2 Year Old and Bath Time

Try to make it fun for him with toys and bubbles and then start making it an award for him to be able to take a bath.

Does he have some toys in the bath? Try Walmart or Target. My son has ABC's and 123's for the bath tub that sticks to the wall and he loves them. Have you tried bubbles?

I don't know if this will be of any help to you, but I had a somwhat similar situation with my daughter. She used to love baths, but developed a sudden aversion to them. Although she didn't care about being clean either, that was not the issue. What bothered her was getting water in her eyes/nose, etc. I put a dry facecloth over her face and had her lean her head back while I rinsed her hair with a cup. I don't know if that will help, but it worked for me.
If he's bored in the tub, you could try getting some of those tub crayons. Some are actually made of soap, so they can pull double duty.
Well, that's about all I can come up with at the moment. Hope it helps. Good luck!

Oh, M. - can I relate. My son has never liked baths since the day he was born and he is five now and still doesn't like them. He fights us each time but now once he gets in there he doesn't want to get out. I actually ended up taking him to the store to pick out a "special" bath toy when he was 2. I think he picked out these little squirting fishes which he enjoyed squirting at me! Nothing expensive and he was only allowed to play with it in the bath tub. I also picked up two small child watering cans (Target for $2, I think) - one for him and one for me. He could control the amount of water being poured on his head. (He never liked the water on his head when we were washing out the shampoo). We made it like a game. "Big Rain, Little Rain" is what we used to call it. If he said Big rain we both got to dump our buckets over his head. If it was little rain then he decided if it was me or him who got to do the bucket alone. Getting the soap off with the bucket by himself was also fun for him. My son also got to the point where he did not like the water falling on his face so I grabbed a dry wash cloth while I poured the water over his head to wash the shampoo out. Before age 2, we just learned how to wash him really quickly while he screamed. Hope it helps!

Try getting some bath tub paints or crayons. My little boy loves them and when he doesn't want to take a bath, that's what we use to get him to bathe.

We don't bathe the kids every day, in large part because our five year old had eczema issues when he was younger. We do two regular baths a week. If they warrant more, they'll get cleaned up, but this schedule helps eliminate fights about bathing.

I have just gone through this. I tried everything, and finally I found that blowing bubbles and the colored fizzy tablets help. I used a small bottle of bubbles like you blow outside and the color tablets are made my Crayon. They are in the children's bath section. I hope this helps you. This is a hard stage to go through, but it didn't last long. GOOD LUCK!

I buy the color tablets that changes the color of the bath water. My son picks out which color he wants. Sometimes he mixes colors which helps him learn that Yellow and Blue make Green.

He also likes to color in the tub. I buy the color crayons made for a bath. He draws all over the tub or wall and then when his bath is done, he washes it away with a wet washcloth.

Crayola makes these items and I buy them in Walmart by the bubble bath in the cosmetic section.

Good Luck!

They also make alot of fun bath time paints and crayons now too, and they are messy, but easily to wipe off. I usually took my son out then took his washcloth that he had used and wiped it all off before we left the bathroom.

I just went through this with my 18m old daughter. I would run the water. I would take her clothes off and I would let her keep running in and out of the bathroom until she felt ready to get in the tub. I would let her play, then wash her body, then wash hair. I would only wash the back half. When I went to poor water over her head it would only be the back and non of it poored down her face. I think her problem was the pooring water over her head.

I would try a positive incentive program if he's old enough to understand. For example, get a jar and have marbles. For each minute, 30 seconds, he's in he gets a marble. Certain number of marbles equals some thing he likes. Make sure it is all immediate rewards. And, tell him about the plan before you are doing it. You may have to start doing it while he's screaming and then insist that he has to not be screaming to get the marbles. Good Luck!

Mine used to be that way. I bought toys that we loves and we play games while he is in the tub. He seems to forget about it and we just have fun.

Good Luck
T. mother of 3

Toys are always a good bet, like all the respondents have said and they have worked for me. However, lately one of the better things is letting my 3 year old take a shower. If I'm not taking a shower and letting her jump in, I will sit at the back part of the bathtub...to help keep the water in...and wash her by pulling the curtain back. She feels like such a big girl.
Now when she has to take a bath with her baby sister (to make the nights easier) she says she'll take the baby bath, but tomorrow she wants to take a shower like a big girl.
Maybe this will help you with your son?

i just read valerie's response and i agree with her. my 2 year old just got color tablets for his birthday and he loves to choose which color the water is going to be each night. he also loves the crayons and different cups to dump water back and forth. i don't know what your family situation is like, but my little guy loves to take a shower with his daddy and i love it becuase it is super easy for me. i just wait and help get him out. good luck.

J.

mabey try buying bubble bath stuff because when i was little my mommie used to put bubbles in the bath tub for me and it was fun

M.,
Make the bath time fun! Get a toy that is only for tub time and let your son know that it is HIS special bath toy. You could even name it and tell him that it needs a bath and he gets to give the toy a bath. This will help him feel special. I sell baby einstien bath toys such as puppets and I have a washglove toy also at www.balterbaby.com or pick up something while you are out at a toy store and make a big deal of it being a "special" bath toy. Hope this helps!
K. www.balterbaby.com

we use bath fizzy ( it has semane street on the front)u can buy then in target, publix ect.. its a bath fizz and the come red yellow and blue my child gets to pick one every night it learns the color too. ps i have never had a aleric reaction if she picks it up it ties her hands for a few sec then goes away..hope it helps

Toys and ploys! When my daughter doesn't want to take a bath, I suggest that one of her plastic toys needs a bath and she should get in the tub and give it a bath. And/or I mention something fun we can do in the tub. I just got her tub paints, so that's the current trick.

Here are some things that have worked well with my kids:

~Colorful water! Crayola makes bath coloring tablets that dissolve and color the water. They don't stain the tub, the linens, or the kids. Since they come in the three primary colors, kids get to learn about mixing colors to create new ones. I haven't found a kid yet that doesn't love to pick the color of his/her bath water.

~Bathtub crayons! Crayola makes these, too, and they're found in the bubble bath secion, as well. When wet, they can be used to draw on tub and tile surfaces, and they clean up well with soapy water. If you look around on the internet, you can find recipes to make your own. They make great gifts!

~Scuba mask and snorkel. Kids can pretend to snorkel or swim. My daughter likes to pretend she's a mermaid! If you fill the bath with a lot of bubbles, you can toss in some coins, and they will be obscured by the foam. With a mask and snorkel, your child can dive for treasure!

~Water safe dolls and/or animals. Kids seem to take great interest in properly bathing a doll or toy dog (or other animal). Cars work well, too! My daughter often washes Dora or a family of duckies.

~Several containers that hold water are also fun. Kids love to pour water back and forth, see how fast containers fill up under the water, etc. My son even loves to dump water on his own head. LOL

~If I give my daughter a sponge, she likes to "clean" the tub for me while she's in the bath. It actually saves me some work!

~If you're REALLY brave, you could try letting your child wash your hair. Give him/her a little shampoo (the no tears stuff might be wise) and something for pouring water. You can kneel beside the tub and lean your head in. You might want to be sure you have a dry washcloth on hand to protect your eyes and airways. It's also a good idea to have a towel within easy reach. :)

~Make up bathtub songs and sing them together at bathtime.

~Kids love to make big splashes, but they're not usually allowed. I occasionally close the shower curtain (making sure that it's tucked into the tub at the bottom), and allow the kids to have a giant splashfest!

I hope some of these ideas work for you! :)

I can relate, we went thru the same issue with my 2 1/2 yr old son. What worked for us was new bath toys. I went to the dollar store and stocked up on new stuff for the tub. I also change the toys out every couple of days. Good luck.

For me and my 2 year old it was that he hated getting water in his eyes, so I started making a big deal about putting a wash cloth over his eyes when I pour the water on his head. Now he is more inclined to go "'plash!" (which is what he calls taking a bath). We still don't stay in very long. Maybe a new bath activity toy would help. I just get in him there, let him play for a minute, soap him, rinse him and get him out and he seems to be more cooperative and easygoing now. (Isn't it funny how they go from LOVING bath time to not wanting anything to do with it??)

If your son likes books, get a bathtime book that always stays in the tub. These books are usually plastic or vinyl and great for tubtime.

Good Luck!