When my toddler had to put a cast on her sprained little finger last winter, we had to abandon her usual fun time in the bath and opt for showers instead. The doctor had instructed that the cast must not get wet.
“No baths?” I thought, “but she loves taking a bath and playing in the water!” This whole shower concept was going to be hard for her to swallow. Despite some initial difficulty making sure the cast stayed dry, the shower experience proved to be a good one for her. She enjoyed the shower as much as the bath!
As a green mom, I also realized that we didn’t use as much water with a shower as we usually did in drawing her bath every night. Since we also use a low-flow showerhead, it is possible to reduce our water consumption by 50 per cent. For example, a five-minute shower with a 9.5L/min showerhead uses only about 47.5L of water compared to about 100L for the average (half-filled) tub.* To further reduce water consumption, I turn off the water using the shut-off valve on my showerhead while I lather her up with shampoo and soap. Needless to say, we have continued with the showers and give her a bath only once in a while.
Although I would like to say that I am fairly aware about our water consumption, my husband takes it one step further – he doesn’t think that our child needs any washing at all on the weekends! Now that’s one environmentally conscious individual…or is he?
* Natural Resources Canada, Better Water Use Means Bigger Savings, http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/new-homes/water-conservation.cfm?attr=4, accessed June 9, 2008.
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