Real Mom Moment

There are some things I want my kids to learn to do independently. Showering is definitely one of them.

But there is a pretty big gap between knowing how to take a shower and actually remembering everything you are supposed to do once that bathroom door closes.

My kids can get distracted. They can lose track of time. They can forget which step comes next. And sometimes a shower turns into me standing outside the bathroom calling through the door:

“Did you wash your hair?”
“Did you rinse it?”
“Did you use soap?”
“Why are you STILL in there?”

I work full time, I homeschool, and like every other parent, there are approximately 47 other things happening at any given moment. I cannot always be the person standing outside the bathroom keeping everyone on track.

More importantly, I do not want to have to be.

I want my kids to be able to do these everyday things for themselves, with the right support to help them get there.

The problem was not knowing how to shower

When a child has ADHD, autism, or simply needs a little more support with routines, “go take a shower” can actually contain a whole lot of smaller tasks.

Get in. Get started. Wet your hair. Shampoo. Actually scrub the shampoo into your hair. Rinse it out. Add conditioner. Let the conditioner sit. Wash your face. Wash your body. Rinse the soap off. Remember that conditioner that is still sitting in your hair. Rinse that out too. Do a final rinse. Get out.

That is a lot to keep track of.

And then there is time.

A child can be perfectly capable of showering and still have absolutely no idea that they have been standing under the water for ten minutes thinking about something completely unrelated to showering.

So I started thinking: I can't do this forever. What if something else could give the reminders instead?

So I made something we actually needed

That idea became my first YouTube video for The Learning Ladder Educational Resources™:

15-Minute Shower Timer for Kids with ADHD & Autism | Follow-Along Routine

It is a free 15-minute visual shower timer, but it does not just count backward from 15:00.

As the timer runs, prompts appear at specific times to tell kids what part of the shower routine to work on next, from getting started and washing their hair to washing their body, rinsing everything off, and wrapping up.

Basically, I made the timer to step in and say the things I would normally be saying from the other side of the bathroom door...minus the “HURRY UP!”

One less thing for me to repeat. One more step toward independence for them.

Watch the free 15-minute shower timer

Use the video as a follow-along tool to help keep the shower routine moving without a parent having to give every reminder.

How the shower timer works

The routine breaks the shower into smaller steps and gives each part its own place within the 15 minutes.

The prompts guide kids through:

Getting started → Washing their hair → Shampooing and scrubbing → Rinsing the shampoo → Adding conditioner → Letting the conditioner sit → Washing their face → Washing from shoulders to toes → Rinsing off the soap → Rinsing out the conditioner → Doing a final rinse → Wrapping up the shower

They can follow along with the video instead of trying to remember the entire routine on their own or waiting for a parent to remind them what comes next.

Who might find this helpful?

I created this with my own kids in mind, and The Learning Ladder is especially focused on kids who need extra support, including kids with ADHD, autism, and other special needs.

But a child does not need a diagnosis to benefit from having a routine broken into smaller, manageable steps.

This might be worth trying if your child knows how to shower but tends to lose track of time, gets distracted once they are in there, skips steps, forgets what comes next, or still depends on you for frequent reminders.

And it does not have to mean handing them the video and expecting them to suddenly do everything alone.

You can use it together at first. You can still help with the parts they need help with. You can pause it if you need to.

The goal is simply to give them another tool they can begin relying on instead of relying on you for every single prompt.

One less thing for me to repeat

I started The Learning Ladder because I kept finding myself looking for resources to help my own kids with learning and everyday life.

Sometimes I find what we need. Sometimes I do not.

And when I do not, I cry a little and apparently I make a 15-minute shower video.

But that is really what I hope these resources can be: practical tools that make everyday things a little more manageable while helping our kids build skills and confidence along the way.

If the shower timer means my child can get through one more part of their routine without needing me to call through the bathroom door, that is a win in my book.

Learning and Growing, One Step at a Time.