Tuesday 26 January 2010

The shower incident...


Lotte needed to get clean.... Preferably by taking a shower...
She comes to me and asks if she can take a shower alone....
"Sure..." and after taking off the BTE's, she happily goes upstairs to the shower....

All's well... a happy child singing in the shower... Deaf, but singing her heart out.... Like I said.. all's well....
... until Lotte's mother finds out that....

Lotte has locked the bathroom door. Uncomfortable feeling: deaf child in the shower with no possibility to get in there if needed. Guess she decided it was HER shower, and NO-ONE was getting in. Not for a wash, not for a pee... !!!

So.... what to do?... How do you get the attention of a deaf 7-year old, enjoying a shower....
OK... brainstorming and with her being so visual, a piece of paper under the door should work... Waving it from left to right.....
And it did... "Yes dad... I'm in the shower. Go away!!"
Hmmm... We got her attention. Now to get her annoyed so she will open the door..... more waving....
"I'm in the shower...!!"
But she finally gets annoyed enough to get out of the shower, and opens the door...  A little annoyed, but happy that she took a shower by herself..

We took the key away... Closed the door and automatically turned off the light in the bathroom...
Immediate reaction by Lotte.... "Put the light on.. !!"

Duh... that would have been easier than waving with paper...
Next time.. :-)

p.s.
Lotte noticed us writing on her blog.. So we explained it was about her locking the shower door... She remembered...
"Why did you lock the door..??" we asked.
"Because... So you could not come in."
She did not want any help with washing her hair.. She wanted to do it by herself....
Sweet....

p.p.s. Picture taken by Lotte

8 comments:

Www.lozsmedicsljourney.blogspot.co.uk said...

I have that same problem with my parents! they dont want me to lock the door so instead when i am bathing i always use the shower curtain to cover up the bath should anyone want to come in or mum needs to tell me something. you could get some kind of shower curtain so that lotte can cover up and shower in peace while having the door unlocked for your piece of mind? just a tip :)

On Facebook posters said...

Jessica..
that is so cute!

Amy....
LOL, sounds familiar!! I worry too when my Emma (also 7, and deaf) is alone in the shower with no hearing. They are so wanting to be independent! I love the waving the paper visual!! Hilarious!! Thanks for sharing! =)

Leah..
I think I would have had a heart attack with the bathroom door locked- but a clever dad for finding the solution! You have to love her independent nature!

Vivie...
abt light flicking - next time u'll remember it.also re the key maybe you should have negotiated beforehand - or told her if she doesn't get out in 20 mins you will get worried ? I didn't like the key taken away myself :P (it happened to me when I was Lotte's age)

Jennifer..
that great.

Jessica said...

Jessica
i loved the blog about lotte and the shower incident. definitely hits home for me. considering i've had epilepsy since i was 10 yrs of age, it always got me mad when i was in the shower and someone would walk in every five minutes 2 c if i fell. so i started locking the door so my privacy didn't get invaded.

Cloggy said...

Well, in this house the bathroom door is never locked... Not while showering, or any other bodily functions..
In Lotte's case, she wanted to make sure it was SHE who would wash her hair.. No-one else..

Streak of independence..
Very nice..

Anonymous said...

I'm rather disturbed you won't grant a 9 year old child the right to privacy when she's in the bathroom. There's nothing more unsettling than knowing anyone could walk in on you while you're in the midst of a private moment. Can't believe you actually took the key away so she cannot have the assurance of privacy even if she couldn't hear anyone knocking because she took off the processor for her shower. And secondly, you and your wife harassing her when she's finally taking a shower on her own like a big girl. Instead, you refuse to acknowledge that she is old enough now to have her privacy respected and treated her like she's a dimwitted infant who can't be trusted to take a pee on her own without supervision. I can tell Lotte is a mature bright girl, but judging from this post, you're not treating her like she is. Give the key back, for pete's sakes, so she won't always have to worry about her privacy being violated in the bathroom.

Cloggy said...

LOL..
... Your first words say it all...

Now, close your door and lock it so no-one can come in into your world...

Anonymous said...

Yes, I will lock the bathroom door when I'm inside so no one would walk in on me if I didn't hear them knocking. Really don't want people seeing me naked or wiping my butt, of course not. No one does, either hearing or deaf. You want to equate that to locking the door so no one can come into "my world"?

Oh boy. Such disdain you have for the deaf. Poor Lotte.

Cloggy said...

"poor Lotte"?
Nah, she's doing great....

(Some) Milestones

  • 2013-08: Grade 6
  • 2012-08: Grade 5
  • 2011-08: Grade 4
  • 2011-03: BTE's on the ear
  • 2010-08: Grade 3
  • 2009-08: Grade 2
  • 2008-08: Mainstream School (6y. old)
  • 2006-10: All-hearing Kindergarten (4y. old)
  • 2004-11-22: CI activated (27 m. old)
  • 2004-10-04: Bi-lateral CI (26 m. old)
  • 2003-08: Deaf/HOH/CI Pre-school/"DEAF" Kindergarten (12m. old)
  • 2003-07: HA's fitted (11 m. old)
  • 2003-06: Diagnosed deaf. Start sign-language (10m. old)
  • 2002-11: Suspicion loss of hearing (4 m. old)
  • 2002-08: Born - A fierce LION
--- Google Analytics