A couple weeks ago Jakob and Zack were taking a bath. They were having a great time. I was in the next room putting clothes away when I hear Zack choking and a lot of splashing. To my horror, Jakob had forced his head in the water. I was beyond myself and it was all I could do to control my wrath! Jakob had done this once before and it was just after my friend's toddler drowned.
After I calmed down a bit and was able to control myself a little, I asked Jakob why he did that. His response was, "Mom, I was just baptizing him".
Well, Zack is terrified of the bathtub now. I let him go a week without a bath and last night I just couldn't let him go any longer. He tried everything to get out of the bathtub, including peeing in the toilet. (He tried to convince me that he had to poop so that I would let him sit there and not put him back in the tub, but he never did it.) I finally had to force wash him and then quickly took him out and calmed him down. Tonight, John tried to get in the tub and get him to take a bath and he freaked out for the longest time. I finally just went and took him out because I couldn't stand listening to the fear in his voice any longer.
So how do I get my little guy washed and how do I get him to enjoy bath time again? Any suggestions?
This is a picture of Jakob in the bath tub. We have a very large tub and Jakob loves to use the end as a slide and this is what he's doing in this picture.
6 comments:
Oh my word I have no idea!
Maybe a new bath toy? Make it a big deal and take him shopping specifically for it and he can only use it in the tub?
Jake always told me kids are fine for the most part in the tub until there are two in there and then there is trouble.
but at least your FHE lessons are getting through to him with the baptizing part :)
Maybe let him shower with John for a few days instead of having a bath? And maybe bathtime should be separate from now on? I know that's extra time and more of a hassle, but it's better than him being terrified of the water.
I can't tell you how panicked I got when I read this. Andrew and I read so many different stories after we lost Emma and it seemed the number 1 reason for young children fatalities in the bathtub were when it was siblings in the tub together and something like that happened. Oh geez my heart is still racing.
You can see if he would take a shower. At least then he could get clean. i am sure he will eventually overcome his fear.
Oh my goodness! What a horrible thing to happen! It could be a long lasting fear if it's not addressed, but I do have what I feel to be a very real answer to heal his trauma. At the risk of appearing weird at first, here is what I highly recommend.
It's called EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). It's very simple, easy to learn, even for children, and no one is asking for money. I've successfully worked through many of my own challenges with it, and my daughter Marin (age 5) loves for me to do it with her. There is a ton of info on line to show you and teach you in minutes how to do it, and to help you with specific issues. Just Google "EFT and fill in the blank".
It's the emotional version of acupuncture, but without needles; basically tapping on certain points on the face and body while talking about what happened, and the emotional charge behind an experience dissipates, and it becomes no more than a mere memory. Here is a great place to start: (it's a 7 minutes YouTube video followed by more to choose from)
http://www.emofree.com/splash/video_popup.asp
EFT can be used for pretty much anything. Just look at
tryitonanything.com
Good luck!
Oh my goodness! How SCARY! I don't blame the poor little guy for not wanting to go in. I can't give any advise because I have never had this happen, but the best of luck to you!
Oh my goodness! How SCARY! I don't blame the poor little guy for not wanting to go in. I can't give any advise because I have never had this happen, but the best of luck to you!
Post a Comment