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Kid's Bath Time |
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KID'S BATH TIMEIt's easier to teach small children to wash than
to dress themselves, for they love to play in water. Transfer his delight from
mere dabbling in water to getting his face and hands clean. Supervision of your
kid's bath time will be necessary until he's about 4. Set up washing arrangements he can
use without help. Provide a box or steps in the bathroom on which he can climb
up to the lavatory. Place a mirror where he can see himself as he cleans up, and
have low hooks, or rods which he can reach for his washcloth and towel. When
he's a little older, keep his comb, brush, and toothbrush on a low shelf. Right
now, he's too young to resist scrubbing the floor with his toothbrush or combing
the dog with his comb. Your emphasis will be upon his
finishing the job speedily and efficiently. Let him have water now and then to
play in and emphasize that washing-up times are business. Your standard of cleanliness must not be too high at first— polish him off at bathtime. So far as his own efforts are concerned independence is more important than removing all high-water marks. DAWDLING CHILDRENA big problem for you will be how to handle your
youngster when he begins to dawdle. It's most exasperating when he slows
up on things he has learned to do so well himself, such as dressing and feeding.
Now that he has mastered the task, he's no longer interested in it, and has his
mind on other things. You can help him by allowing plenty
of time for him to carry out the job. Keep his attention on what he's doing by
gently placing his shoe in front of his foot. He'll resent your help at this
stage, and may hurry through more quickly in order to do it by himself. If he
doesn't and time is important you may have to go ahead and force him to get
going or dress him yourself. CHILDREN SWEARINGBetween 2 1/2 and 3, your child may begin
to pick up "dirty" words, swear words, and expressions from the other children.
To him they are very funny; to you they are just plain embarrassing. Youngsters
at this age are just now learning that they, as adults, can be worldly and just
a little bad. If you show your child he's shocked you, chances are he'll be
delighted with what he's done. Don't threaten him, or he'll build
up his vocabulary of such words even more. At first, just ignore his speech
while diverting his attention to something else. If he persists in using them
tell him in a matter-of-fact way that you don't like to hear them, other people
don't like to hear them, and that you don't want him to use them any more. BOSSY CHILDWhen your youngster is between 2 1/2 and 3, he
usually can get along satisfactory with one parent, but flies into a rage when
the other tries to interfere. At this age, when he's learning to do things for
himself, he's sensitive about being bossed. Instead of doing what he's told,
he'll try to do the bossing. Don't take your bossy child's abuse
seriously, and avoid interfering in situations where the other parent is
assisting him. He'll soon come to you for anything he wants, and show that he
still loves you very much. |
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