My little girl never had a problem with taking baths until the last few times. She HATES getting her head wet and I think she anticipates the hair washing the entire bath and now screams the whole time. I can't have a pig pen baby, she needs to bathe eventually. Any suggestions appreciated!!
Thanks for the advice. I did get the huggies pre soaped washcloths and have been getting in the bath with her. We take it slow and don't make her sit down. I hold her up and Dad helps entertain and wash. The Last few baths have been all laughs. She has sat down for a few seconds and was still happy. I have been very careful not to get water in her eyes or face, so hope we can turn this around. Thanks!
My son was the same way i just started letting him play in abubble bath not really washing him after the first couple of thime he would start laying down in the water to play, try to make it a game, he still doesnt like having his head washed but now he doesnt scream about it good luck
Hi B.,
Both of my children have gone throught this from time to time. First thing I suggest is think about how you are bringing up the subject. I realized that I was asking the kids "if they wanted to take a bath?" Then they would say no and I would say something like well its time for your bath and then the fit would start - partly I guess because I implied that they had a choice. Once I just kept an even tone and said that it was time for bath and didn't show reaction to or engage in any conversation over the bath just walked to the bathroom and started preparing for it their grumpy reactions and foot stomping stopped. Second, schedule is everything. Same time or order for the bath with other enjoyed activities is good. Something like playing outside, then bath, reading books, then bed. This gives you a reward of the books before bedtime as the fit about the bath could be due to remembering that bedtime follows the bath and even if it isn't you can sometimes calm them by reminding them of the fun to come as soon as this task is finished. Third, you definitely need toys in the bath but be care full what you pick and how long you keep them. Some of the toys with squeeky sound effects collect mold inside fast and need to be thrown out regularly - especially with girls in the tub. My daughter loved the tub books where my son likes cups so he can pour water. Be careful with additives to bath water too. My daughter couldn't use bubble bath because of yeast infections. Then try to pick a couple nights when you skip the hair washing if it doesn't seem too dirty and see if you see a difference in the reaction the following times. If it is the hair washing she may not associate the two things so closely and you can then try to figure out what exactly about the hair washing she doesn't like. My daughter hated the cup full of water on her head but didn't mind the soft shower water so at the end of the bath we would turn on the shower and do her hair quick and let her "run through the sprinkler" as she would call it. My son didn't like the water in his face so we are still using a wash cloth on his face and we sing songs together - sometimes its a race to see if I can finish the washing before the end of the song other times I sing a song only using La La Las and he copies it back. Each child is different so just use the things she loves to do to make bath time more fun. Good Luck!
i bought one of those children's watering cans at walmart for my son's bath time and we only use it for washing hair. he is now 5 and still loves dumping the water over his own head.
You might want to separate hair washing from bath for a while. My daughter doesn't like getting water in her eyes or ears,so I wash her hair by laying her on the bathroom counter and washing her hair by holding her head over the sink. I am very careful not to get water or shampoo in her eyes and ears. She thinks it is fun to play salon. This would also work in the kitchen. Some kids like the kitchen sprayer. She loves her baths now that there is no fear of the hair washing, and we are getting to the point that I can lay her back in the tub and wash her hair now that she trusts that I won't get water in her eyes and ears.
Be patient and she'll likely outgrow this. My son did the same thing so we kept his baths short and sweet, introduced the shower head which he loved to play with (we have one of those showers heads that can be pulled off and moved around) and tried to keep the shampooing/water over the head and quick and water-free as possible. He still hates washing his hair but he loves the bath again. Try buying her a few new bathtub toys too and only let her play with them when she's in the water so it's a special treat. Good luck!
B.
When my 4 y/o was little like that... We found out she had an ear infection.. She never had what they ask as normal symptoms.. pulling the ears, high temps, etc.. Sometimes she would have a low grade fever, but would go away in a day or two. Nothing to even alarm you with. The only thing she ever had was sniffles like it was a cold and we'd think the low grade temp was due to that. Well, brought her in because the bathing issue continued and someone mentioned this to me about possible ear infection. Well, she had full blown double ear infection that persisted to last on and off for 2 mths. Finally they put tubes in her ears after being on meds it subsided, but as soon as she was off them for two days, boom.. Ears would fill back up.! Now that she is old enough to tell us when they hurt or she tells me they are squishy ;-0)... I know she has fluid in them and off we go to the docs to check! She too even to this day when her ears are like that she hates getting her hair washed.
My daughter has also been blessed with allergies and this time of year as well as fall were always good triggers for the ear infections due to all the drainage from the allergies etc... She is also on Zyrtec daily which has helped tremendously since we discovered the ear infection issue. She maybe has had one a year since the discovery.
Hope it helps.. and hope you little one is off to tubby time like normal in no time!
My son went through this too. Loved baths, then overnight, hated them. He now has bathtub "roads" (cars and roads and stopsigns, etc.) to put together while he is on the tub. My daughter plays with them too! Now, instead of saying "Do you want to take a bath?" I say "Time to go build roads". So instead of mentioning the word bath, try mention the toys in the tub!! Good Luck!
PLease let me know if you figure something out. I have an almost 3 year old and he does the same thing. even when i start running the water he screams. But i have been dealing with this since he was really little...
My oldest daughter went through this once too. I had to get in the tub with her just once and that stopped it.
Maybe you could try a special bath hat for her? I've seen those foam visors at places like Michaels or JoAnn fabrics - they can be decorated with puffy paints or other things like that. I've heard other parents have had luck using something like this when they're kids started to not like getting water/soap in their eyes. Good luck!
Our daughter is the same age...same problem. We had to switch up the bathing routine...using a different bathtub, to get her out of her screaming about having to take a bath phase. Now, we've returned to her normal little bathtub. She loves bubbles so we blow bubbles before and after the hair washing which is at the end. I started just washing her hair gently using a washcloth, making sure to catch any drips with a dry towel. Now we are working on teaching her to look up(at a favorite toy) while we pour the water over her head. She's starting to get it. Good luck. This too shall pass.
Hello I know exactly how you feel , my now 20 month old was the same way up until my husband ran across some tub water tints. The first ones that he found were by Crayola and the other brand I found at Target was by Sesame Street and it was a jumbo jar of 100 Fizzy Tub colors. I let my son throw them in the water to make the water different colors and now he loves to take a bath. I also use the Huggies baby bath wash cloths ( however if your daughters hair is long it might not work) and use those to wash his hair, that way I am not dumping the water on his head. Or let her dump the water! Good luck I know its frusterating
When my son went from loving his bath to wanting nothing to do with it - we made them short and sweet. Also - we did the washing up first - then he could play if he wanted or be done. He now is back to loving his bath.
Also, we now have some bubble bath stuff - so if we're feeling up to it we let him decide if he wants bubbles or not. Usually he takes the bubbles and has a whole lot more fun.
Hope this helps.
My son started doing the same thing around the same age. I ended up getting into the tub with him a couple of times and after that he was fine. If she hates getting water in her face, you might try putting a dry wash cloth over her eyes while you rinse her hair. Hope this helps.
-L.
I would get her a new bath toy that will distract her. Also be sure that the water is warm enough because my 16 month old always gives me a hard time if the water isn't warm enough.
J.
