The last few weeks my 21-month old has started crawling out of the tub and yelling No! when I try to bathe him. I still had him in the kitchen sink, but he did the same thing in the "big tub." The poor kid hasn't had a decent bath in weeks! I am the only one who has ever bathed him. He used to love it...any suggestions?
My daughter is 23 months old and I have had this trouble with her several times. When this happens, I take a bath with her 2-3 times and the problem is solved. She usually starts out clinging to my lap, but by the end is playing by herself and I am thankfully out of the tub.
We had this issue off & on w/ my oldest. Now we have it w/ the youngest. We have a shower head that I can pull down to rinse her off. Doesn't make her any happier (she hates being sprinkled or squirted) but it gets it done quicker.
If no one else's suggestions work, just hang in. They eventually get out of it. I am hoping that our 3 mos phase is ending soon now that pools are out & fun!
My first thought was to try a new bath toy. Or say, if you get a bath, you can have a "special treat" when we're done. (chocolate milk works for my son)
Good luck!
It is probably a phase. My daughter suddenly wigged out on me in May, 2007. (She was 2 1/2.) She had been having baths 5x/week but now it can be as infrequently as 1x/week in mild weather. She likes them mostly, now, but she really doesn't like water in her eyes and nose. I forget now, but she probably took a bad splash or maybe I misdirected her about holding her breath or something. Now she is great about looking up to let most of the water and soap run down her back.
Especially if your son isn't verbal, his upset will be worse... You can try asking him various things to see what may be upsetting him. If you can determine what bothers him, then you can acknowledge his feelings... whether you can change that aspect or he just has to put up with it.
Will he sit in a pool in this hot weather? Either that could count as his bath or at least acclimate him to having to do it again. Hopefully it will pass. Our worst did.
My toddler did the same thing until I figured out that it was because he associated the bath with bedtime. So we just rearranged the routine/schedule and he is now clean again. Play with bathtime. Sometimes I surprised him and bathed him in the morning or just before dinner. We are now back to before bed. Good luck. P.S. bubbles or new bath toy never hurt too.
There must be something about a child's developement at that age. Out of the blue, they go from loving to get a bath to ..out of nowhere, being terrified of getting a bath. Nothing happened to cause this, just boom out of the blue..this fear of baths! What I have found to work is to tell my children when they go through this, that it is time to go swimming & play in the tub. I get special bath toys & let my child help pick them out at the store. I let my child play to get over the fear, do not push or rush or force..it only makes it worse & longer/harder to get over. I leave washing hair for last, that can always be done in the sink..if need be. (For some of my children, this is where the fear came from. Getting water, soap, or shampoo in their eyes. It was just a remembered fear that came out of nowhere. Another fear was that they would go down the drain with the water.)As soon as my child showed any indication of discomfort, fit throwing, or fear...I got them out of the tub. Try to do so while your child is still enjoying the experience. If you do not get everything washed, you can still wash your son by washcloth from the sink (not in the sink). Also when he starts to enjoy 'swimming' & playing in the tub, when he starts to throw a fit about getting washed...let him know that he will not be allowed to play in the tub after he gets washed & remove him immediately. If he lets you wash him, let him play for a little bit. The hardest part for me was washing hair when mine went through this, so the reward at the end to them is well worth it.
Also, your husband may want to start helping with 'bath' duty & introduce your son to the shower. You can work on getting him get over his fear of baths & your husband can introduce him to the shower. If it is a fear of going down the drain, then your husband can reassure your son that he is there to keep him from going down the drain (if he does not understand the concept he is too big to fit down it). Lots of reassurance & positive feedback will help your son through this. Hope this helps..
try the shower if your have a nossle that you can pull off and hold at his level. My kids love it and it is so much faster. Have you asked him why he doesn't like baths anymore? Is it the water or does he want to go play instead?
get in the bathtub with your child. may be something happened to frighten him and that is why he does not like taking a bath.put some toys in the tub while you are in the tub with him. it may make bathtime more enjoyable for you both. another thing to try is to put him in the shower with you and see if he like that instead.
That was aroung the same age that my daughter was when we introduced showers. Try it. At first I took a shower with her, then I let her do for herself. Let your son feel in control when it is shower time. Let him wash his hair, and when rinsing it out , then wash it at the same time. Say, "let me show you how to wash your legs", so show him and then let him do it all by himself(he does not know he is already clean)
my 3 year old when through a phase similar when she was 2 1/2. We began giving her a shower with our removable showerhead. Maybe give that a shot or get some bubble bath or other bath toys such as the bath crayons or paint. Good luck!
N.,
Have you tried those Crayola tub crayons? That (or some other cool tub toys) might get him interested again!
I use lots of bubble and toys :-)
To add to the shower idea, my daughter really enjoys when we turn the shower head on while she is in the bath tub :) Also if your son has a favorite toy maybe you could ask him to help give the toy a bath and explain why baths are important :) Good Luck!!
I had a similar problem with my son when he was that age. I found a quick resolution.. I started giving him a shower. I would take him in with me and he loved it. I worked full time so it was much quicker and easier than the tub. Plus the warm water hitting his back relaxed him and he slept really well. When I had my daughter, I started giving her showers much earlier and it wored out well.
