When I questioned them about the mat (which normally resides on the side of the tub unless it is in use), one of them replied that it was in the tub before his shower, so he just left it there. The other had taken it (soaking wet by this time) out when it was his turn and placed in on the floor since it was in the way. There it sat, dripping water everywhere.
Other times the shower curtain will be left on the outside of the tub throughout the shower, and you can imagine what happens then. Most times there is just water on every wall possible, dripping constantly downwards into the baseboards. There is a towel rack RIGHT beside the shower so that towels are immediately available (with their names on them for greater ease), but somehow those same towels cannot ever get back onto the hooks to dry even though the hooks are still right there for easy access.
If I ever call into the shower to see if they are ready to get out (or if the timer dings signalling the same thing), no one has ever even started to wash themselves. "Oh, I forgot about that!" is the normal response. Washing? What's that? We're supposed to wash in the shower? And later when I ask about their hair they usually respond that they completely forgot about washing it. Getting it wet should have been good enough. Hello! That's kind of one of the reasons you take showers!
Our daughter gets these concepts. She understands about the bathmat to absorb drips, and how the shower curtain works even though she's only 5. She washes first and then plays (even though she hates washing her hair). She understands that you dry off from top to bottom so that water doesn't drip downwards to places you've already dried. Although she isn't the neatest, at least she tries.
I appreciate more and more how much my own parents and in-laws did to raise us up to be decent adults. It's that constant diligence in all those little things, day after day, year after year that mold and shape us. And I guess if at least the boys get some water rinsing over them every now and then, they'll survive. I'm sure they'll shower often enough once the teenage years hit! I am glad we switched from a 2.5 gallon per minute showerhead to a 1.5. Then at least the rest of us can still get a shower if the dawdling is extended.
