Daughter Suddenly Afraid of Taking a Bath

try taking a bath with her in the new bathtub. :)when she sees that it is good for you maybe she will relax and enjoy. AND take time to let her see you take a bubble bath - in her bathtub and show how fun and relaxing it can be.

moving is certainly a option as to why she is not comfortable. As we transition to the potty, they go out and pick out their potty and get excited. Maybe this will work with bath time. Take her to a store, have her pick out a toy and sponge and bath soap for bath time. Keep it on the counter and encourage her that when it is bath time, she can use that stuff. Draining the tub has been a fear for my child before....they sense they will go down the drain. It is a faze, but I think I drained it long after she was out, toweled and dressed . Maybe a shower head off the tub spout may work too to give her a sense of a shower ( Hose ) until she becomes comfortable again.

Hi...I had a similar experience with my one year old who is now 17......when we moved into our new home in Germany.....I had purchased a bath mat that stuck to the bottom of the porcilan (?) tub, because......it was to slick.....I didn't realize that when I peeled it up to clean under it. the sound scared her......and so she would go near the tub.....I fgured it out one day when she was in the hall an as soon as I yanked it up she stated screaming.....so try to look around....what may be different.....and take her in there and ask her.....she'll more than likely help you see what is bothering her. If you feel it's something other than physical....and perhaps spirtual.....I can help you there to :)

Hi, my daughter is 20 months old. I didn't realize this was such a common problem! I've also had the same issue with my daughter. I don't know why all of a sudden she started crying when we put her in the bath. She had loved it up until the week before. I had to start by just washing her off in the sink. Then, I put extra toys in the tub without any water in it, particularly a bouncing ball because she loves balls. She would climb into the empty tub to play with her toys. I did that once or twice. Then, while she was playing with her toys, I took off her clothes & started just running the water without closing the drain. She really loved playing with the stream of water and I played with her. I pretty much did that for a week or two. I would wash her off with the water running & wouldn't close the drain. Now, I just recently started closing the drain (a month later). She won't actually sit in the water, but she squats and plays with her toys. I also just gave her some bath crayons, but she can only play with them in the tub. At the beginning I also tried taking a bath with her, but she would still cry and scream if I tried to make her sit down. Now, at least she'll take a bath and someday I'm sure she'll sit down. My sister heard that it was common to be afraid of the drain. I also don't empty the water until she's out of the bath. Hope this helps!

Hi J.,
First of all, I'm sorry that you are having this frustration. But I wanted to tell you my son's story and maybe that will help. When my second son was 4 he suddenly started asking questions about the bathtub overflowing and over a few weeks the fear started to grow. He was also afraid of the drain emptying. I was at my wits end and I had no idea on where these thoughts were coming from. All I could think was--How was I going to get my kid clean? We then went on a trip to visit family and the area of the house we were in just had a stand up shower. My older son took showers so I wondered if my younger one would. We tried it and he could see that no water was building up and it worked! He liked it a lot and when we returned home he began taking showers and we never looked back. Now he's 8 and will sometimes take a bath but there's no fear. So maybe a shower would help her (I stayed in the bathroom when this was happening). Good luck!
B.

Boy does this story hit a note with me! Both my boys have Sensory Processing Disorder. We initially had concerns with my youngest, because of his fear of the bathtub. Same thing, he would not bathe, but loved the sprinkler. We have them in Occupational Therapy, and that has help tremendously! It turns out Kyle was afraid of the echo and noise associated with bathing, the pressure and temperature of the water, the unpredictablity of the splashing, not the bath. The sprinkler is light and he can see it coming towards him. For a month we bathed him with the sprinkler. After OT, he is a bathtub fool. Not all kids have sensory, it may be another issue, just putting a thought in your head. Good luck!

I had a similar experience not too long ago. I think it is just a phase. Kayle seemed to grow out of it. I'm not sure where it comes from, but it could be the start of "free will". Hope this helps.

Hi J., my daughter did the same thing at 15 months and we didn't move homes. What I did is stuck my feet in the bath then stood her in the bath and would play a game called "catch the bubbles". I would give her a bubble bath and then take my hand and grab a bunch of bubbles and have her feel it in the palm of my hand. I did that over and over until she wanted to do it with me. It took a couple days and she was back in the bath playing "catch the bubbles" herself! I would also use lots of toys in the bath and play games with the toys: peek-a-boo, duckie swimming through the bubbles, etc. Hope this helps!!

It could be that she is just not used to the new house yet. Just keep talking to her about it and hope that she relaxes in the tub someday soon. She may just not like the new tub, maybe if you got into the tub with her once it might calm her nerves.

your daughter is learning all these new things about what happens when thing go away but her sense of size and what is impossible (her getting sucked down the drain) may not make sense to her yet. like some others have suggested, i'd empty the tub after she's in bed. my 2yo daughter loves the water but has recently stopped wanting to bathe just because she has better things to do. i have starting giving her a choice, she can bathe or shower (with me) and those are the only choices. it may not be safe to shower with your toddler yet. we have no slip floors but i am still very careful. giving her the choice has seemed to make a lot of difference. good luck!

Hi J.,
I do not know how you feel about nudity. But have you yourself tried taking a nice bath so she can see it is safe and fun. With her in the tube or out she will get the idea. Put some bubbles and some bath confeddie in the tub and let her wash your back. I let my Jaida try and wright her alphabet or draw a picture on my back with soap and I would try to guess what she wrote, she loved that. Good luck I know you will figure it out. R.:)

We had that problem and still do from time to time. My daughter come to find out was scared of the drain! There was nothing we could do to calm her fear it seemed. We eventually got her some bath paints to try and distract her and it worked for a little while. She still gets scared here and there and she not only thinks that she is going to get sucked down the drain but that her toys are too. No matter how many ways we tried to show her that nothing can go down the drain but water, she is scared! I would try and find a bath toy or paint or something to distract her and see what happens. Then, don't drain the water until she has gotten out, you have put all her toys away and even until after she leaves the bathroom. That is my suggestion, good luck!

We had the same problem with our daughter. She was never very fond of her bath but after she turned 1 she really hated it. We tried alot. The things that worked best for us was to have my husband or myself take a bath with her. We also bathed her out side often she loved to take her bath in the bucket outside we got some great pictures with that. She is 3 now and usually showers with me in the am. She will also take a bath now with her baby brother but still hates to have her hair washed. That is where all our problems are the hair washing. Good luck.