Scary Things

When you're not yet three there are things that are inexplicably scary. For Eloise these things are currently public toilets (here she has a point), hand dryers and the bathtub drain. Put them together and we have a bit of a problem; a child that will not pee or wash her hands when we're out of the house and one who now refuses to take baths. I'm not sure what it is that has caused these fears or what I can do to help, but it's making things really difficult.

Eloise was recently so opposed to using the bathroom at Science World that just before we left, after a full day of exploring and fun, the warm, soothing feeling of the water table finally set her free. Without a doubt it was a traumatic experience - the only thing Eloise hates more than public bathrooms is being wet - but unfortunately it didn't end up as the learning experience I had hoped by encouraging her to just go when she has to go. And hand dryers? Well, those are basically air filled torture chambers that cause Eloise to shake in fear.

The bath thing has gotten pretty bad. It's true we have a noisy tub drain, but we always offer to pull Eloise out before releasing the water so as not to scare her with the sound. Lately there has been no getting her into the tub without an all out tantrum, including big tears and gaspy-sobs, so I feel like pushing the bath just isn't worth it. I know Eloise will survive without a bath for a few days but my fear is that her curls will eventually mat into one giant clump without washing. If I've learned anything about curly hair it is that you do not brush it dry. 

Tonight I tried something new at bathtime and filled the tub with bubbles, popped in a pink bath bomb to tint the water and climbed in with all her bath toys. Surely a pink bath with mommy would be the solution? Eloise was into it for about five minutes but by the time I started the actual bathing process she had one foot our of the tub and was screaming for Chris to come help. I had no choice but to enjoy a very pink bubble bath all by myself. Not the worst thing for me to do after a long weekend of work but we're no closer to a clean child.