Does anyone out there have a child who occasionally resists bath time? Anyone? Anyone?

Or should I say: Everyone? I think almost all parents have to deal with the protest: “A bath? Again?”

As always, at Today Is Fun we want to use our wits to get our parenting way. To make the bath happen, we just frame it differently. We try to advertise the bath not as a required, annoying chore, but an opportunity for learning and for fun!

One trick is to have the kids magically turn themselves into animals.[more] Animals have to get wet, too, right? The best part of this bath is encouraging your kids to talk about the animal they’ve chosen. “Oh, you’re an elephant, are you? Well, let’s clean your giant flappy ears? Do your tusks need some soap?” Involving an animal or two always manages to dampen my kids’ protestations.

Another trick — and this is also quite fune — is Bath Time with Achilles. First of all, this game is an educational opportunity in that you can discuss the Greek myth with your young one. (In a nutshell, when he was a baby, Achilles was dipped into a magical bath by his mom. Any part of his body that was touched by the magic water made his body extra strong. The only part that didn’t get dipped was his heel, where his mom held onto him. This became his Achilles’ heel.)

In Bath time with Achilles, your child gets to choose a part of his or her body that will remain dry during the bath. Of course, the selection needs to be reasonable: an earlobe, a pinky finger, an elbow. (A torso or a backside could not be chosen.)

This game is fun because you and your kid work to have a successful bath without getting the off-limits body part wet. Talk it up, and try your best not to get any water on the earlobe (or whatever.) And if you make a mistake, well, what can you do? Your child still got bathed — and you two can try again next time!

Have a great, fun and clean long weekend, people!

Grab a piece of blank paper and fold it in half. Open the paper back up and hand it over to your young artist.

The crease from the fold will be a dividing line. On half the paper, your kids will draw things correctly and they’ll draw things “wrong” on the other half.[more]

What’s right? And what’s wrong? Well, right means that your kid should try to convey something with the art. It could be a flower, a unicorn, a witch, a princess, a ham sandwich — you name it! On the other side, the wrong side, your child can draw anything — a scribble, a blob, a shape, anything! (Well, except for the thing that’s on the “right” side of the paper.)

And why do this? Well, it’s fun for starters. Secondly, it’s satisfying for kids to alternate between trying to go with the guidelines and then just do whatever they’d like! Kids spend much of their days learning and conforming to the rules of the adult world. This is a nice way to allow kids to follow some rules and make their own rules!

Try it in your house this weekend! All fun!