not making our kids cry. Gosh I'd be a failure if that were so. LOL

What I mean is, if a shower is what will work, and a shower won't hurt them, then frankly ,,if they cry for a few minutes, too bad for them. Kids can use crying to get what they want, or out of what they don't, especially if they know mom will do anything to avoid the scene.. we are talking about " that " age, between two and four, the tantrum age.

I agree, at a movie or show, or a wedding or a church service, etc. we all want a noisey scene avoided, so remove kid, but in a cabin, for a few minutes, early in evening, well, I still say who cares.

 

BTW,, KIds are turning out self absorbed and rude because parents will do anything to please them.

[dosi]

Doris makes No mention of even trying to be polite - just throw the kid in the shower and cause a ruckus

 

Knowingly causing and suggesting to other passengers that it is OK to "cause a ruckus" in such tight living quarters is impolite, disrespectful, and irresponsible.

 

it's not kids being kids in this instance, just a self centered/absorbed parent who knows they will make their child cry (cause a ruckus) with NO concern for other people around them.

[/color]

 

I just knew that using the word ruckus was a big old mistake. But in my self absorbed, impolite, disrespectful, irresponsible world I was just too lazy to find a more appropriate word to use. I have made a mental note to substitute the words "became mildly, yet inaudibly upset" in lieu of "raised a ruckus" as I really believe the word ruckus means much more to most folks than it does to me.

 

Yes I made my child cry for two or three minutes. No he didn't cry very loud. No I don't think it bothered others. Quite honestly, this was around four years ago, and I didn't even know inflatable mini tubs existed. We did the best we could. Bottom line, my son is fine, he is clean, he travels well, we don't bother others (except when we use the word ruckus) and all is right in our world.

[AdeleMc]

My DS has been cruising since he was 10 mos old. Used to bring the inflatible pool for his baths. If you look hard, you can find the very small ones and don't blow them up all the way so they kinda cram into the shower area and conform to the space. Worked everytime for me. One time I forgot my pool and actually used a Bus Boy tub - I washed it out very well first, but what the heck, it worked!

[bmgaritty]

Well perhaps some us don't parent with the sole goal of not making our kids cry.

 

What parent does that? Sorry not me....

 

Gosh I'd be a failure if that were so. LOL

What I mean is, if a shower is what will work, and a shower won't hurt them, then frankly ,,if they cry for a few minutes, too bad for them. Kids can use crying to get what they want, or out of what they don't, especially if they know mom will do anything to avoid the scene.. we are talking about " that " age, between two and four, the tantrum age.

 

I think traumatizing a child with water in the face is quite a bit different than a tantrum - geesh..

I agree, at a movie or show, or a wedding or a church service, etc. we all want a noisey scene avoided, so remove kid, but in a cabin, for a few minutes, early in evening, well, I still say who cares.

 

BTW,, KIds are turning out self absorbed and rude because parents will do anything to please them.

 

That's one thing we agree on - the self centered and rude part. I just think we are seeing the fruits of it now...with many of todays parents - the narcissism started a while ago! (Ya know the I paid for my vacation - I'll do what I want thing- who cares about other people.....yadda yadda). I do think the pendulum is swinging back. I'm pretty old school - just had one of those birthdays that also says so!

Barbara

 

[Onessa]

:) To everyone who came up with so many great ideas, thank you. There are alot of very positive, workable methods here!

 

:mad: To those of you who made this into a parenting-methods bashing forum, please take your personal snipes with one-another off line!

 

DD had taken a shower with one of us regularly since she was just a few months old (SHE never minded the shower but HATED any sort of tub arrangement we tried!). If you've got some time, try to get the kids used to showers - they'll need to be before high school!:D

 

Otherwise a sponge bath with a few ice buckets/big gulp containers of water will suffice. Don't let the worry about this one situation curb your enthusiasm for your upcoming trip!

[Beachin]

When we took my granddaughter on a cruise, we purchased an inflatable pool that we inflated and put in the shower for her. We filled it, then turned off the water and it was a mini bathtub. When the cruise was over, it was easy to deflate and pack to take home.

[bmgaritty]

When we took my granddaughter on a cruise, we purchased an inflatable pool that we inflated and put in the shower for her. We filled it, then turned off the water and it was a mini bathtub. When the cruise was over, it was easy to deflate and pack to take home.

 

It's easy to deflate daily for those that don't have much storage room. Not much of a bit of work to ensure you have a clean environment to give your grandbaby a relaxing bath before bed!

[2krazykats]

:) To everyone who came up with so many great ideas, thank you. There are alot of very positive, workable methods here!

 

:mad: To those of you who made this into a parenting-methods bashing forum, please take your personal snipes with one-another off line!

Amen! I was disappointed that this post got skewed into something it was not meant to be.

 

I think I've got enough good ideas from the wonderful people who were kind enough to share their experiences; I appreciate all that.

 

Let's call and end to this and get on with our lives... Happy cruising everyone!

[emelvee]

Our daughter was 4 on our first cruise. She had never taken a shower before - I didn't think to "practice" at home. My wife ended up showering with her each day, and she was ok. Now (2 years later) she likes showers, so that's one less stressful item.