How about a shower today?

Posted By SLK on Friday, August 06, 2010   { 0 Comment(s) }

When Kat was little, we had a hand-held shower, so I remember her graduating from the bath to the shower quite early on. The shower we had also had adjustable strength so Kat discovered the joys of showering much earlier on and never looked back (of course having a long bath with her toys is always a luxury which she still manages once in a while and can’t stop gloating about how much her skin glows after that!)

With Kit, things have been REALLY different – she’s always loved a bath. With dozens of toys around her, so many drama lessons, so many swimming lessons have taken place in that bath of ours! Her skin gets slightly red and itchy after being in the water for a bit long so Kit’s bath is not longer than 10 minutes on an average but even then, those 10 minutes are the most cherished moments as we race to the bathroom every day (Yes, we do that!)

Post swimming is the only time when Kit will step into the shower with Papa and she will scream! She does not like the shower one bit. For one, it’s not hand-held so you cannot play with it or do it your way and secondly it comes down on you full strength from the top – FULL STOP! So I had given up all hope of Kit graduating to the cleaner, happier world of showering in the near future (at least) when she came up to me yesterday and said:

Kit: “I think I will have a shower today like Kat.”

Me: “Really? Yippee! Mummy is going to give you Kat’s shower cap as a gift. Let’s go…”

Now she gets really excited. Show them some enthusiasm and they are on the verge on getting hyper so quickly. When will I get the balance right?

So we both race to the bathroom. At first Kit is a bit sceptical about her decision and fusses around with the shower cap, checking out the shower cubicle, looking up at the shower (like our handyman does). Then she finally steps in (I marvel at her trust in me) –she is convinced that the only way to shower is to have her back face it and there is no way to convince her to face it the right way. When all my efforts fail, I go to Kat.

Me: “Kit is having her first shower all by herself.”

Kat: “That’s weird!” (Everything is weird right now for Kat as she’s reading and munching strawberries)

Anyhow she follows me disinterestedly but her expression changes when she sees Kit: “Oh mummy, she looks so cute!” So there is Kit with a cupcake shower cap on, head down, arms firmly by her side, still back facing the shower! Of course, there is NOTHING Kat cannot fix for Kit (when she wants to). She tells Kit how much fun it is to have a shower and how she drew hearts with her fingers on the shower door when she was Kit’s age and it feels nice when you actually face the water…so Kit who will do anything for Kat DOES IT!

Kat’s inspiration goes a long way every time – their love is enviable at times. Numerous hearts on the shower door, silly songs and hip hop dances later, a happy and victorious Kit walks out of the shower with promises of a shower every day. JOY!!

Tags: bath time, growing up, how children copy