Should Siblings Bath Together?
I don't know about you, but when we were little my brother and I always shared the bath. Either that or I'd have to have what remained of the bathwater after he'd finished turning it into a lukewarm soup of grot, toys, a few meagre bubbles and probably a good bit of wee.
Bath-time was always fun when it was shared. Whether he was trying to drown me, or I was attempting to push him into the hot tap a good time was had by all - until we would stop our merriment at the sound of our mom thundering up the stairs and screaming that us two little bleeders had just caused water to come piddling out of the ceiling, and why for God's sake couldn't we just play nicely?
When The Boy was about two, he'd often share a bath with The Girl, my friend's similar aged daughter. They thoroughly enjoyed playing about and covering one another in bubbles. I'd have to haul their shivering, shrivelled up backsides out when there was no hot water left in the tank and it was way past their bedtime. Happy days!
As enjoyable as these bath-times were though, I don't know whether it's appropriate to stick my two boys with their 7.5 year age gap in a tub together, or if asking if it's appropriate is displaying a weird amount of paranoia. I did give little newborn The Kid the odd swill while The Boy was having a bath, but The Boy seemed like a fully grown man in comparison. It just looked odd them being in the water together.
I decided not to bath or shower them together again, although The Boy would to have The Kid as a bath-time play mate, and I'm sure The Kid would revel in splashing around with big bro. Am I depriving them both by being unnecessarily, even strangely fussy?
How old is the oldest kid when he or she can't decently be in the bath with other children? Or, in this day an age, is it even acceptable children to share a bath at all?
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Laura Yates - Brummie mum Laura Yates is a 27 year old mother of two from Kings Heath. She gives her take on family life in the city.
Kids sharing a bath is a great experience!! They have fun and splash around regardless of gender or age. All that said, i feel there is a time when children come of an age where we need to respect their dignity and personal space and maybe give them some time to ''unwind'' and maybe in the bath is the beginning of this. I'm not saying that they need a glass of shloer, candles and music, but some time to feel like they are growing up. Maybe the happy medium is you get them both in the bath together and then let ''Boy'' top it up with a bit of warm while you get ''kid'' out and give him a few mins to himself. My brother and i have 5 years between us and we were always bathed together....arh the good times of being nearly drowned of an evening!!
With three to bath before school it's not a matter of choice - it's necessity! (aged 6 and under)
What rubbish! There is no NEED for kids to SHARE baths in this country in this day and age! They need to have their own privacy.
My brother and I were bathed together and there's a 7 year age gap between us. We also had bath with our dad, all three of us in the tub, it was great. Nowadays we make so many innocent things an issue its such a shame. By making it taboo we're telling our children its wrong. I say let them splash about together and create some lovely memories like most of us have.
All 5 of my step nephews and nieces had a bath together the other week after splashing around in the paddling pool.(a big corner bath!!!) Ages from 7 to 3. They have fun!!! They miss out if they're NOT bathed together.....it is an experience and creates memories!!!
I see no harm in kids bathing together of any gender of any age under about 6-7. I think the moment we starting trying to be politically correct and such, we risk losing our minds. It never did us any harm when we were younger!
Hmm..food for thought. I take the point about not having to bath together 'in this day and age' but sometimes it is just fun?
I like your comment Hendie about giving The Boy some 'me time' in the bath.. although he'd share his me time with a load of action figurs and a shoe box! (That's what he took in the bath last time)
Lisa, Jodie and Ben - I think the general consensus is not to get hung up on things like this, and just to plonk them in together and let them have fun while they're still very young.
Cheers all of you for the comments!
I think that sharing a bath and same, being naked often will help us to accept the body of other ones and their own body. They won't be shocked by nudity.
For me i think that it's 10 year old for kids of the same sex. And, 7 and under for different sex.
Not long ago I was looking through one book written by a psychologist (found it at http://www.picktorrent.com in a section Psychology). It was said that such games have to be stopped when children begin to mind gender differences. The age of 5 is the earliest. But of course it depends; there are societies where girls get pregnant at the age of 14.
We sholdn't forget that these are children not grown ups. Sharing a bath with other kids can cause nothing but having fun.