Bath Time Is No Fun - Help Bring Back the Smiles

My son is going through this phase too. He remembers the hair washing thing and doesn't like to be messed with or get water in his eyes. I give him a dry wash cloth while I quickly wash his hair. I've also taken a bath WITH him and we play with his toys together. I often listen to music in the bathroom. In fact we've even taken baths by candle light. My older girls used to love doing that when they were little and although they take showers most of the time, they'll occasionally take baths and request candle light. Of course, it has to be very closely monitored. Whatever you do, I think it's important to bathe as often as you would if she didn't fuss. Bathing is something we HAVE to do so whether she likes it or not it must be done! Just like haircuts, bed time, eating healthy, getting dressed, etc.
I also think catching him before he's too tired and cranky for a bath has worked for me-but not always. Remember, they are the terrible twos!

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There was another request just like this last week! Our daughter went through this phase too. Try a stash of new bath toys doled out one at a time, soap crayons, a doll she can bathe first, and something fun hanging from the ceiling so she will look up when getting her hair washed (we have butterflies). A fear of the drain is also common at this age, so show her nothing can go down, someone else suggested covering the drain when she's in there, and never drain it while she's in there!

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We went through the same thing with our son, and it was so sad seeing him be so scared. Not sure if this will help, but we stared to take him with our older son to swim lessons and it helped so much! They had a way of teaching him about not being afraid, ways my husband and I just didnt know how! See if there is somewhere in your area that offers them, and ask for an instructor that is good with children with a fear of water. We did and are very happy with the results! Good luck!

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Hey L.,

My daughter went through this as well.

Who knows, maybe she'll go through it again!!

I THINK what happened was that one time the water was a little too hot. She remembered this and started freaking out when it was bath time. We did sponge baths for a while and then I did the following:

I took a bath in front of her - yep, I drew the bath, undressed (would only do this with a young child, of course!!), and jumped in the bath. I asked her to hand me the toys and we played - me in the bath, her outside the bath. I sang songs and talked about how much I loved taking baths. I did this for three nights in a row, always asking her, "do you want to join me?" She finally said, "yes." So, I got in with her for about three or four nights. When I began to notice that she was happy in the bath (at first, she was a little hesitant), I suggested she go in by herself. She said, "OK." and since then she's been fine.

Don't know if this will help, but thought I'd pass it on!

If your daughter absolutely refuses to take a bath, I'd just stick with sponge baths. I can actually get my daughter cleaner with sponge baths!! When she's in the bath, she gets caught up playing with her toys and I'm constantly trying to keep her still long enough to rub her clean : )

Good luck! M.

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Wash cloths that are puppets make bathing fun. Bubbles were a must for my son. Crayons are a great fun. A rubber duckie and a song to go with it. Don a bathing suit and join in on the fun. Swimming goggles help keep water and soap out of their eyes, also lets them see under water. Sponge bathing may be a temporary solution. Lots of great ideas here. I hope something works.

L.~
Went through it also with my daughter, seems to be a fase they go through. Anyhow, what worked for us was, we got her a doll that floated in a intertube and she could bathe the baby while she was getting a bath, plus, soap crayons and some letters that stick to the side of the tub when wet. I made a big deal out of how fun bathtime was for about a week, now she's happy to take a bath.
Good luck!
T. S.

Hi, L.

Put on your swimming suit and get in the tub with her. Let her set on your lap and have some play time. Slowly work her into the water. It may take some time, but it usually works.

Good Luck
N.

Have you tried new bath toys or shaving cream? They have colored shaving cream for kids. My son used to hate getting baths (now 3). Now he loves it. He thinks its cool to shave like daddy. (We got a fake razor with the shaving cream). We just told him we had to wash first then he gets to play. Haven't had a problem since.

Some girls don't like taking baths and istead of making her take one let her know she will get really stinky. But soo young , you may just want to try every other night, dirty or not it may be just what the family needs otherwise you could be headed for more negative outcomes. Also, before that, find out why she doesn't like the bath maybe she is afraid of something, she will tell you if you just ask, it could be something silly. -Washington

Hey L. -
I feel your pain!! lol
My older daughter (4yo) has always been fine in the tub, until my younger (2yo) decided bathing should become a wrestling match.
Now both of them scream hysterically the second they see me going for the shampoo!
It's horrible, they sound like they are being tortured. lol

Anyway, I tried just about everything that has been listed by the other responders, and finally came up with our own routine.
They know when it is bath time, and of course they still protest, but once they see the bubbles they are fine.
I tell them (every time) that they can play until all of the bubbles are gone, and then it is time for washing.
I got some bath visors (at babiesrus).
This is when the wrestling begins...
I have to catch one of them, and get the visor on, which makes me feel better because they are so busy struggling and begging for mercy that I can't get them to look up to keep the water out of their face.
Then of course I wash, rinse, and condition as fast as I can.
And then do the next one...ugh
I have started doing baths after lunch, so that after bath time, they can take a nap.
All the screaming and wrestling wears them out, and if it isn't nap time, they are VERY disagreeable until they DO get their naps.
By the time they wake up from their naps, they have forgotten all about the bath, and are ready to go on with the day...
with sweet smelling CLEAN hair!!!
It wears me out, and def. is unpleasant, but I figure that even if I cut their hair (it's pretty long) I would still have to wash it...so basically I just take a deep breath and do it as fast as I can.
Hopefully, eventually they will get over the bath time hair washing wrestling.
My step daughter is 11, and she still freaks if she gets her face wet (except of course while swimming) and she's been like that since she turned 2. lol
I finally got her a bath visor too because I realized she wasn't washing her hair in the shower.
Instead she was wetting a brush, and then running it through her hair to make it wet. lol The cunning little brat!
Anyway, I hope this helps. At least you know you are not alone in your bath wrestling!
Smiles - C.

Try soap crayons or have her pick out a new toy. My daughter loves to have me spray daddy's shaving cream on the side of the tub to play with.
L.

L., if bathtime is miserable for everyone right now, take a bath break for a little while. Could you switch the way your daughter is cleaned? Perhaps you could make a game out of using different colored wash cloths to wash different parts of her body - OUT of the tub. Don't run the water at all, or take her near the tub, just make sure she gets clean. You could spot clean her like this until her phobia dimishes. Perhaps you could find an interesting toy when shopping at the store, and tell her this new thing is a toy just for the bath? Bring it home, then let her stew on it. Maybe after a while she will decide that she really wants to play in the bath again. HTH

My son went through this around age two as well. I just bathed him fast for a month or two until he got over it. One day he got back in the bath and started having fun again. Hopefully it goes that way for you too.

My kids went through a sudden dislike of the bath. Nothing happend to make them not like it, but they both went through it. I just put a little bit of water and let them play with stuff like tub paint and those fizzy tablets.

Our son was like that. It was all I could do to get him washed. he'd stand but would not sit. As soon as he lost his balance/fell, it was all over. I took him to a Mommy and Me swim class. They are really good about getting them adjusted to the waster. I let them know up front that my goal was to get him happy in the tub. He was glued onto me at first, but with just one 5 week session (2 days a week), he loves the tub and I can hardly get them out. Good luck.

There is lots of great advice below, but most is for children who's bathing issues are just a phase. Some children's aren't.

My now 7 & 10 year old boys started screaming and crying in the bath when they were about 2. My ten year old has mostly outgrown it, he forces himself through the discomfort without the screaming, but he resists bath time overall still. He is taking showers at this point, but I or my hubby still have to help him shampoo his hair.

My 7yr old puts up a full on fight, kicking, crying, screaming, hiding, every time it is bath time. Sometimes we are able to bribe him into some mild cooperation, but he usually still sobs quietly while we quickly scrub him down. One of his problems is that he has eczema and has said the water "feels like needles" which I believe it might to him. Another problem for him is the echoing and water noises of the running water in the bathroom. He has sensory integration problems that make things like this overwhelming for him.

The best thing we've done is to fill a large bowl with warm water, sit it in the tub, stand him in the middle and use a wash rag or cup to slowly pour the water on him. As long as the faucet isn't on he is calm.
I hope this was helpful to you.
~M.

My son went through the exact same thing! It took us forever it seemed like to get him to just stand in the tub. We got some crayola bath tub tints and he got to throw 2 in and then he had to stand in the tub and mix the colors. it took a few months but he has finally been ok to sit down again.

L., my kids each went through this phase for a little while. When my son did, it was summer and I filled a tote outside with warm soapy water--he loved it! Unfortunately, my daughter hit this phase in the middle of an Alaskan winter, so I just popped her in the sink. At 2 it's a bit of a squeeze, but it got her clean and after a week or so she moved past her temporary fear of bathing and was ready for the big tub again. I would echo the other mamas who suggested bathing together. My little girl loves picking out special bath products and taking a bath with mama. Sometimes when we dry off, we stay in the bathroom a little while and "primp." Maybe your daughter would like it too?

It sounds like something must have happened to change how she feels about baths, if she used to like them (maybe not related to a bath at all, for example something about having control over her body (or are there other areas where she is frustrated?)). I'd start with saying something empathetic like, "you really don't want to take a bath - there's something you really don't like about it" - and maybe she'll talk about it, if she feels like you are really listening to her with care and curiosity, and without judgment, although she may not be able to talk about it, but at least she'll feel like you care and are trying to understand and help her. I definitely wouldn't force her to take a bath. If she's really super dirty and absolutely needs to be cleaned, you could use a washcloth or shower, you could let her decide. If she's not that dirty, I'd just let her be, and eventually, unless there is a fear of water or something, she would probably enjoy a bath if it could be on her terms and could be made to be a fun experience. If it's a control issue, I'd back away from being in a power struggle and let her have as much control over her choices as I could, in areas that aren't crucial. We want to teach our children that they can have control over who touches them and how. Or maybe she has developed a fear of water or of going down the drain or something like that, you could explore that with her, validating her feelings and letting her express them.

L.,

The water may be too hot/cold check the temp. Try climbing into the tub with her. You could try a shower too.

Hope this helps,
M.

You could try having her come in the shower with you instead. It's quicker and easier than baths and you can tell it's a "big girl" thing to do.

Hop in the tub with him. Color tabs to change the water, bubbles, tub paints, squirt guns....etc..... Make it fun again. :)

Hello L.,
My 18 mo. old boy just went through this. It must be a common phase, and I'm not sure what advice to give. But all I can tell you is what we did. We started bringing him into the shower with us. Eventually he started pointing out bath toys and we'd give them to him and let him sit in the tub to play. Now he'll take baths again. Just give it time and it'll pass. Good luck!

Hi L.,

Have you tried taking a bath with her? Maybe if she sees you in the tub this might encourage her that it is okay to be in the tub. If she is not that tall Ikea (4.99) has tubs for babies but its rather large. Maybe you can give her a good washup rather than a soak. This will also give her something smaller so she isn't overwhelmed with the largeness of the bathtub.

Maybe you have tried this but I have found the best thing to do is get in the tub with her. My daughter has twin girls about year and a half and we had a similar problem and I got in the tub with the one with the problem and it resolved the problem.

Have you tried a sink bath? My girls used to love it when they were smaller. They got to sit on the bathroom counter, with me right there of course, and put their feet in the sink. Sometimes we'd try to make as many soap bubles as we could in the water, or it would just be fun to check out their toes. We'd get the cleaning done with a washcloth and they sat on a towel to minimize the mess. We couldn't shampoo this way, but it was a fun, quick way to get the bulk of the dirt off. And in the meantime you'll save more hot water for your long, hot bath after she's in bed :)

My daughter did the same thing around 18 months, my mom told me to try playing in the tub with no water and in our clothing with her bath toys, then slowly I started taking off an article of clothing till she was naked in a dry bath tub we continued to play then I added a bucket of water and wash rags letting her play with them, we used the rags to clean her for a while, added a tiny bit of water at a time. She now loves baths till its time to clean her hair :)
good luck!!