13 Month Old and Bath Time

Instead of filling the tub with water, put the shower on and direct it off to the side so you don't get wet. My 13 mo. loves walking thru the water over and over.

My son did something like that around that age if I remember right, it didn't last very long at all, try some new bath toys which can be as simple as tupperware. My son's 2 now and loves bath time so it's probably just a stage!! Hope this helps!!

I have been very blessed with bath time. The only time my son ever acted like he hated his bath is just last week, when he had a terrible diaper rash (yeast rash from taking antibiotics) Do you use bubbles (Johnson & Johnson's bedtime moisture bath bubbles up really nice, makes my son soft, and I love the way it smells) We also have squirting dinosaur small pool toys, a bathtime little Einstein's submarine rocket, he loves having a spoon (if you ask him, a 'poon) and an old butter container that we use to dump water over his head, which he thinks is funny.

We put Ayden in swimming lessons at about 9 months, and he LOVES water. Summer is coming, you can always bring the soap outside and letting him play in the sprinkler! Good luck.

Jen

Hi S.,
My son is two years old, and he sometimes has screaming fits and runs off when it's time for bath. He did that at times when he was younger too. We believe it was only because he didn't want a bath and was wanting to still play. He knows that after bathtime, it's bedtime and he can't play any more. Stick to your routine. It's just one of those things that children do to test how far they can get away with not following the rules/routines. :-) G.

Hi S..
My son went through this as well. He was about 16mos and just stood there and screamed while we washed him as fast as we could. Eventually it went away and he loves baths again. I have no idea what happened but he just decided he didn't like it. But it only went on for about a week or two until he was back to himself. Good luck to you, these little boys can be crazy (my daughter never did that). :)
E.

it is normal my son is two and still is scared of the bath tub sometimes. just put alot of toys in there for him to play with after awhile he will get use to it. also you have fun playing with him. my name is also S..

personally I think its a phase. What I recommend is going out of your way to make things fun... toys, toys and more toys... then I'd get in the tub with him and play a couple of times.

With Rainey - we always tried to make bath time - fun time. Now she asks for a bath every night after dinner. She'll be three this August. Of course, she's on the solo plan now - which gives mommy and me about 20 minutes to socialize at night.

Kurt

My daughter started that at 13 months too, and now at 30months she is still doing it. When she hears the bath she cries and runs to daddy and i have to drag her into the tub and she won't even sit down, she stands up and is only in there for a minute or 2. I talked to the dr and he said that she'll eventually grow out of it. I just wish i knew when. Let me know if you figure out any secrets. I'll try anything at this point.

Good Luck!

I think/hope it's a phase. My little girl went through something similar when she was around that age. Now, my son, who is 16 months old, has the biggest fits at bath time. He won't sit down in the tub, he cries and shakes. He used to love to get in the shower with me and even that really upsets him now.
So, good luck. I'm sure your little boy will outgrow it. My little girl LOVES baths now!
Jen

Hi S.,
It could be something as little as your son recognizing it as part of his bedtime routine and this is his way of protesting. If he has a diaper rash or other rash it could hurt when the area is submerged in the water. For now I would try taking a shower with him. If he's just not acclimated with the large area of the tub, this might help. If he is also crying when he urinates I would suggest discussing this with your pediatrician. Hope this helps.

H.

Did he recently have a scary bath time moment like he slipped a little or got his face wet? My little one LOVED the bath until she reached for a toy one night and almost face planted in the water (which is exactly why you should never leave kids alone in the tub) and now she gets nervous in the tub. My friend's son slipped a little when he was trying to get out of the tub and now he screams the same way your son does. Maybe not, but its a possible answer for what's going on in his little mind :)

S.-

I had the same problem with my son, and to give you some relief...he is 19 months old now and LOVES bathtime. I was never sure why he would get so upset about having to take a bath, but we just worked through it and now he is much better about it. It just be fear of the unknown. All of this is "new" to your baby, so it he might be a little fearful.

A few things we did to try to make it a little easier on both him and myself were that we let him pick out some toys he wanted to play while bahing. We also did not do bathtime everyday. We also noticed that if we waited too long, and he got tired then bathtime was horrible for everyone. We started taking baths right after dinner to ensure that nobody would be cranky.

Hope it works out for you....it will get better. Hang in there!

I had a similar experience with my son who out of the blue one day became terrified of the bath (nothing out of the ordinary happend to seem to cause this). He was probably closer to 2 then 13 months at the time, but here's how we "cured" it: After about a week of frustration, I bought a package of those letters that stick to the wall when wet, got in the bath all by myself and started playing with them (having lots of exaggerated fun). After a few minutes his desire to play got the best of him and he slowly got into the bathtub to play. He'll be 4 next month and his the fear of the bath has never returned, it was like he just snapped out of it that day. Hope that helps!

My son use to love baths, then around 12-13 months he was afraid of it. He would stand up the whole time, and when i would wash his hair he would cry i thought maybe someone scared him when he was bathing or something. then about 15-18 months he got better i started giving him frequent baths and tried showing him the water is fun, no he pours the water on himself, he is about 19 mo now. so hopefully this is just a stage for your little one. mine was. good luck

Most babies react that way at bathtime. Try getting him some toys to put inside the bathtub like spiderman toys, tub paints, magnets, cups, rubber duckies, etc... He will soon be so excited to play in the bathtub that he will not want to get out.

My son went through a similar stage I don't remember the age though. He is now 9. I would just take him in with me when I would take a shower and wash us both. He didn't seem to mind that at all. He thought taking a shower with mommy was fun. I did this for a little while then I started leaving the plug in so that the bath tub would fill up with water while we were in the shower then I stopped getting in with him and he was in the shower alone. Then eventually bath time was not so bad. I seem to remember it taking about a month or so for the entire transition. Boys seem to go through more of these odd stages than girls. I never had these types of problem with my daughter.
Good Luck

I found that around this time when I tried to move him from the portable bath tub to the real bath tub that my son also got scared. He eventually got over it but I used the portable tub for a little longer. My son is 2 1/2 now and LOVES showers and baths.