I am looking for some suggestions on getting my 1 year old daughter to enjoy taking a bath. Recently she has been terrified of bathtime. She cries before and during a bath. I have tried taking a bath with her (which worked for a couple of times) taking a shower with her, bath toys, bath seats, infant tubs- nothing seems to help. She screams and tries to hide before the bath. Has anyone experienced this or have any tips? She loves the pool and isn't afraid of water, I just don't know what to do about a bath.
Considering she seems to be okay with the pool, I'm guessing it's probably the noise the water makes as it comes out of the faucet. The sound of running water to baby ears, I can just imagine, can be alarming (all that ruckus!) Try filling up the tub without her nearby then tell her that she can go swimming in her special pool...
My son had the same aversion to bathtime around the same time...our pediatrician suggested that he was making the connection with bathtime to his day ending, and having to disconnect with everyone in the house. He suggested changing up the bedtime routine, so that bath wasn't the last thing we did before bedtime. So, we had dinner then bath, then some TV and relaxing play before bedtime routine began...
That helped a bit, but we still had the issue of getting there on some nights, so as my son is huge fan of blowing bubbles, I started to squirt some of his bath soap (not bubble bath) in the water...he was amazed and loved it!
After a while, he told me no more bubbles and we're good now at age 2. He actually runs to the bath and takes his own clothes off, and gets his toys. Now, I have trouble getting him out!
I haven't read through the other responses, so maybe I'm being redundant, but I have the same problem with my boy, though not so severe. Here are some things we've done to make it less stressful on all of us:
1) heat the bathroom up to a comfortably warm temperature
2) make sure the bathwater isn't too warm or too cool
3) set up a routine so the baby knows to expect it
4) don't let soap or shampoo get in her eyes or ears (my boy hates any water in his ears, even in the pool)
5) dry him and dress him in the bathroom (which can look like a circus since our bathroom's so small and my hubby and I are so big)
6) try including hubby or another loved one to keep baby distracted while you do the actual cleaning
Good luck!
Jules
My son didn't have this issue at this age but he's now 3 and sometimes protests his bath. I remember a few times at her age(maybe a little older?) he started out taking a few of his baths with his clothes on and thought it was really funny...not sure if that would go over with her and isn't a long term solution....sorry!
Are you waiting till she's too tired, too close to bedtime?
maybe introduce a new toy that is a special toy for bathtime only. my daughter loves her little infant toothbrush and the toothpaste tube that has a picture of elmo. she knows that she gets to hold these items and use her toothbrush during our shower and looks forward to that as part of the routine.
my daughter went through this too. started about the same time too. sadly it lasted nearly a year for us. all i could do was try to comfort her and tell her bathing was not optional. we cut it back to 2 times a week unless really needed. turns out she did not like water to touch any part of her head. one drop and she would scream. i stuck to my guns and the hairwashing part was horrbile to do, it really was unpleasant. now at almost 4, she is okay with wahing her hair.
she likes the pool too. this started for her soon after she started swimming. i dont know if there is any correlation.
Okay, this is not the typical solution... but my son went through that "phase" too... which most toddlers do.
Well, my son also still loved to play with water outside and the sprinkler and the hose etc. SO, when we were out doing water play... I would get all his things- ie: set of clothes, bath towel, diaper etc. ALL ready to go and put it near me... oh, and a wash cloth and soap. THEN, (since our yard is private and can't see in from outside), I would just take off his clothes/diaper and then wash him outside in the open air au naturel! It really worked for us, and he didn't fuss "bathing" this way... and the bath-tub rebellion phase didn't last too long... so in the meantime, this is what I did!
He then went back to bath-tub washing no problem after his bath "fear" phase passed.
Good luck,
Susaun
the same thing happened w/my son at about the same age. i posted the same question about 8 months ago. i tried toys, bubble bath, in the bath w/him, but nothing worked except time... which was about 3 months. yes bath time sucked for a long time, but then literally over night he was fine with it... hopefully your daughter gets over it quicker. good luck!!!
Just some things to consider:
Is the temperature of the water too hot/too cold?
Is the sound of the running or draining water scrary to her?
Maybe bathtime is too close to bedtime and she's tired & cranky?
Is she overly sensative to the smell of the bath products that you are using?
Has she discovered that the sound of her raised voice gets a reaction from you?
Here's some suggestions that maybe your haven't tried yet (or maybe you have) . . .
Distract her by singing songs, making silly faces and doing silly things. For this to work, you have to be really animated and a downright clown. It will make the whole bath thing fun for her.
California Baby has 2 all natural bubble baths that have chamomile and lavendar in them for cranky, tired babies. They smell yummy and will surely relax you at least, if not her. You can buy California Baby at Target and Whole Foods.
Try giving her a bath at another time during the day to see if it is a timing issue. Heck, you can even throw her in there with her bathing suit on and have her believe that the bathtub is a small pool. If you do this a few times, maybe she'll get that bathtime can be as fun as your pool.
Hope these suggestions help.
I am going through the same thing! My son is 13 months old now and for about the last month, he has cried during each bath time! He used to love it! The only things that have worked for me is to gove him a bath with his older sister or let him shower with my husband - my husband holds him tight during the entire shower. As a Child Development major, all I can conclude is that he has a new understanding of the bathtime experience and for some reason, this new understanding freaks him out. But they've gotta get clean right??? Best of luck! = )
Hi - I remember my oldest also not liking bath time a whole lot either, but at this tender age, things will change pretty quickly! The reason I'm writing is to just say, I suggest you make absolutely no "issue" out of it (no pressure) and do not let on that you have any anxiety about it whatsoever. Keep your tone really mellow and light-hearted and happy, and try to be as respectful as you can about her feelings. Maybe for a while, just do spongebaths, or however you can do it that causes the least amount of a problem for her. First-borns are sensitive people - they take things seriously and deeply and feel strongly about things. Hopefully, just with your relaxed tone, she will soon see that it's ok because she trusts you and you say it's ok.
Best of luck - enjoy your baby!
M.
This is what worked for my daughter; I would put her in the tub with the water was still running a little (making extra sure the water temperature was ok), and gave her a cup. She had so much fun filing it up and dumping it out on herself that it gave me a chance to scrub her down real quick while she was distracted.
Good luck to you ;)
