Stephen’s bathtime has a set routine that always starts with washing his hair. I rub Johnson’s Kids 2-in-1 Shampoo Apple Kiwi Blast (this is a great shampoo for adults too) in his hair then rinse it off with the shower head to a count of 10. When we get to 10, I immediately dry his face with a towel so that minimal amount of soap and water get in his eyes.

He’s usually ok with it. Last night, maybe because he was feeling cranky from a tummy ache, he kept whining, “Don’t like 12345. Don’t like 12345.”

“Ok. Complaint registered. You don’t like 12345. You don’t want to wash your hair,” I replied but continued to lather up his hair.

When it came time to rinse off, I recited instead of counted, “ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP.”

“Is that better?” I asked as I wiped off his face.

“Better,” he said and went on to play in the bathwater as usual.

What does he have against counting?