death by water

To some a time of relaxation, getting away from the days troubles and relaxing in a nice warm bath. Bubbles gently burst on your skin, the aroma of some exotic soap emminating from the tub. To my son however, you may have well put him in a tub of bubbling acid. The second the water touches his skin, the shrill screams exiting his mouth is enough to make a banshee run in fear. So what is it about "being clean" that troubles these young children? Do they derive their social status among other children by the amount of crap they can accumulate on themselves? Maybe acting as an insulator during cold weather? Or maybe perhaps they just like to plain smell like something that has crawled out of a sewer and died. I had woken my son up one morning, rushing to get ready for church my wife had decided to have me get him up and throw him in with her to save on time. I pulled his sweet little head from his pillow and through the slits in his tired eyelids i could see he was happy to see me. As his eyes opened a little more he glanced across the hall and his little heart sank. "Daddy no no no no, I want to sleep I want to sleep!!" he screamed as he bolted toward his bead. After wrestling his clothes off him and unwrapping the pretzel of limbs protecting his diaper flaps, victory was mine. I believe teaching proper hygene to these young individuals is just as hard if not more than potty training, at least it is with my child. I can get him to sit on the potty for hours but the mere mention of bathing or heaven forbid brush his teeth puts him into a violent rage.