Hair Washing Help for My 2 Year Old

I too am going through the same thing with my 2.5 year old. We have these foam letters that stick to the tub. She knows many of her letters and all of her colors so we stick them up high on the wall of the tub and ask her what letters are up there, what colors, how many of a color, etc. This usually keeps her head back long enough to rinse.

My daughter (4) went through this as did my son (2.5). All I did was only let the bath water get deep enough to cover their ears but not go over their face when they laid back. Their head will rest on the bottom of the bath and then they can rinse it out themselves and they think they are so big that they can wash their own hair. The other thing that we did as well when baths became a problem is we went to the store and let them pick out their own kid shampoo and body wash - works like a charm! they love being in the bath. Good luck!

just tell her that if she doesn't put her head back then you are going to dump the water on her head...i don't think i would reward her by going to the store and letting her pick out fun things when she isn't doing what has been asked of her.

We went through that phase also. Both my boys love their goggles. They even are starting to where them and "wash" their own hair. they are 3.5 and 5. good luck.
J.

I've been dealing with the same thing. I've found that turning the shower on and letting her wash it out herself works great! She thinks she's a big girl in the "big girl shower"! Good luck!

I remember those days well.

You can try putting decals or something on the ceiling to look at as well. I put on the glow-in-the-dark ones and then would dim the lights enought that they glowed, but not enough that I couldn't see.

It helped with my son. But don't worry, she'll grow out of it.

Laura,
We have had similar experiences! Have you tried showering instead? This gives better control and we use a hand held hose which is more efficient than pouring water. She can stand up or sit for that matter and even help rinse her hair. We showered our babies even when they were teeny, because face it you are going to get wet when you bathe someone! We would take our babies in the shower with us suds and rinse then hand off to the other parent. Worked great.
Hope the shower thing works for you!
J.

I just went through something simular with my two year old son. I gave up on trying to put him in the tub. He would get very nervous and scared. It was not worth it. It was much easier on him just to put him in the shower. The phase lasted around two months. He is back to taking baths.
Good luck

Try a special visor designed just for that purpose. When my kids were little I think I found them in a First Step catalog or a similar catalog, but they probably have them at Babies R Us or even Walmart or Target now. I think they were just called bath visors. Worked like a charm.

I have two girls, and each of them went through several different phases with water and bath time. When one of my daughters didn't want their hair rinsed, we tried a toy watering can. It was something kind of fun, and we let her try to rinse herself too while we held the washcloth over her eyes. It's something minor, but sometimes it's the little things that make a difference. Good luck!

Hi Laura,

My daughter is 2 and is going through the same phase. I guess it's a trust thing and as she sees that it's okay, she will grow out of it. I try to get my daughter to put the wash cloth off her face and to it sitting up. I find it easier because I can quickly dump the water over her head and get it over with. Sometimes she gets so upset that she wants out of the tub, but sometimes she is getting it over it more quickly and then just continues to play in the tub.

I will also let her be in the tub and play while I shower sometimes so she can see how mommy reacts to the water washing the shampoo out of my hair. I will say that I went through the same thing with my niece and nephews and as they got older, they would take the wash cloth and later on "Froggie" (frog wash cloth puppet) and put it over their eyes while I dumped the water over their hair. I find having them do this process sitting up works better than having them lay down on their backs, but you will find the process that works best for you.

Good luck!

Angie

It is a phase. She is showing you that her brain is growing. She was compliant before because she was less aware of her environment. She didn't connect the fact that you were about to put her in water so she didn't get worked up over it. Now, she is beginning to be able to anticipate something is about to happen and so she stresses over it.

Try to change the activity into something more fun. Give her a chance to anticipate the tickle of water on her neck or play with the water without trying to shampoo. (I used a very gentle soap and put it in the water for bubbles, then I would just rinse their heads with the water and let it go at that when they were fussing about the bath.)

Thinking of it as a milestone helps take the frustration out of the experience.

We had the same thing with our daughters, as did many other moms! Using the shower didn't work, so we just used a really wet washcloth to "wipe" off the shampoo over and over until it was gone. Also, we never told them we were washing their hair... just did it as we washed the rest of their bodies. They were too busy to notice. Both girls grew out of it, so hang in there!

just cheating here a little bit; here is the same advice I gave to another mom in your situation:

My 2 yr old son is the same way. We have Elmo bubble bath and we pretend that Elmo is scrubbing his hair. "Elmo LOVES to scrub Riley's hair! Scrubbing Riley's hair is SO MUCH FUN!" I talk in the Elmo voice and Riley giggles the whole time now. We then have a cup that belongs to his dad. We use that cup, "Papa's cup" to rinse his hair. He is really into anything that is Papa's right now, so that works good now.

My advice is to get a bath friend to help wash her hair. Whoever she is hyped up about, Barbie or Dora or whoever, you can even get the bath puppets or the fancy bubble bath containers shaped like the container (ours is just the plain one with Elmo's picture on the front). Or take a Barbie in the tub with her. Get a cheap cup with the character on it.

I don't know why this has worked so well for us, but it was amazing the difference.

Two things worked for us.

1. We used a foam bath/sun visor in the tub. When I'd rinse my child's hair, the water would run off the visor instead of into their eyes. They hated water on their face. Even using a washcloth didn't work. If the cloth got wet (which it does) watch out ! So visor it was. Go to Babies R Us for these. I pasted a link to what they look like.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2792398

2. If you have a highchair that can be adjusted high enough and tipped back so you can rest her hair/head over the edge of the sink salon style, do that. If possible, maybe put a cushion under her bottom to give her a little height. Be sure to buckle her in for safety.

I didn't have a high chair like with my first so couldn't do it. I could with the next.

What I did with the first was this; You could try washing her hair with her laying on her back ontop ot the kitchen counter with her hair and head slightly over the edge of the sink. Be really careful. If she freaks out you wouldn't want her to fall. Be sure to stand in such a way to block her if she panics or rolls. I used to put a towel folded in half length wise on the counter to catch water and for comfort, and a second towel rolled like a neck roll. Just pour the water or use the sprayer in such a way that water doesn't roll in her face.

My daughter had and still has issues with this. She is over 3.5 yrs old. Part of her issue was not wanting water in her ears, so I went and bought silly putty to put in her ears (I used to use it when I was young as I had tubes in my ears for many many years). Then we have a bar to hold onto in our tub. I have her turn her back to me...grab ahold of the bar and lean herself and her head back. I also have the water cup thingy you speak of. Then I have to hold a towel over he eyes and face and wet and wash her hair all at the same time. I do have the hubby help me with this task many times...

My son went through a phase of despising hair washing, too. The visors can help. Another idea is to play "wolf". She points her nose at the ceiling to howl at the moon while you quickly wet, scrub and rinse.