I swore I would never
tell my kids something that would scare them to get them to do what I wanted.
Well, it took eleven years, but I did it.
We have shower issues in our house.
You would think that the girls were made of sugar or that they were descedants of the wicked witch the way that they carry on when it's time to take a shower.
I require that they shower every other night and after sports practice. I don't think that would be considered torture by any standards, but to them, it is.
So every day that is a shower day is like pulling teeth to try to get them in there. They fight about who has to go first, who went first last time, cry that they had a shower the other day and that they are not stinky, etc. etc. etc. I've tried the "I don't want you to be the stinky kid" plea, the "a clean body is a healthy body" plea, and, "You don't want someone to look at you and think that you have greasy hair" plea.
I've tried it ALL.
Last night, just as soon as I said that they needed to get in the shower, DD#2 (of course,) stomped her foot and said, "I am NOT taking a SHOWER!"
I was not in the mood.
I was severely PMS'ing anddid not want to deal at all with the drama of it all.
The crying and fighting and her telling me how mean I am.
So I did it.
I said, "Well, that's fine if you don't want to take a shower anymore. But just so you know, if you go to school day after day and you haven't had a shower, your teacher and principal will get concerned and they will want to talk to Mommy about it. It's Mommy's responsibility to make sure that you have been fed and bathed and have a clean house to live in. If it looks like Mommy isn't taking good care of you then Mommy could get in trouble. You know, sometimes when children are in homes that their parents aren't taking good care of them, they get taken away to live in foster care; I'm not saying that would happen or anything, but it is important that all children are well taken care of in their homes."
That was enough.
DD#2 looked right at me, hugged me and said, "I'll go take a shower."
WOW.
I felt kind of bad, but it sure was nice not to have a huge ass battle.
And I didn't really lie, persey.
I just "spun" it a little.
I'm a BAD MOTHER!!!!!!!
But my kids are CLEAN!
Well, it took eleven years, but I did it.
We have shower issues in our house.
You would think that the girls were made of sugar or that they were descedants of the wicked witch the way that they carry on when it's time to take a shower.
I require that they shower every other night and after sports practice. I don't think that would be considered torture by any standards, but to them, it is.
So every day that is a shower day is like pulling teeth to try to get them in there. They fight about who has to go first, who went first last time, cry that they had a shower the other day and that they are not stinky, etc. etc. etc. I've tried the "I don't want you to be the stinky kid" plea, the "a clean body is a healthy body" plea, and, "You don't want someone to look at you and think that you have greasy hair" plea.
I've tried it ALL.
Last night, just as soon as I said that they needed to get in the shower, DD#2 (of course,) stomped her foot and said, "I am NOT taking a SHOWER!"
I was not in the mood.
I was severely PMS'ing anddid not want to deal at all with the drama of it all.
The crying and fighting and her telling me how mean I am.
So I did it.
I said, "Well, that's fine if you don't want to take a shower anymore. But just so you know, if you go to school day after day and you haven't had a shower, your teacher and principal will get concerned and they will want to talk to Mommy about it. It's Mommy's responsibility to make sure that you have been fed and bathed and have a clean house to live in. If it looks like Mommy isn't taking good care of you then Mommy could get in trouble. You know, sometimes when children are in homes that their parents aren't taking good care of them, they get taken away to live in foster care; I'm not saying that would happen or anything, but it is important that all children are well taken care of in their homes."
That was enough.
DD#2 looked right at me, hugged me and said, "I'll go take a shower."
WOW.
I felt kind of bad, but it sure was nice not to have a huge ass battle.
And I didn't really lie, persey.
I just "spun" it a little.
I'm a BAD MOTHER!!!!!!!
But my kids are CLEAN!
posted by Kathryn at
1:51 PM
16 Comments:
NICE MOVE Woo!!!
Now you know what works.
I don't think that was a lie & good for you for getting the job done!
Shelly
But are they *really* clean?! I remember hating to take a shower or wash my teeth when I was a kid. For the life of me I can't remember why I hated it, but I did and I was a damn stubborn kid.
So, I would go into the bathroom, run the water and sit down for as long as I thought it would take to take a shower. Then I would wash one arm in the sink and go out of the bathroom, claiming to have showered. My mom, to be sure, would smell us, and I would stretch out my clean arm right up to her nose. See! I showered!
Yes...I was that child. Hope yours aren't that child too! That story, though, probably scared them. ;-)
That shit is funny. I would have done that long ago because I am just evil like that.
Awww, you just did what you needed to do for your kids.
BTW, I was the same kind of kid as Valerie when it came to showers. I would have lounged in a bubble bath until I was all puckered up, but a shower? I hated it!
Fabulous. Fabulous fucking story. You go girl. Do whatever the fuck you need to do to make them wash their stinky asses. It isn't like you lied. That could and probably has happend to people in real life.
I'm writing this down in my book for later, to deal with weird ass older kids. :)
Personally, I always swore I would NEVER say "Because I SAID SO!". But now I know why parents say it. Because they get tired of all the endless justifying.
That was a good viewpoint, though.
I've had to do the same thing- but honestly I tell her that if she doesn't want to put up with my bath/shower daily regime (I only make her shampoo every other day as she isn't into sports) I just tell her ok- you can go stay with your dad. That works every time- dad is ok- but the stepmother ... has a history of not being ... pleasant.
I tried my best to be kind, afterall my mother always said "If you don't have something nice to say... don't say anything at all." Thanks mom!
lol...too funny...and it worked...and it wasnt a lie... :)
peace...
Ahh thats not bad at all! I have teenage boys, getting them to wash is a fight as well.
I actually once showed my son pictures of someone with frost bite on their hands and ears because he would never keep his gloves or hat on at school or waiting for the bus... winter in WI, you NEED your gloves. After I showed him the pics of the guys black frost bit fingers, he ALWAYS wore his gloves in the snow.
I am sure I will have to pay for his therapy later on in life. But he will have all his fingers....to flip me off with....
LMFAO!!!! You didn't lie, really, just totally s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d the truth, but that's okay - you got a hug AND a clean kid from the deal! go you!
I'm gonna laugh about that all day! thanks!
Hmmmm. . . I told my 5 year old yesterday that if he didn't go to school, he'd have to go to jail.
It worked. And, I'm ok with it!! :)
RSG - I have been doing it for years!
and yes, I even did the 'if you don't go to school mommy will go to jail' thing too.
When you get them to bring you things and do nice things for you because, 'mommy won't always be here' line, you have reached my mother's status...and you need to be shot.
Oh you guys are FUNNY!
I'll have to remember the "Mommy will go to jail" line for later!
Did you guys know that some guy named Jimmy wants to give me six figures!
It's my lucky day!
I love this post. When I was little I'd sit on the floor in the bathroom while the shower ran. One time my mom came in and found me sitting there, already changed into my nightgown, with the water running. Ooh, I was in BIG trouble!
Oh I think I need to store this up for a couple of years from now when mine inevitably hit that 'allergic to showers' age!
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