Shower vs. Tub for Kids?
NicoleWI
member
Hi,
I don't usually post on her but maybe those with older kids will have advice on this topic. The house we bought has a bath connecting two bedrooms ("jack and jill bath") with a stand-up shower, but no tub. Why they did this, I do not know. The large, deep (awkward for bathing kids!) whirlpool tub in the master is the only tub. I think we should replace the shower in the kids' bath with a regular tub and shower combo. DH thinks we don't need to b/c they "will be taking showers soon anyway" and can use the master tub until then. What say you, especially those with older kids? I am happy to admit it if I am wrong on this and save the money, but if I am right, I don't want to spend years still having all kinds of kid stuff in the master bath.
(kids' ages in tickers. I don't know why I can't update one of them but DD turned 4 in January). Thanks.
Re: Shower vs. Tub for Kids?
If your kids were older I'd say leave it, but you have a lot of years left of baths & it would be easier to do that right by their rooms where all the stuff you need is. Now, my kids are older but hardly use their J&J tub/shower combo because they like our larger version. Totally fine by me, I'm used to showering with plastic snakes & alligators lol. But I know as they get older they will want more privacy & won't want to use ours as much.
Charlotte Ella 07.16.10
Emmeline Grace 03.27.13
My 7 year old generally takes a shower.
My boys (5 & 3) still take baths but sometimes they will get a shower also.
My kids think its fun to shower in grandmas whirlpool tub.
Honestly? It's really, really hard to say because all kids are different. And they prefer different things, so it's hard to say what yours will.
My daughter is 7 and hates showers, so we bathe 99% of the time. She still just enjoys playing in the tub, and we'd be a mess if we had no tub.
I agree with your DH. Right around age 5 or 6, my kids started taking showers with me standing outside the shower in the bathroom, peeking around the shower curtain to make sure they got all the shampoo out, etc.
By age 7, both of my kids were showering 100% solo. They share a bathroom with a stall-type shower, and it works really well. No one in my family has taken a bath for ages.
I would just roll with the inconvenience of bathing the little ones in the master tub and work towards shower independence as soon as the kids can deal. We got my DS a foam visor to wear in the shower that helped him keep the water out of his eyes, and this helped him make the transition. He was really sensitive about the water hitting his face when he was small.
My girls are 5 and 6 (7 in June) and only take showers. We do baths every so often to play but I hate washing them in the tub. I would say by age 4, both were taking mostly showers. My older DD does it totally by herself now and I just hang in the bathroom in case she needs help but I still help my 5 year old.
For resale value, I would add the tub but for your use, I would not bother and I would start moving the kids towards showers.
DS1 started showering around 2.5 because he wouldn't stop dumping water out of the tub.
DS2 started showering at around 20 months because he wanted to be like big brother. That's super early, I know, but now he cries if I try to give him a bath instead of a shower.
That is really weird for a jack and jill bath to only have a shower. You have several years of baths left so I would replace it if you don't want them bathing in your tub.
DS just started showering in the last few months and still sometimes likes to take a bath to play. DD still takes a bath most of the time. They have a tub/shower combo in their bathroom but typically use ours. I don't think anyone has used their tub in months. They like the big tub in our bathroom and I don't mind them using it. H and I never use it.