Toddler Suddenly Afraid of Bath

We went through this, too. I thought she might have been afraid of falling. She'd been holding on to the soap dish and jumping up and down.Maybe in my lessons to be careful I frightened her. I tried the same things. Finally I changed out her bath toys, which were old anyway. We found a big Thomas set for the tub and a Boynton book. I never spoke of it as a bribe; I just got excited about it all and made it clear that they were only for tub time. I also got those visors for hair washing. I'd thought in the past she would have just pulled them off, but now she's into it. I feel like I'm forgetting something...It wasn't an instant fix. But there was immediate improvement. Once she got playing in the water again she was in pretty good shape.
Hope this helps!
Martha B.

T., you are correct - children can develop fears like this for no reason. My daughter started freaking out like I was throwing her to the wolves when I put her in the bathtub, suddenly, no warning, just a couple months older than your son. My (now ex) husband started coming in and badgering me about what I was doing to her to make her scream. Finally he came in and watched from bath prep to getting into the bath and saw there wasn't anything traumatic going on, just her response. It's just one of those wacky developmental things that are not uncommon. I chalked it up at the time to maybe a bad dream she had about a bath, but it's so widespread among kids that age, who knows? New independence/assertiveness phase? Anyway, I kept at it, calmly putting her into the tub over and over, if she had to cling to me, fine, I'd wash her that way (learned to change into raggy-clothes before bathtime, no worries of her stretching or tearing or soaking my clothing). She got over it, but it did take a few months of persistence. Be glad you have a boy - hair washing was the trickiest part!
So, you're not a bad mommy, you are not scarring him for life (it's hard to get my now seven year old out of the bath these days, she loves to lounge and soak in the warm water), and whatever gets washed, gets washed, no harm done if he doesn't get every square inch sanitized every bath time. Your consistency and calmness is most important, so he'll see that it's not negotiable, and mama isn't worried, so he'll eventually pick up on your vibes that it's no big deal and you're going to wash him, regardless. So no trying to persuade him how safe it is (it's not an intellectual issue for a 22 month old), don't plead or cajole, just show by example that you don't see anything out of the ordinary and keep washing however you have to, even if he's clinging to you like a (very loud) tick. If you can sound bored, but descriptive of what you're doing ("I'm washing your back now, wash wash wash, rinse rinse rinse"), it may help calm him, too.
Good luck, and I hope you don't lose too much hair over this phase (either by you or your son pulling it out!).

Hi, Hang in there, you are correct it is a phase. We experienced this around the same time. Not sure why, but seems like it is 'normal' I read a lot on the internet & this site and people recommened going to the store to buy a new 'special' bath toy that the child picks out. That along with a few days of using a wash cloth to keep clean seemed to work for us. Also at some other time during the day go into the tub (no water) with your child and bring a toy and just play in there for a few minutes; sometime that helps take away a fear that they may not be able to communicate with us.

Dear T.,
If your child is not talking yet, I can appreciate your frustration, and as a caring mom, it is something that will be there until you get over this hill.
There are two recommendations that I have:
1. Everytime that I changed my children's diapers, I clearly enunciated, with my mouth, as big as I could, I sang slowing the A, B, C.....(alphabet song). I told each one of my children when they were lying down that I could understand what they wanted unless they spoke to me. I got them a mirror to let them see me and see themselves in the mirror when I sang the A, B, C.....(alphabet song) again. I continued this, and was very thankful, that they had no speech problems.
2. Regarding the bath: (a)In the cold months, I made sure that I had a portable heater available, or else I turned up the heat in the home before the bath, so it would be warm whent they came out.
(b)See if your child will play in the tub that is empty. Use the bath tub toys and then see if he will take off his clothes and take the bath, telling him that he needs to wash his toys with a little washcloth and soap.
(c) Maybe the water is too high...then let him in the tub when the water is very low and ask him when it is high enough. (I personally think that if your child is aware of something new about himself, it will be reassuring if you try to make the entire event a game. Little boys are so close to their moms, I sometimes think that they sense our feelings. For me, I got them into swimming programs by two years of age as I did not want them to fear the water. The fear is real, but when they see the other children, they are more inclined to join in the fun.
Make it fun, T.. Good luck,
Enjoy your motherhood, enjoy your family,
E.

Hi, T.:

Find another way to give him a bath....sink?

Good luck. D.

Kids go through phases and unfortunately that is one of them. My son went through that when he was 18 months old. I would try some bubbles. see if he would like to have a bath with bubbles. another thing you could do is take a shower with him. my son does not mind having a shower with me and sometimes it saves time and it is easier when i have to wash his hair. Good luck.

Hi T.,
I have heard of this happening to lots of kids--suddenly and without basis. Maybe skip the baths completely for awhile--sponge him down (face, hands, feet, bum) ...he's probably not very "dirty" anyway! :-)
He'll come around eventually--probably in a week or two.

See if you can put his favorite toy or stuff animal near the tub and tell him that they take baths. IF that does not work just try a sponge bath with him and go slow and easy and let hm get acquainted with the water again. Let him touch the water and smell it and it may help. I tried a few of these with my son and they worked.

It is time to give up the bath, and lets go shower. This happens often, and my daughter was the exact same age.
Have your hubby shower with him, or you can get a shower head that detaches, so he can learn to wash himself off.

I went through this when my son was about 15 months old same thing, all of a sudden he was terrified of the baths. He always loved to play and then all of a sudden cried to get out. I can tell you it was just a phase and after a month, he was back to normal. I was never sure what triggered the fear or triggered him back to normal, I just chalked it up to a phase. So, hopefully he will grow out of it soon, in the meantime you'll get alot of practice on quicky baths. Good luck!

I agree this is probably a phase, and you can choose how to deal with it. You can humor it or "force" him through it. I think he may be cold, and that may be some of it, but most kids go through a hate-the-bath stage. When my son wen through this, I would do a bath once a week (he doesn't really need more than that) and I would get in with him when we did do a bath. After a couple times of that (and showing him that everything is ok), I just went back to our normal routine, even if there were some tears, and I just kept it short.

This too will pass.

It's a phase and a pain in the butt. Both of mine went through this at this age so I went to the pet store. I got a great little shower sprayer that is made for bathing your puppy. It looks like the one on your sink so you can easily hide it in your hand and it is much less intimidating then the big shower sprayer. (Plus we have a rain shower that mom wasn't willing to part with) For my son I took some bowls and spoons into the tub and told him we were going to be scientists and got bath fizzies and sprayed the water into the bowls with him fully clothed. Once we started mixing colors and he really started to enjoy it I invited him to get in too and be part of the science. Problem solved in a week. Though the bath colors hung around for a few months until the novelty wore off. My daughter on the other hand didn't care to be a scientist, the colors didn't appeal to her and she ended up just taking showers with the little hose until she was big enough for the big shower. Every once in a while she will ask for a tub (she is 4 now) though usually only if she is sick. Showers are faster and better for the environment so it worked out for us. Good luck.