He might be slower but by gum he’ll get it!

If my husband could get me to do it, I’d probably be responsible for bathing him, too. LOL

We are 9, 9, and 8 — and still only semi-independent. Actually, the NT girl is the one whose hair never quite gets done to my satisfaction. In her defense, it’s about a yard of hair. So I’m still shampooing her to make certain that the roots receive a proper scrubbing and that enough shampoo is used. We operate under the illusion that the boys wash the rest of themselves, but to be honest, I think their only contact with soap is what runs down them when the shampoo is washed out. For the moment, we’re letting that suffice. But both of them CAN now wash their hair; one will, one will not. So I’m still drawing back the shower curtain and shampooing the hair of my older son while I point out each step in the process to much grumbling reproach.

But I’m lucky in that all of them love to lay in the bath or shower and just soak. My older one smells like flowers most of the time because he likes a little bath oil and a few bubbles. I went out of my way early on to make the process attractive for him, and he apparently now believes he’s constitutionally guaranteed some Dr. Kneipp and a good book if he’s going to get into the tub. Perhaps I should have thought that through a little better.

Response: “Dat wath a baaaad pwaan.” Which has since been immortalized as a family catch-phrase.

Both the NT male children were quite head-washing or shampoo averse. Very close haircuts were a partial solution. Stringy, unwashed hair at 1/4 to 1/2 inch long isn’t so off-putting.

With the NT daughter, I faded supervision and services over quite a long time period, from kneeling by the tub to sitting a few feet away to sitting in the door frame to sitting just outside of the open door to sitting outside the closed door to independent bathing.

I remember going through this rite of passage with my two boys about four years ago. As I write this, Nigel is getting into the shower, singing all the while.

Some of our issues involve staying in the shower for over an hour singing to yourself, completely forgetting what you’re in there for, and needing various reminders (through the closed door) regarding soap and shampoo application.

Good Luck!