← All bedtime stories · Social stories
Social Story for Bath Time and Hair Washing
A bath time social story walks a child through the bath in the same order every night, so the hard part (usually the hair wash) arrives when they expect it and ends when they were told it would. Children who fight the bath are rarely fighting being clean. It is water on the face, shampoo near the eyes, the moment of tipping back, and not knowing how long any of it lasts.
The story below gives each step a name and gives the hair wash a clear finish: three cups and done. Read it outside the bathroom first, when nobody is wet and there is room to listen. Free to read aloud, or make one with your child and their own bath toys in it.
Ollie and the Three Cups
A free story to read aloud tonight
The bath was already running when Ollie got there, and the duck was already in it, floating sideways the way the duck always did, as if it had been there for hours.
Feet first. Then sitting down. Then the warm went all the way up to his tummy, and that part was always fine, and Ollie pushed the duck to the far end and it came back again on its own.
Then the hair part. Ollie knew it was coming because it always came after the duck. He held the dry flannel over his eyes, pressed tight, which was his job, and tipped his head back into Dad’s hand, which was Dad’s job.
“One,” said Dad, and the warm water went over the back of his head and not his face. “Two.” The shampoo went on, cold for a second, then just bubbles. Dad drew a bubble crown on top, which Ollie could not see but could definitely feel.
“Three,” said Dad, and the last cup rinsed the bubbles away, all of them, down his back and into the bath. “Done.” And it was done. It was always done at three. Three had never once turned into four.
Then the big towel, which had been warming on the radiator, and the hood that made him a bear, and the walk to bed with his hair sticking up in damp points. He fell asleep smelling of the shampoo that smelt of apples.
Read it a few nights running rather than on the morning of. Familiarity is the part that works. The aim is that by the day itself, none of it is new.
Why does my child hate having their hair washed?
It is one of the most common bath battles. Water on the face, shampoo near the eyes, and lying back without being able to see are all things young children tend to dislike, and some children are more sensitive to them than others. Knowing exactly how long it lasts (three cups, a count of ten) helps many children more than any trick.
What helps with hair washing?
Things parents mention most: a dry flannel or a bath visor to keep water off the face, a cup and a count instead of the shower head, warm water poured from the back, letting them hold the cup or the shampoo, and the same order every time. Some families wash hair on fewer nights so the bath itself can stay a nice thing.
Should bath time be part of the bedtime routine?
For many families it is the first step, and a bath that goes the same way every night becomes a signal that bed is coming. If the bath is currently the hardest part of the evening, though, it is fine to move it earlier while things settle. The story works either way.