When the tub was ready, I lifted my nephew into the tub. He screamed loudly about ice cube water and stood shivering in the tub with his arm wrapped around his body. I grabbed him out of the water and wrapped in him in a towel.
My sister came running into the bathroom wanting to know what was wrong.
“Ice cold water is in there!,” my nephew told his mom.
“She put in super cold water!” he pointed accusingly at me.
“Why did you do that?” she asked.
“I did what you told me to,” I announced.
Jump forward from the past to the present day
When JDaniel is ready for a bath, I always try to draw a warm bath for him. The water is not too warm and not freezing. Every time I put him the water he complains it is too hot. I remind him that it will lose all its warmth by the time he gets out of the water and encourage him to sit down.
By the time he has been bathed, shampooed, and has played with his bath toys the water is frigid. He protests that he needs more time. He hasn’t tried to swim in the water yet or he hasn’t squirted all the water out of the toys. (Bath toys that could now start growing icicles.)
I let him stay in the tub until all the water has drained out of it. He tries prevent the water from exiting the tub by sitting on the drain and to keep the water in the tub.
When he finally gets out of the tub, his fingers are pruney and his toes are pickled. Wrinkles cover his hands and feet.
I don’t know how he stands it. I do know that long ago when the water was that frigid another little boy couldn’t even stand in it.
This post in linked to Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe Thursday!
Tiggeriffic says
WOW this must be what 4 year old do..complain about the warmth of the water and then when it’s really cold not to get out… Sit on the drain and not let the water out..
When Ben is ornery and wired ~ I fill up the bathtub and let him play in the water whether he needs a bath or not.. It just helps ~! He loves to take a bath..with his John Deere Tractors.. ta ta for now from Iowa
varunner says
Pierce takes showers, but he stays in there forever too. He doesn’t even play with toys, he just prances around. He never wants to get out.
That’s so funny about your nephew. Hee hee!
Happier Than a Pig in Mud says
How cute! I can just see a chubby little cheek sitting on the drain:@)
phasejumper says
Once my son asked for cold water and my husband sat him in a full tub of ice cold water! My poor guy cried!
Lola says
So cute and funny!
XOXO Lola:)
Rocky Mountain Woman says
Aww..I can just imagine him trying to keep in the water. My little grandson loves his bath too and we have all kinds of issues trying to get him out…
House Revivals says
Isn’t it funny how we have a hard time coaxing them into the tub, then have a hard time coaxing them out. I know I’ve pulled little shivering blue boys out of the tub many times!
~Amanda
Teresa says
That is so cute. It certainly brought back memories of my baby swimming in the bathtub! It really is a matter of perspective.
Terra says
Kids and baths…WOW – Mine were both terrified of the drain…all I had to do was pull the plug if they were refusing to get out (not getting the mom of the year award here) but my girls like it hot…not cool at all!
Katie says
Bath time with kiddos is always fun! And DIFFERENT! None of my kids like the same temperature water…some like toys…some don’t. Some wash up and get out…some like to linger. Some scream if a drop of water gets near their eyes…others are diving under with eyes open…every kid is different – yet all are precious at bathtime! 🙂
cooperl788 says
So cute! Georgia loves her bathtime too. She always cries when it’s time to get out, even if she’s shivering and her lips are purple!
Funky Mama Bird says
My son complains that everything above room temperature is too hot. His bath, his food, everything. Doesn’t stop him from enjoying it either!
Graceful says
My youngest is totally the opposite — he always wants the water boiling hot. I don’t know how he can stand it so warm…I think I’d be sweating sitting in there. The upside is that it doesn’t cool off to the point of being frigid by the time he’s done playing!
Making It Work Mom says
My Princess (she is 4) loves an ICE COLD shower and has since she was about 2.5. I will start it luke warm and progressively turn it colder as she yells “COLDER”! I have never seen anything like it in my life.
She also gets crazy and swears I am torturing her if the water is above luke warm.
I am sure she would get along just fine with JDaniel.
~SHANNON~ says
My daughter is the same!!! She would stay in for days!!!!!
Judie says
My little grandson, Keillor, always turns bright pink when he is put in water. It doesn’t matter if the water is warm or cool. I think this means something, but I don’t remember what it is.
Ames says
That’s because bath time is fun time!Cute story!~Ames
Tammy says
My sister’s name is Michelle too! 🙂
I like HOT baths! No cold ones for this chick!
mub says
Haha I love that he sits on the drain to keep the water in longer!
Ⓙ @ $ € € ₦$ ₣®0₥... says
Even the title was wonderful!!!
bluecottonmemory says
All my guys love baths. I miss when they were little and they would play forever! However, they would reheat the water! LOL – my guys love HOT water!
bluecottonmemory says
I meant to finish – Awesome Title!
★Mumsy★ says
My son still have pruney fingers and pickled toes after his bath. The water temperature is so vary among kids.
myorii says
That story about your sister and your nephew is interesting. Did she remember telling you that he liked cold water? How odd…
E actually likes lukewarm water too but that’s because she has eczema on her legs and warmer water makes her itch. Unlike JDaniel, she’s not one for being in the bath for too long so she rarely gets prunely fingers and toes.
Debbie Moore at Slice of Pie Entertaining and Cookbooks says
This is so cute … Thanks for sharing. My grand has to go through a series of Mermaid swimming actions before we get around to scrubbing! Enjoy everything JDaniel does … he’ll be grown before you know it!
Debbie says
I like to leave the hot water running a tiny bit when I’m in the tub so it stays good and warm!
Gattina says
Now that’s a clean boy, lol ! You should go swimming with him. My son took his two month old son to a baby swimming pool, I thought that’s a little early but apparently it is normal now ! There were 15 other babies from O to 1 year !
CollectIn Texas Gal says
What a cute Title and BathTub Story! It makes bathtime so much easier and fun when they enjoy the water and look what great things JDaniels is learning about Cleanliness and Water Conservation. Really a ButtPlug…what a Visual…too cute!
marisworld says
Oh so true…I have to start at least 20 minutes before I want to get the girls out of the bath as they adore it in there and would stay in all evening if they were allowed to!
Jenny says
I love this story.
I always called it ‘raisining up!’ with my kids and now my grands.
This perfect little link to the letter P really made me smile and gave me such happy memories.
Thank you for that!
A+
TornadoTwos says
This is so cute! He reminds me of my CamCam, CamCam always complaines that I’m doing the water too hot, I try to tell him it’s barely warm and it will cool down, but he stands on tip-toes and says I’m hurting his boo-boos until I turn it down, lol. Not sure where these boo-boos are. And he stays in it forever as well. It’s funny how some kids don’t mind the cold water.
Lisa H. says
My baby is 17 now. Your story brings back great (but soggy…she liked to splash) memories.
Denise says
Bath time. Boy, does that bring back memories. One of my most favorite times was right after he was toweled dry and he was wrapped in the towel, all fresh and smelling clean again. I loved those moments.
Joyce says
Did you ever discover what the right amount of cold was for your nephew? I was giggling at the scene you described. My face would have been shocked and confused!
My little boy loves all things water. He has a billion bathtoys that he has to play with and he has a ritual for getting out of the tub when I finally make him. He has to squeeze the water out of every toy and slowly put it in his toy basket before we start to drain the water. Then, like JDaniel, he has to try and slow down the draining process. He covers the drain with his hands and then lets up to watch the spiral before covering it again. Im sure he could spend all day long in a cold bathtub without wanting to get out.
Sue says
My kids never wanted to get out, either. But once it was cold, it was easier to persuade them.
Sounds like yours is a big-time water lover!
=)
Ginny Marie says
I can’t stand cold bath water! My girls like me to add more hot water to their bath when they’re playing…they don’t like cold water, either!
CM says
Just a thought…what I do is put my boys in the tub first, then turn on the water. That way, they get use to it as it’s slowly filling the tub.
Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti says
Cute story! I think all children have a love/hate relationship with bathing at one time or the other. My son loved to stay in as long as possible when he was young, and my daughter was the opposite as she hated wrinkly skin on her fingers.
RNSANE says
Children are so funny. What I find most amazing is that they can swim outdoors in the coldest water and will stay in it when their lips are blue and they are shivering. Not me! In nearly 34 years in the San Francisco area, I have only once put my feet in the 55 degree ocean!!
Melissa (Confessions of a Dr. Mom) says
My son always says the same thing…”it’s too hot” as I try to remind him how fast it cools off.
He loves bathtime too 🙂
Su-sieee! Mac says
Pruney Fingers and Pickled Toes. . . I think you’ve got the making of a picture book with this story. 🙂
~ Noelle says
lol, broxton loves long baths too!
marc makes the water really warm…
i just add a bit more warm water halfway thru….
ha ha