My 2 year old HATES getting water on his face, which makes washing his hair very difficult. He loves bath time, but anytime I pour water over his head to rinse and wash his hair, he cries and cries. Any suggestions on curing this fear??
He loves the pool too, but freaks out when his face goes underwater. Splashing in his face is okay. I'm afraid to make him go underwater because he freaks out so bad. I don't want him to breathe the water into his lungs. Should I just keep things status quo until he's ready or push him a little?
Thank you in advance for your help!!
My daughter is 6 and still hates to get her face wet. When she was younger, I would fold a washcloth into a triangle and let her hold that over her face. I also have a shampoo cup from Wal-Mart that helps keep the water from going into her face. Now that she is older, she can dunk her head back all the way to the water so it is much easier but she still freaks out if her face gets wet.
My 3 yr old use to be the same way at bath timeso here's what I did. Before I lay him down in the tub to get his hair wet I give him a dry washcloth to hold over his face and the same for when we rinse. It seems to work for him I hope this helps.
My son hates it too. I just dump a cup of water over his head and have a dry washcloth ready and dry his eyes real fast. He cries for a second but stops as soon as I dry his eyes and tell him what I am doing the whole time.
My son is 2 1/2 and he also hated getting water in his face. It was just a passing phase for him and he has no problem with it now. We just kept putting the water on his face and he got used to it. When you wash his hair, you can try to get him to tilt his head backward and cover his eyes with your hand. I have never tried a bath visor, but that may be an option and I think they sell them at Target. As for the pool, we would blow in our son's face before dunking him because they say that keeps them from breathing underwater. It doesn't always work, though. You might wait until he's more comfortable in the bath before dunking him in the pool.
I really do believe it's a phase and it will end soon... just keep trying!
M.
My oldest was the same way when he was about that age. I bought a shampoo visor specifically made to prevent water from pouring onto his face from either Wal-Mart or Babies R Us. The washcloth over the eyes works okay also, though. As far as the pool thing goes, just give him time. It took a couple of years (at about age 4) for my oldest to comfortably put his face in the pool, but now he swims like a fish. And my youngest who has never had a problem in the tub or the pool before has suddenly stopped diving down into the pool face first to retrieve diving toys because he says he doesn't like the water in his face. He just turned 4 and last year he never hesitated to put his face in. He'll do it in his own time. Just be patient and don't push but let him know you're there to hold him when he's ready. Good Luck!
My daughter was terrified to get water in her face until I sat down in the shower and let her pour water on my head. We did it 2 or 3 days. After that, she thought it was funny. As long as she doesn't get shampoo in her face she loves it!
You might try getting him a big diving mask or some goggles that he can wear to help him go under water. You could make a big deal about how cool they are and how you can see things underwater. It may help him to be more adventurous with it.
I have a 4 year old son who was the same way at 2. We found if he laid back in the tub (on his back)propped himself up on his elbows and put his head back the water ran away from his face instead of all over it. You can do it the same way except use the water out of the faucet with him laying down. He also did better when he poured the cups of water on his head.
I started asking him if he could blow bubbles in the water. He thought that was fun and got his face closer to the water without it being scarey. When he was 3 I bought swim goggles for him to use in the tub (which he LOVED). Now he swims under water in the pool.
My husband was "forced" into the water by his well meaning parents. It made him terrified of the water and I finally taught him to swim when he was 30.
Please don't force anything when it comes to the water. Take it at his pace.
Blessings!
L.
I would always make a game out of it. Try making him put a rag over his face. Or tell him to look up at the sky. see what happens
I've read all the responses that have been posted and another hint to help him look up. Put a picture of his favorite thing (cartoon, movie, etc) on the ceiling above the tub. Have him look for it and it keeps his head back. My daughter was 2 when we did this and we still have the Disney Home on the Range cows on our ceiling. Little brother is using it now! Go on the website for Disney, Nick Jr, etc.and print off a full page picture. You might have to download it as wallpaper first. Hope this helps!
just give it time, i wouldn't force anything, but i also wouldn't feed into it and "agree" that water on the face is a scary thing. how about giving him a dry washcloth that he can hold over his face when you rinse his hair?
Both my kids are the same way. They HATE water in the face. I found a wash cup thing at Wal-Mart that has a rubber section that forms to the shape of the forehead and creates a seal that wont let water go into the face. As long as my son keeps looking up, I have had no problems with water getting on his face. Another thing that we do is he will lay back and this makes it easy to rinse his hair with no water. He also like to take a shower. And when he is taking a shower he doesn't mind the water on the face for some reason.
My daughter hates getting her face wet as well. My husband has found a way to make it more tolerable by letting her hold a cup of water and pouring it on his head as they take turns. It seems to make her feel more in control.
