I am exhausted and aching just from giving my 6 year old a bath! How can I get her to co-operate?

[mummyloveslucy]

Hi, my 6 year old daughter has learning difficulties and co-ordination problems. She is also very sensitive to touch. It is very hard work even trying to blow her nose or wipe her mouth. She refuses to do it herself and would much rather have food on her face.

Giving her a bath is the hardest though. She hates having her hair washed and being washed in general. I've tried getting her to do it but she refuses. Every time I even put a hand on her, she shrieks with laughter and flinches out of the way. Once I've had the battle of getting her clean, I have the other battle of getting her dry. She's constantly running off, I have to keep grabbing her and she runs past and trying to hold her still while I dry her hair. All thins time, she's laughing her head off, thinking it's all a huge joke.

I have to blow dry her hair as it's so thick, this takes ages. Trying to dry her when she's so ticklish is also a real challenge.
She's tucked up in bed now and I'm knackered. I think I've actually pulled a muscle too!

There must be an easier way? I did concider just letting her run about naked until she got cold enough to actually want to get dried and dressed, but I thought that would be a bit mean.

Please let me know where I'm going wrong and hopefully someone will have some ideas of how to make bath time easier.

Is she better in the shower?

Blow drying her body is a good idea! I don't wash her hair every day. Only twice a week, but that's enough! It usually looks like a birds nest before I tackle washing it.

She is the same in the shower, but there's more risk of her slipping. It'd also be harder to clean her under carrage IYKWIM. She is still in pull ups at night and has at least one accident during the day.

how about just sponge bath - do it with a flannel and soap over a sink?

She wouldn't let me wash her like that. We rely on the bubble bath to clean her down below as she won't let me clean her there at all. I do manage in the end, but it's a battle. At least in the bath, she can't run off or hurt herself by slipping over.

You'd get more ideas in special needs. My as ds1 was scared of water for a bit. I'm afraid I held him tight and did it as quick as possible. He did have babywipe rub downs in the morning-in a night pull up til he was 9. My nt 6 yr old dd just runs about to dry off mmost nights. Hve you a shower-ds1 got used ot them at swimming and then used ours.
Cut her hair in a nice bob.

It's been a long day, now I feel uilty as she's gone to bed with no story because I was so fed up with her not doing as she's told.
I think I'll have a nice Baileys now, then I might feel more positive about tidying the house.

Yes, you're probubly right. I wasn't sure where to post it. She did have her hair in a short bob, but last year wanted to grow it long enough for bunches. Now that it's long enough for bunches, she wants to grow it long enough for plats. I've told her that it hurts when I brush it more when it's longer, but she just said she wants it long like Rapunzle.

If she's laughing, do you think she's treating it more like a fun game than something which she hates? Or is that how she tends to react to stress? Apologies if it's not the right question to ask.

I'm not sure to be honest. I know she dosn't like being touched at all, she tries to push you away, but then laughs hysterically if you do manage too.

I do think she sees it as a joke though, especially getting dried and dressed. She wouldn't even stand still to get her P.J's on.

Shower? M

sorry...meant how about a bathrobe or lie towels on the floor & she can roll about?

I could try that! That might work o.k. I'd just be worried she wasn't dry in all her little creases, but if she sat down in it while I dried her hair then hopefully she would be.

I'll definatly give that a go. I personally would hate the feeling of a bath robe on me if I wasn't dry, but I don't think it would bother her.

Would you use talk? My mum uses it on her when she stays at her house, but I didn't think it was good for their skin?

TBH I'd just let her run about if she wanted to, if she felt too cold surely she'd come to you for a towel or robe? I don't rub the DDs dry, after the briefest of rubs (generally legs as they are out of the towel) I wrap them in a big sheet towel and they sit on the sofa snuggled up until they are warm and dry.

One of those over the top of head towelling things kids wear at the beach

I wonder if you can get big ones like that? She did have a couple but out grew them. She is very tall for her age. She's 4 foot 2

Dd1 (7) is the same, i don't bath her as often as i should because its such hard work and she gets so upset with being washed and hair washed, she will now wash herself but we still have screaming when i wash her hair, theres no way she would let me near her with a hair dryer as she's so sensitive to heat and noise.

I'd hate it too but it's how my DH always gets dry- a towelling robe! Or you can get those poncho style towels with hoods on like a slanket.

Talc is carconogenic I think and is especially bad near the genitals. I wouldn't bother it may get messy

Sounds really tough. I second bath robe instead of towel. I often don't use a towel myself - just shower, robe on, then 5 mins later I'm dry and get dressed. wrapping myself in soft white robe is so much softer than rubbing with a towel :)

I got mine some of those letters which stick to the bath...she's so fascinated by them and I incorporte them into hair washing..."Oh look...you've got a M stuck in your hair!....Oh...and a Z!"

It works for us.

Oh, I didn't realise talk was that bad! I'll stop my mum from using it on her. She does use it on her privates after she's used a baby wipe. She says it stops her from being damp and smells nice. (It's Chanelle no 5 she uses) I didn't like the thought of it as it's so highly perfumed.

Do you actually get dry all over just with a bath robe? I'd have thought you'd still need to dry the more awkward areas?

no, I just walk about for a few minutes in a robe and I'm dry everywhere, honest!

I don't towel try my girls either. Just leave them sit in their towels, ontop of another towel, while I dry their hair.

Also, the toweling robes will be in shops in the swim sections soon, if not already. You can normally get them up to age 12 or so?? But most will have short sleeves. Also, get the zip up/front tie up ones rather than the ones you pull over your head. Or how about a cotton/terry/toweling dressing gown?

I just allow my two shower themselves, they stay in the shower for ages drawing on the steamed up doors, or playing with shampoo/shower gel bottles, etc. However, both attempt to wash their hair and put conditioner in, and to wash it out. I get them to do this as soon as they get into shower, and usually all the soapy bigs are washed out by the time they get out of the shower.

The hair washing might be the biggest drawback of the shower for you.