My 10 Month Old Is Now Afraid of the Bathtub!

Hi A.,
I went through the same thing recently with my 15 month old, all of a sudden he hated and screamed through the bath. Like a couple people suggested, I bathed with him which worked. However that got old (for me!) after a couple days so I tried bathing him in a bubble bath (just used the bubble bath I use) and he LOVED it! He had fun trying to find his toys through the bubbles. I kept using bubble bath for a few days, and then weaned him back to regular water and now he's fine again....good luck!
Jen

My daughter started the same thing at this age, but for no apparent reason. Out of the blue she started hating the bath, which she had loved. It has gotten a little better but she is almost 19months old and still doesn't love it. Time is the best remedy, unfortunately, which stinks! I have found that having the faucet off when she is in helps, as well as shallow water. Now that she is a little older, bathing with her sister and tub toys are a good distraction, as is having a doll that she can bathe. I am also very careful about water anywhere near her eyes. I rinse very carefully, with very little water at a time, and use a shampoo visor and a special bucket to pour. I've even put on my bathing suit and taken a bath with them, which they seem to enjoy (but not the first time). It really is perplexing and I wish I had better answers. THese days, she only screams when I am rinsing her hair, and it used to be constant screaming or crying, so at least we're making progress. Do a search on this topic, because I submitted a question almost identical to yours several months ago and got some good advice!

Out of curiosity, do you still have the water running at that time? If so, try turning it off before bringing her into the bathroom. The noise may remind her of the ocean noises.

You could try getting in WITH her.... I never did it with mine (they always enjoyed bathtime), but I have known many people who have done it and it might help if she is afraid. Also, you might try putting some kind of stickers on the bottom of the tub (those non-skid kind) so that she can SEE where the bottom is... sounds silly I know, but the white background may make it look endless (like the ocean)...

I tried getting in myself with my little ones when they were scared. Put on a swimsuit and play with her,in the tub, until she is comfortable in the tub again. You can gradually spend less time in with her once she sees how fun the tub can be. You could also find her a special tub toy that she can only play with in the tub, to make tub time special.

One of my sons is terrified of the bath. Toys help and also, they have these fizzing bath things by Crayola that turn the water colors. That might help too, because it's neat to take a bath in orange or blue water.

is the water running when you but her in? that may be an issue bc it was with my kids. also if your sink is big enough try bathing her in the sink for a while to get her reused to the idea of water and then move to the big tub when she is ready.

You could try just giving her a shower instead. We have a removeable shower head so we just turn the water on, pull
out the showerhead and let it rest at it's full length close
to the bottom of the shower. It's just at the right height for all three of our kids (5 yrs, 3 yrs, and 1 yr) to sit in the shower and play with the spray without getting doused.
Best of luck!
J. M.
Mom of 3 boys ages 5, 3, and 1

They go through this sometimes. Not sure if you ever use the sink but my son preferred the sink to the tub or any bath tub. I bought a little duckie tub and he did not like that at all.

He was afraid of our lake and the ocean as well. Knowing what I know now, I shouldn't have bathed him while he was crying. I should have went to the sink but I thought it would pass. It did but he was much older.

I went through this for over two years with my son. Two words: sponge bath.

BTDT and going through it again.

I'm having the same issue with my 9 month old. The last 2 nights he screams if I try to put him in and his big sister is in there too. If I hold him on the edge of the tub to wipe him down, he's ok with with it so I guess that's how we're doing it for right now. I'm just going to be calm about it and see if I can distract him and get him in. If not, eventually, he'll like his baths again. I know from experience.

My daughter went through a stage when she was a young toddler where she hated the bathtub too. She stood in the bathtub for her baths for a couple months I think. She didn't like showers so all I could do was relax, wipe her down with a washcloth, and periodically try new toys and stuff to entice her to sit down. I think blowing bubbles helped get her to like baths again.

Luckily, it's not like they're doing a whole bunch to get filthy at this age...

Maybe come up with some activities for bath time to distract her from her fear. My son loves blowing bubbles and then playing with his toys. Sing some songs and talk about it before you get her in the tub so she can embrace the idea. Good luck!

Try to figure out what all happened at the beach- was there a loud noise when she put her feet in, did she get a ouchie?

In the mean time take showers with her. Or try the baby bath tubs, the regular tub might be just too big and scary.