Family of 5 Shares Hotel Bathroom (WC)

That while on vacations we all manage to get ready for each travel day with one hotel bathroom is a wonder to me. (Don’t worry, I’m not going to describe anything too personal!) The bathroom routine is made more difficult because three members of my family have a (probably unusually) high degree of modesty. I’ll admit that one of those 3 is me. I have never flossed my teeth or blown my nose in front of anyone; never. As for the other two who each have an excessive sense of decorum, from a very early age, the twins insisted on complete privacy for even just changing clothes or brushing teeth. We could have saved money or claimed more storage space in the upstairs bathroom at our house by foregoing the installation of double sinks: there is never a time when both sinks are being utilized simultaneously. One of the boys waits for the empty bathroom, then closes and locks the door, each and every time.

With 3 of us determined to have private bathroom time, our family has developed a pattern for getting the 5 of us through our hygiene routines using a single hotel bathroom in a reasonable timeframe: ready for breakfast in the morning, and ready for bed at night.

The decision as to which person gets to use the bathroom first has more to do with behavior than urgency to you-know-what. Well, we do take care of any urgency situations, but the next priority in determining order of bathroom usage is whether one has the ability to quietly converse, read, or watch tv. That means no shouting, no jumping, no hitting, no kicking, no throwing of any object. The youngest are the most unable to refrain from these activities, and are thus typically forced to get their bathroom needs over with so that the first available parent can then remove those youngsters from the hotel room to the breakfast room in the morning or tuck those youngsters firmly in bed at night.

Since I am the best at being quiet (the best!), and since I’m a girl with special bathroom needs involving long hair and a dab of makeup, and since I’m the one with highly developed skills in herding children through getting-ready routines and managing their complaints about bathroom usage, and since I’m the family organizer and I need to itemize travel items to pack for the day or I need to categorize clothing that is dirty or re-wearable at the end of the day, I use the bathroom last.

Thankfully, my hubby is willing to get up extra early each morning while on vacation in order to finish his shower before anyone else wakes up. Then we both awaken the kids and shuffle them through their morning grumpies, enticing them to hurry with descriptions of the Nutella that awaits them in the breakfast room. Once they are escorted out the door by their dad, I finish readying myself, glad for the momentary peace, but trying to hurry in case my DH needs help in the breakfast room, and in case the breakfast buffet is nearly over and I’ll miss my chance for food and coffee.

At the end of a travel day, we prod each kid to take his individual turn in the bathroom and one by one say goodnight. Those of us awaiting a turn pass the time reading or watching CNN. When the kids are done, and then their dad, it is my turn in the bathroom. When I come out, and all is quiet in a room full of drowsy kids, then I get to read a bit. And in about 8 hours it starts over again.

Do you have a good system for 5 in a room?

Sandy Nielsen
Sleeps5.com