Bathing Young Ones

We are cruising with our 2 kids, their spouses and our 3 grandchildren. We are in outside cabins that have showers. Since I am paying the freight, we decided not to get 3 suites with the in-room string quartets.

The question before the committee is, "Do you have any hints on how to bathe children aged 1, 3 and 6 who prefer baths.

The 6 year old will probably be ok. The 3 year old loves his baths. The one year old, we'll deal with.

Thanks in advance.

Smooth Sailing.

We got a tiny inflatable wading pool (about 3 ft across) and put it in the shower. It squeezed in there okay. The baby (a year at the time) thought it was strange, though, and didn't really want to take her bath.

Let the 3 and 6 year old use the pools and explain to them that they need to use the showers afterwards if they want to. That should solve that.

The one year old can always be cleaned up with a kitty wash- or what we called them. Washcloths all over will keep them clean enough.

A 3 year old can use the ship's pools only if they are 100% potty trained.

There are blow up tubs....any of the "kiddy" stores carry them. They will fit in the shower, and can be used on the pool deck, since diapered ones can't go in the pools!

The Family Cruising Board has lots of info for traveling with kids.

At worst you could get one minisuite. Those have baths and have room for a soloist but not the whole quartet.

The blow-up pool is the best option. I'm hoping 5Waldos is joking. They can't use the pool, then the outdoor showers. They need to use soap and wash their hair! :eek:

People take the little blow up things to fill with water from the shower frequently.

Seems to work well for a "good tubby"! :)

LuLu

I brought a blow up tub (easy to find at Target, Toys R Us, etc.) for my daughter who had only used the tub up until then, but turned out she enjoyed the novelty of the ship shower. In fact she wanted to take a shower anytime either my husband or I took a shower. Go figure.

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People take the little blow up things to fill with water from the shower frequently.

Seems to work well for a "good tubby"! :)

LuLu

We did the same when we had our 8 month old on board. My DW and I both agreed not the best situation however it works.

Let the 3 and 6 year old use the pools and explain to them that they need to use the showers afterwards if they want to. That should solve that.

 

The one year old can always be cleaned up with a kitty wash- or what we called them. Washcloths all over will keep them clean enough.

Children or adult using the pool to clean oneself is horrible. Who wants to swim in water someone used for a bath!! :eek:

All 5 of my now adult children showered with us or were washed but washcloth when we traveled, until they were old enough to shower themselves. Sometimes the older ones would shower the younger ones. Bathing suits can preserve modesty when necessary. Little babies are easily kept clean by washcloth. Older babies and toddlers can be soaped up outside the shower and quickly rinsed off inside. You can also sit them on a washcloth on the floor of the shower and rinse them with a cup from the sink.

What I did when my son was young (he too preferred a bath) was to sit him down on the shower compartment floor, have the shower head angled toward the wall - so as not to spray directly on him, and let him "bathe" this way. It worked out very well.

Cheers.

Here are some that might work.

http://www.diapers.com/html/sg/travel-baby-bath-tub.html

Just bring a blow-up tub or let them sit in the shower as the warm water gently rushes over them. Either way will work.

Depending on the ship/cabin ask Stewart if there is a handheld shower attachment available. ;)

The blow-up pool is the best option. I'm hoping 5Waldos is joking. They can't use the pool, then the outdoor showers. They need to use soap and wash their hair! :eek:

No I am not kidding. After playing in the pool how dirty are they going to be? And nobody really needs to wash hair that often. Especially if they are boys with short hair. I just think a bit of dirt is good for kids and wouldn't worry about it.

We bought a circle tub plug on amazon for a few dollars and covered the shower drain, used the handheld shower to fill the "tub" then let our son splash in the 2-3 inches of water that filled the shower area. We would rinse him quickly with the shower head if he needed his hair washed. He loved it, we loved it, and he stayed as clean as necessary. It didn't take up any space in the luggage and we keep it in our travel kit for hotels without tubs.

We do exactly what the photos above show, works wonderfully and you don't have to pack a big blow up tub.

No clue what 5waldos is talking about. Please nobody use the pools to bathe! :eek:

Start prepping them for it now.

Tell them how much fun the cruise is going to be, but there will be no baths tub, so let's practice a few showers at home.

For the one year old, can mom or dad "carry" them in the shower?

I'm wrong in how I interpretetd 5Waldos ... but what I thought they were saying is, "if you want to go swimming in the pool, then you have to agree to take a shower". Sell them on the "fun" that comes with taking a big girl/big boy shower.

No I am not kidding. After playing in the pool how dirty are they going to be? And nobody really needs to wash hair that often. Especially if they are boys with short hair. I just think a bit of dirt is good for kids and wouldn't worry about it.

Really?

If many passengers think like this-it is a good reason to stay out of the pools! Just saying...

I always thought a person should shower before getting into a public pool.

To stay on topic though- having a toddler/small child sit in the shower is a good idea.

My two grandchildren were kept clean this way on a recent cruise.

My kids have ALWAYS showered and bathed with me.. They are 3 and 10 months... I just bring them in with me and they sit on the floor and play with a tub toy and cups while I shower... Bonus is they are used to their faces getting wet and never freak out!

My three year old HATES showers, that's a punishment, no joke. She WILL shower with me but there was NO room.

BUT she will 'play in the rain'. She actually ended up taking longer showers than me, and she 'washed' the walls... I'm thinking she got a bit of soap on her at times. I bring her loaf as well, and she'd covered herself with bubbles.

Another tip, bring character soap and towel, if your kids will buy into that. I brought princess soap (that I refill with regular since she likes the bottle :eek:) and she had her Elsa towel. If she washes herself, she gets her soap and towel, if I had to do it...then regular soap and white towel.

We made a complete we mess, but she was clean and without a fight.

My 2 and 4 year old shower with me sometimes so they are used to it.... They will be 5.5 and 3 at the time of their first cruise so I just planned on them showering with me every day.....I might have my husband soap them up outside of the shower first while they are standing on a towel or something, and then have him throw him in with me quick one at a time to rinse off and wash their hair....that way we aren't wasting too much water and since the showers are tiny, it will only be crowded in their briefly.....

I will just prepare ahead of time and ask our cabin steward for plenty of towels daily so we can clean up our mess...

My 2 and 4 year old shower with me sometimes so they are used to it.... They will be 5.5 and 3 at the time of their first cruise so I just planned on them showering with me every day.....I might have my husband soap them up outside of the shower first while they are standing on a towel or something, and then have him throw him in with me quick one at a time to rinse off and wash their hair....that way we aren't wasting too much water and since the showers are tiny, it will only be crowded in their briefly.....

 

I will just prepare ahead of time and ask our cabin steward for plenty of towels daily so we can clean up our mess...

we use our discarded ones for the floor. so dh showers, his towels go on the floor, i shower, my towels on the floor.

no need to use clean towels on the flower. I always get extra towels, as we use two each (hair/body) and shower 2 or 3 times a day.