Littletree is in the bath!You might wonder why that is a cause for celebration, but that would be because you dont know that its her first bath in (I think) 16 days. at this point, I start to lose count.
She doesnt want to have a bath. I shrug. We comment on how grubby and stinky she's getting. she shrugs. Until this afternoon, after a day of playing naked in the garden, she had some itchy hives on her legs. So, she agreed to get into the bath. With all her barbies.
I hung the Barbies on the line to dry, I think it makes quite a nice image...
Of course, now she doesnt want to get out of the bath.
I shrug.
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when we let go of "musts" and "have tos" we were worried about hygene, nits in hair and lack of baths. M hated washing her hair...
ReplyDeletehowever she has discovered that she loves the outcome. She shampoos and conditions and then brushes for an hour so her hair "feels like silk".
Its very scarey to watch... still not sure which is better – lol!
We were never really enfocing hygiene too much even before we got to radical unschooling.
ReplyDeleteWe dont even enforce toothbrushing, which I suspect even many RU folk would draw a line at. I have to admit that she brushes her teeth far less often than I'd like.
The only thing I really wont bend on is seatbelts. and there have been many times we've sat in the car for ages waiting for her to be ready to wear it, and even a couple of times we forced it.
Your bath story sounds like my son (age 5). I usually suggest a bath if it's been a couple weeks and his hair is looking dirty, and he's usually not real gung ho on the idea, but will jump in anyway and then end up spending an hour in there playing:)
ReplyDeleteWe also don't force toothbrushing, and occasionally he doesn't want to do it, but for the most part he wants us to help him brush every night.
I'm curious to hear from other folk who dont enforce toothbrushing. I try not to worry about it, but Littletree can go a week without brushing her teeth.
ReplyDeleteI tell her when I'm going to brush my teeth, and ask if she wants to join me. sometimes I'll offer her the toothbrush. But mostly she just doesnt want to. I've never tried really coercing her to do it, so i dont know what would happen if she felt that it was less than optional.
We have talked with her at length about oral bacteria and decay and cavities. We've read library books and internet pages about teeth. She has a very good understanding of how it all works, Sometimes she'll even play pretend that she is a bacteria come to eat my teeth!
But still, very little toothbrushing. I just trust that it will be okay; hoping that she inherits my dental genes - my family have very good teeth, I've never had a cavity, nor has my father or his mother. And after a lot of reading, I found out that the major factor is genes.
I think your absolutely right about the gene factor. My son pretty much brushes his teeth every day, and has always wanted to, at his first dental visit last year he had 5 cavities! I felt so bad, because it wasn't anything that he did or rather didn't do, I think he's just going to take after his mom & dad who both have lots of cavities.
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