10 Month Old Wants to Stand in the Tub While Getting a Bath

I gad the same problem with my 10 month old and I ditched the bath seat.it seemed to help he doesnt want to stand up as much now but I also I give him bath toys to play woth.One more thing I only put about an inch of water in the bottom of the tub so it is safer.

Both mine did this. My 18 month old still does it. He has tons of toys, he just thinks it is a pool. I got a no slip mat and will try to sit him back down. Ha-rarely works. In trying to find a positive, it helps me make sure his bottom is really clean since he is standing.

I found it easier to just take a shower, (he plays on the floor) then bring the baby in the tub and give him a bath with me. He's just turned 14 months old, and it's worked out fine. He stays seated for 99% of the bath. I always tell him "no standing" - "when we stand up, we get out". No playing in the water when that happens. He does fine with it that way. Might not work for everyone, but it's an idea.

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Both my kids did that at the same age. I would just hold on for dear life and make the bath quick. Or I would skip the bath unless it was really needed. Kids that age don't really need a bath every day. My kids still try to stand up in the bath but I tell them to sit and they usually do.

Yep, its fun to stand and she's not giving it up for a bath....You probably take a shower and she wants one too! You can bathe her standing in the tub on a non slip surface/bath mat/towell or take her in the shower with you but sitting down is not much of an option for till the next big adventure begins and she finds something else facinating!
B.

Hi A.. Here's a CHEAP solution that may help... use a round or rectangular laundry basket put into the tub along with the water. That way, the water flows through the little holes in the basket making it easy to bathe the baby and also if the kiddo stands up at least he/she has a rim to hold onto. You have to be in there with them the whole time (obviously) to make sure they don't tip the basket over (more a concern witht the round basket, not so much with the rectangular basket). Hope that helps! We did that with all our kids.

Continue to tell them to sit down. I give one warning, "sit down or get out" the next time they stand, they are out of the bath. Both my girls now sit in the tub - I have a 3 year old and a 14 month old. Yes, my youngest will occasionally stand, but now I jsut tell her, "Maddie, sit down" and she sits, she knows she doesn't want to get out. Stick with it, kids need limits on their behavior and you are working to keep them safe, good mommy!

You'll be surprised what she'll understand if you tell that standing up will end the bath immediately and then follow through. Even if you didn't get completely done washing everything tell her once and sit her down-- if she gets up again pull her out. Bath time is over. she will catch on in only 2 or 3 sessions. All of my sons went through this and simple follow through worked every time for me.

Jess

I feel your pain! My 10 1/2 month old does the same thing. I just keep sitting him back down and I say to him, "On your bottom". I have been told to just stay consistent. My doctor told me starting at 9 months they really start pushing hard for what they want. I know it makes some of the fun stuff, not so much fun anymore, but remember she will get it. Just try not to let her see you get upset. Try to be as normal as possible and in a firm, but calm voice say "on your bottom" or whatever phrase you choose to use. If she sees you get upset or yell, she is seeing a reaction and will continue or you might scare her, then it definitely won't work. I hope this helps a little!

Hi A.,

Try putting a plastic laundry basket in the tub. It gives the baby more room but is not as big and slippery as the tub itself.

Good luck and enjoy these days. They pass so quickly!

M.
Good Health Made Simple

Tell her no standing or the bath will be done the 1st time and the 2nd time take her out no matter where you are in the bath aside from rinsing her hair. (Work on washing and rinsing one section at a time and do it daily so till you get all the sections washed if you need to.) Also would a shower be an option? My son loved to hang out in the shower with my husband or myself. I usually gave him some toys and a wash cloth to keep him busy while I shampooed and soaped myself up then he liked to "chase the bubbles" down the drain. I used those Huggies wash cloths on him in the shower to make it fast and easy. After a couple weeks he was ok with getting in the tub and sitting down again.

I always told my little ones "no you have to sit on your bottom or we get out" if she gets up, then you have to follow through and end bath time until the next day and every time she disobeys then you end bath time until the next day and she will get the idea, if she likes to play in the bath then it will work...

Hope that helps.
A. J

Love the Primo Bathtub. It gets great reviews everwhere.

Non-slip bathtub mat. This will keep her in place, regardless of sitting or standing, and then you can focus more on what you're trying to do- bath her and keep her on her bottom, and worry less about her slipping and falling in the water. My son always wanted to stand to, and it will just take a couple of months of constant reminding with consistency and she'll get the idea.

My DD did this all the time!!! We put her in a blow up bathtub and put it in the tub. We were thinking of putting the blow up padding around the tub.

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I can offer you no solution...dont fill the tub with too much water. Never leave her side and just be prepaired to gab her quickly if she slips.

My DD only slipped a few times...we just try to enforce the Hiney rule. I would tell her to sit if she didnt I would tell her than it is time to get out of the bath. After doing this many times she caught on and now when i reach for her to get out of the bathtub she sits down!

We just keep telling her to sit on her Hiney and now at 2 for the most part she sits for half of the baths that she takes...the other half are standing.

I'm so surprised by all the responses....I don't think it should be allowed. I'd sit her down over and over...and over again. I may be paranoid about falling down in the bathtub, but it just seems like it should be understood early that we sit in the bath. I'm definetly a "pick your battles" kind of mom...just think this one is an important one. Kind of like no running w/scissors-lol! Also, at 10 months, she's very aware of what she should and shouln't be doing (after she's been told, of course) so it could become more of a discipline issue just to see what she can get away with...I'm sure you know how smart they are by now!! :) I don't think it's some huge issue, I just think it should be taken care of. Both my boys know that if they stand up, they get out, it's that simple. Of course, that wouldn't work if she hates the bath...Good luck...10 months is such a fun age!!

All 3 of mine (oldest is almost 5 and the youngest is 16 mo.)did the same thing ... I think it is a losing battle. I found a huge nonslip clear bath mat at Target that goes the whole length of our tub all the way to the sides. No one has slipped since, and I don't have to try to wash them one handed. Eventually, they get old enough to understand and you can tell them they can only play with the toys when they are sitting.

I think this is just what babies do when they are learning to stand and walk!! Our twins were terrible about it, and we often wished we "had a nickel" for every time we said to sit down in the tub.

We did get a big rubber mat that goes in the tub (the kids are nearly five now, and it's still in there) so they didn't slip. I think before we got that, we just put a bath towel down in the water like a mat. That also held them in place and if they slipped it was soft.

She'll get over it--and then it will be something else! No one ever tells you beforehand that having a baby means CONSTANT change.

Good luck!

Do you have enough toys in the tub?

If she has something in each hand, she may be less likely to pull up to a stand. Even if you simply put a few plastic or water-proof blocks in the tub with a couple of plastic cups.

Plus: water play is a very important developmental skill. It develops the brain to do math (measurements and such).

Hope it helps. :o)

P. <><

All 3 of mine did that. You just have to watch them carefully. Let them stand a little, but be persistant but gentle in getting them to sit down.

I hated to do this but when my daughter was about that age and she stood up Iwould say "Oh, you want to get out?" and immediatly bath time was over. It only took about 2 or 3 times. Now (she's 13 months) all I have to say is "do you want to get out" and she sits down fast!

Put something in the bottom of the tub so it's not slippery. Every time she stands up just sit her back down and tell her she needs to sit in the tub. It shouldn't be much of a problem because I assume you stay with her every minute. If it's stressing you out just make it a short bathtime.

Oud daughter did this with every bath for a few weeks - it seemed like forever. Each time, she'd end up falling and sliding in the water. We were told once she fell once, she'd stop doing it. Not so. She was never injured by any of this - falling and sliding seemed somehow fun to her at the time and her little flexible body just kept rebounding...

I am a big dictator when it comes to safety issues. There are many things that I can give in on, that I realize I worry too much about, etc., but basic safety isn't one of them.

So, no standing for baths. I see two pathways -- either stop the standing, or find a compromise for "bathing."

(1) Stop the standing. When she stands, sit her back down. If she continues to stand, state firmly that if she stands again, bath time is over. When she stands again (and she will), take her out of the bath and end it. Right then, right there. No pleading, no extra chances. It will take a couple of baths, but she will get the message and stop standing. (Then she will get older and try it again and you'll stop the bath and it will only take once as a reminder.)

(2) Compromise. There are many other fun ways to get clean and play. My kids aren't allowed to stand in the bath (with standing water), but do get to stand for showers. I bought a big, full size tub mat at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Other options? It's summer -- take a bath in an outdoor plastic pool, in a big bucket; shower with the hose. What else can you think of?

From experience with two older kids, I know that many, many more safety issues like this will come up. Do not be wishy-washy or your kids will be a constant worry to you. For example, we hold hands in the parking lot, we do not chase things that blow away, we do not go in the street without an adult, we stop when Mom says stop (without asking Why??). And I have gotten great feedback from other parents who have supervised them on field trips, etc. about how well they listen, obey, and how they like not having to worry about them constantly.

I agree with the bathmat idea. It really does help.

Also, try buying one of the blow up tubs. That way she feels "free", but it still contained in a smaller area. We used them for both our boys and they worked great for us.

Good luck!!