15 Month Taking Baths Feaks Out Washing Hair.

My son, now 2, went through this not too long ago and another friend's daughter just experianced the same thing. We tried everything, and the one thing that seemed to make them both fall in love with the tub again was bath crayons. It's so fun to color all over the tub (and easy to clean) that the unpleasant hair washing seems to be easier to take:) I do use the bucket with flexible edge and have him hold a washcloth over his eyes which both help. One other thing is if I'm taking a bath with him, I will lay him across my lap and tip back to rinse which he thinks is funny and keeps the water out of his face. Good luck- I know how it feels to dread tub time!!

Hi L.!! We've been there and done that! She loved baths then one day was turned off by them. She would cry/shake/freak out as if we were boiling her in a tub of acid!! For weeks we would have to sponge bathe her and wash her hair over the kitchen sink with the help of another adult. (yes...she would still throw a fit). It was a horrible time but the bottom line is that it was just a phase. Every so often I would try the tub (at times I would get in it to see if she would join me) and one day she decided it was O.K. to get back in the water. I had used a new tub toy to lure her in. Hang in there and one day it will pass!!

get in with her and make it a game, or have a sibling get in with her and show her how much fun it is. that's the age fears start to develop with out any reason, so making it really fun is the key. If something does happen like water in her eyes (which I deliberately dumped water over my kids heads to get them used to it)..... say wwheeeeee, what fun, she will look at you for a cue and when you are having fun she will too. It's like when they fall down and look at you, if you say... oh no, are you ok, they will cry, if you say SAVE!!!!! Brush off, they will brush off and be a baseball player in no time. (major injuries aside of course).
Have fun with some bubbles, etc.....

I've been through this with both my kids also. Rough on everyone for sure. My mom suggested having the baby hold a washcloth over their face, to catch any drips durring the rinseing process. Or I make sure to dry their face right away, this seems to keep them from completely freeking out.

My son did the same thing. 2 things i know that help.. Put something that dangles down from the shower ceiling and have her look at it when you want her to put her head back. I also bought a cup at walmart that has a rubber edge that keeps the water from going in his face. Its in the baby section where the potties are.

If your daughter is still small enough, you might try bathing her in the bathroom or kitchen sink, or purchasing a smaller toddler tub that fits into the bathtub. There is a really fun, inflatable duck tub on the market that "quacks" when the beak is squeaked. Your daughter might be old enough now to learn to "help" bathe herself too; give her a tiny squirt of tearless shampoo and see if she can rub it in her own hair. As a Child Safety Consultant and owner of a local babyproofing/childproofing company, I would definitely make sure that the tub is protected with a few simple childproofing products to insure that your little one doesn't get hurt during a tantrum in the tub. While this is likely a phase that will pass quickly, you don't want your daughter to get hurt and you want to help her understand how much fun bath time can be.

L.,

A couple of ideas you can try are getting a cup or small bucket and let your daughter play with it in the tub and show her how to empty the water and how fun it can be. The next thing to do is when you wash her hair tell her "here comes the water" and tell her to close her eyes. After a week or so of this, hopefully your daughter will be saying "now dump the water" because she knows it's coming and is ok with it.

Anything along this line where you work with her so she is ok with it and also a little in control of it should work.

Good luck,
L. M

LOL that is my 24 month old son! Stands in the tub and buries his face in my shirt trying to wipe the water off his face. I get soaked! Other than that he is fine with bath except he also won't sit in the tub at all, he stands the whole time but is having fun splashing. I heard it is a phase and I have to say this happened in the past & he got over it now he is at it again!

If I am reading this right, your little one used to love tubby time in the bath tub. Something must have happened to her for her to be so frightened of the tub now. At her age it is hard for her to be able to say what has her so frightened, so I think you need to think back to exactly when the change came about. Who was with her in the past at bath time? A babysitter? Her dad? An older sibling? Did she fall in the tub? Did someone scare her while in the tub? Retrace your steps to the point when she began to be afraid and you should find the answer if everyone is truthful.

My daughter did the same thing - and I had to wait her out. I never took her out of the bath WHILE crying - but did reassure and hug when needed... and remind her that she's fine. Unfortunately, it's a crappy phase, but this too shall pass!! I think my daughter must have done this for about 4-6 months... ugh.... I HATED bath time too because of it. I remember needing to gently wash her hair with a facecloth only - minimal shampoo and almost wiping to rinse. I waited until last to do it - and then waited her out to calm down before getting out. Sounds mean, but I didn't want her to think that every time she cried in the bath, she could escape. I also tried redirecting with the toys, etc... and that didn't seem to work - unless they were NEW toys. I'd have her sit in the tub in order to earn the new toy and to play with it. Oh... I also remember that she started getting interested in "real" things too - my comb, a hand held mirror, shampoo bottles, etc... to hold and distract. Good luck!!!!

My kids LOVE when I make bubbles with my hand from the shampoo. Make sure your hands are wet, then squeeze a little bit of shampoo into your hands. Rub them together. Then, when it starts to lather a bit, rub your thumb against your forefinger (I tend to make a fist when doing this part) then slowly make the "ok" sign with your hand. You'll see that you have formed a bubble in the "o" of "ok" and now you can blow through it. Sometimes you can get several bubbles, and really big ones too if you press your fingertips together to make a big opening. After I blow several bubbles I then say "BUBBLES IN YOUR HAIR!!!" and I rub the shampoo into their hair. Works like a charm! Good luck.

You've gotten lots of great advice already. I've got a couple of additional thoughts... some of the no tears shampoos still sting a little bit. We use California Baby Shampoo and Body Wash. It's pricey but VERY gentle and a tiny bit goes a long way.

Also, I've started using my daughter's plastic watering can toy to rinse her hair during her bath. The water comes out slowly through the little pinholes so it's not overwhelming to a little one and if some gets in the face, it's just a trickle. This process take longer than dumping a cup but the bath is more pleasant.

Hi
Oh I so sympathize. My daughter did this. I still have problems washing her hair and shes 7. I used to lay her on the edge of the sink. She was ok with this because no water got in her face.
Good luck
K.

My daughter turned into a very fearful child which included taking baths. She never had an issue as an infant but as she got older she began to fear them. Especially the washing of her hair. Even now at 3 she doesn't care too much for it. Finally I bought a new shower head that had a detachable hose to wash her hair. It has been a HUGE improvement. I will roll up a hand towel and lay it across her forhead and use the shower head to wet and then rinse her hair. My daughter's issue wasn't so much the water on her head, it was water in her face. I want to also add that when my daughter started to show serious dislike for taking a bath I starting taking one with her and she was more willing to take a bath.

As far as washing her hair...I used with both my boys (and still do) the water hats - they sell them at Walmart and TBabies R Us (velcro visor for the tub) they come in fun designs and keep the water from going into the eyes....when the water flows over, we say...WATERFALL - kind if distracts attention from what they don't like....good luck

My 2 1/2year old daughter did the same thing. My husband suggested that we start her bath earlier, and to my amazement, it worked. It turned out she was overtired by the time her bathtime came around. We rearranged her sleepytime routine and haven't had problems since.