Sudden Fear of the Bath in 18 Month Old

At one point my daughter refused to get into the bath. What I found that worked for me was I put on her bathing suit and told her we were going swimming. I had a little beach ball and we went to the beach in the bath tub. I don't know if this would help. But give it a try.

Hi, I would get in the bath with her. I take baths with my daughter and it's actually a nice bonding experience as well. Sometimes when I give my kids a bath I don't close the drain, I just let the water come out from the faucet and they sit in the tub and play a little put their heads under the faucet, drink the water, and just have fun. If you feel uncomfortable being in the bath with her nude you could wear a bathing suit. Good luck.

Yes, I have experienced the same thing with my 4 year old when he was about that age. He loved taking baths then all of a sudden he was so scared. I could never really figure it out. But over time I he eased back into wanting to take baths. I really think it's normal however, it is frustrating when you don't know what causes these things to happen. Good Luck.
A. P
www.greensthewaytobe.com

Try giving a bath in the kitchen sink for a while and don't wash the hair every time. My daughter hates getting her hair rinsed. GL!

I understand your worry. I hated the thought of having children afraid of the water, and all 3 of mine have gone through periods of being afraid of the bathtub. My advice would be to not give up and just let her cry out the first few minutes of a bath until she finds something to distract her fears, like a new toy or bubbles. And for a while, I did hang my swimsuit in the bathtroom, ready to jump in when needed, just to keep them in the water. These periods of water fear never lasted more than a few weeks. Good luck!

Kelly- Sorry to hear about your daughters fear of bathing. AS a mother of four I experienced similiar situations with
every child. Fears are normal and I would encourage you to
not be alarmed b/c they do resolve if we can model to them
a sensitivity and understanding so we dont add fear on top
of fear. May I suggest that the next time its 'bath time'
let it be your bath time! Tell you daughter its your bath
time- would she help you get clean? (I would suggest hopping
in the tub with your bathing suit on to make it fun) Dont have
any expectations of her. She might resist even coming in the
room with you- just leave the door open and let her hear you
sing or giggle - then ask her to hand you a wash cloth or soap
or something like that to engage her. She may respond positively quickly- then invite her in with you or next time when you
start a bath suggest that it can be her time now. She may not
want to sit down b/c it could be a control issue at this point
but slowly with gentle prodding she can over come her need
to be in control. She will overcome this. Just be patient with her. Consider her life overall- is she dealing with other issues during the day- like life changes? New caregiver, a move, new sibling-or cousin??? Kids transfer
their emotions easily and when those things resolve - so
does the other fear. Just some thoughts...my best to you and
your daughter.

As soon as I read about your daughter's bath time scare I immediately thought of my own daughter, Skylar. She went through a phase just like the one your daughter is going through now...she use to flip right out whenever she saw something in a spot that shouldn't be there, whether it be a spider, ladybug, lint...especially in the bathtub. She also had a fear of baths for a while and although I can't really tell you what the cause was, or the reason, I can tell you that my daughter has grown out of her fear of taking baths. She still squirms a bit when a bug, spider or lint comes into her sight unexpectedly but I can assure you your daughter's fear of the bath will pass eventually.

If she flips out, to the point of hysterics, either offer to sit in the tub with her, take a shower with her as you're holding her (I use to do this one alot) or just wash her off with a wash cloth...take deep breaths and remember to be patient. I have to remind myself of this every day and my daughter is now 4 years old! Hang in there...it will get better. Send updates!

My daughter went through something like this when she was about 14 months. It lasted for a month or two which was really difficult. I have no idea what brought it about and I tried everything including getting in the bath with her. We just kept trying and she eventually just outgrew it. Fears like this become common at this age and you just have to have patience. Good luck!

You poor thing! My heart really goes out to you. My older son for some reason around the same age, maybe a little older, became terrified of the bath. I dont even know what triggered it. But I made a bath - put in some toys, I dont remember now if it was bubbles or not, but but my bathing suit on and climbed in together. I only had to go in with him a couple of times and he got over the fear. He eventually loved baths again as a child (he's 16 now. Its hard because she is so young and the understanding and reasoning is not there. Try getting some of those bath crayons or something to entice her, have her help pick them out so she is a part of it. Hopefully, if you can get her past the bath issue, the other things will fall into place. My prayers are with you. Good luck!

my daughter started freaking out in the bath tub a little earlier then yours, but her freak-outs were about her hair. she was perfectly fine until she was able to sit up...then she wouldn't cooperate when rinsing the hair, so she's tilt her head down (refusing to look up to not get anything in her face) and she would start to freak like i was trying to drown her when i would cover her eyes slightly and pour the water over her head. she's 2 and STILL does that, but now i just do it as quick as possible and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

another way for me to get her to allow me to wash/rinse her hair is to bring dolls in the tub and starting whatever i'm about to do on the dolls, then do it to her. and while i do her hair, i have her continue to do what i'm doing to hers, to the dolls hair. this way she's a little better, but it doesn't always work. as for taking a bath with her, you could put on your bathing suit and get in, then ask her to get in with you...maybe that will help. if not, you can always try the dolls. take her in dressed with dolls that can go in the water, run the bath and have her give them a bath, but tell her as she's bathing her dolls that she has to take a bath also, whether it's with, or after the dolls are done being bathed, either way she HAS to take a bath. this could work really well for you, but like my daughter, you have to understand it may not always work. be patient, and when it works, be greatful for those dolls :o)

My 16 month old just did the same thing. We think she may have gotten soap in her eyes or developed an aversion to having water in her face. We tried similar tactics with no success. The only thing that has worked so far is to allow her to play with me during my shower.

We take a bucket of plastic cups, funnels, and bath toys into the shower. She is allowed to be as dry or wet as she likes, I just pretend to be doing my regular shower - but actually I am watching her like a hawk to make sure she doesn't slip, etc. Eventually she gets excited about playing with the water and distracted enough to get thoroughly wet. That's when I subtly soap her up and let her rinse herself off over the course of playing in the water.

I would only try this method if you are comfortable with your child's safety in the shower. We have a square, standing shower, not a tub so it makes it much easier to prevent her from slipping.

My mother said my younger sister was also terrified of the bath. She apparently overcame it by letter her get a drink in the tub. My mom would put her naked in an empty bath tub, then ask her if she wanted a drink. She would use cups and her hands to get a drink. My mom would let her do this as long as it would take to get her wet and washed. She never stopped the drain because the pool of water upset her. Eventually she wanted to know how the stopper worked and they were able to fill the tub again. But it took several months.

Best of luck to you! H.

Hi K.!

Yes, I went through this is my daughter (now 5). Nothing to this extreme, but just as scarry. My daughter was lucky to have an older brother to help her through this by showing her that it's not scarry to take a bath. I had him BEG to get into the bath and play reverse psych with her. I would ask -- "who wants to take a bath first?" and our son would get all excited and beg to get in. But that's not going to help you. So.... first, understand that this is a real fear. Talk with her. Have her maybe draw what she's scared of and then tell you what she drew. Ask her questions such as "do you know mommy and daddy with protect you from anything?" Make a game of things she could be scared of -- a blanket.... then tell her you'll protect her and scold the blanket. She will find this silly and probably laugh. Go to another item and make it funny. So when she does see something she's scared of then she will know to scold it herself (bad fuzz ball on the floor) and learn to laugh at it. THis is only a stage and will pass. However, it is your job to help her get through it. And for the bath -- go to the store and pick out a new toy and make a big deal of it. Go in there yourself with her. I bathed with my daughter until she was 3. Just try to make things silly so she looks at the things as being silly instead of scarry. If you can, turn the scarry things into a silly face or something. Take that feather and lint and glue it onto a piece for of paper for hair and draw a silly face around it. Good Luck!

J. B.

Hi K.,
That sounds very familiar to me. That was my son's first 'sign' of what he is now diagnosed as having- PDD NOS, on the Autism Spectrum. Is your daughter speaking? At 18 months, my son lost his few words and was not making eye contact. His sensory issues were maximized, like the fear of water, loud sounds, inability to adapt to new situations.
It's great that you're paying attention to your daughter's reactions. It may not be anything serious, it could be a phase, however be mindful of All of your concerns.

Hi Kelly,

I have had this problem with my son. What made the difference was using a one of those foam soap pumps and pumping the foam onto him, and bath paints. My son is very tactile. Toys did not work. (He still hates being shampooed) You have to experiment to see what works for you, but you'll get it. Eighteen months is a very anxious time for a toddler. It will ease off!

Good luck!

C.

I had the same thing happen to my now 3 1/2 yr old boy around 1 yr old and then around 2. At age 2,he freaked out about a piece of dirt in the bath and refused to get in. Gradually, I got him to get in the bath with me partially dressed which I had to almost force him at first but because I was with him, he wasn't as scared and over about a month period, he asked me to leave the bath and began enjoying it again the way he used to. He again grew fearful around 5 months ago because he is afraid the light will fall in the bathtub (?!). At first he would only stand up in the bath because I told him he must get clean but he gradually sat down and played but only with the light off and the door ajar. I have finally got him to let me keep the light on this last week. I think eventually his love of the bath wins over the fear and he couldn't really see what he was playing with in the dark!
I would not worry that this will carry over to later in life. At age 2, it is hard to know what the fear is about and it is hard to reassure her with reality but when they are older, I think and hope that gets easier to provide reality based reassurance.
The point is that I think all this behavior is normal and that is waxes and wanes at different ages. I suggest getting in the bath with her.
Good luck.

My daughter went through this about the same age. She refused to get into the tub. I had tried everything. Finally I deceided to bring her in the shower with me. For about 2 weeks she showered with me then she just deceided that she would rather take a bath instead. Most kids go through this at some point. She should go out of it soon. Good luck.
Jenn

My children are afraid of my hair in the tub! lol. They yell at me to get it out so they dont have to touch or see it. Funny. Anyway, here is an idea- Try getting a large bowl of water and put it on the table. let your daughter touch it.
get some toys (ones that can get wet) and set them next to her. (Let her put them in the water, this way she has control). If she wont touch the water then you should "play" in it for a minute-maybe use a toy, but bring it back out when you are done. This way she can see that it is ok. She will start to understand that water is just another "toy" to be played with. Kids love water at this age. Dont be discouraged if it doesnt go well the first day. Try again the next day and the next. If your daughter constantly sees the water and you playing she will lose sight of her fear and grasp her curiosity. Good Luck!

I had a similar issue with suddenly being afraid of the tub with my daughter - about the same age too. I let her wear her bathing suit in the tub - let her pick which one she would wear and this made her totally excited about getting back in the tub. A month or so later she was over it and back to normal.

At that age my daughter developed a sudden, intense fear of shadows. She didn't want to step on the ground at all if her shadow was visible and would really freak out. I found out that sudden new fears are very common at that age - we tried to make a game out of shadows as well as reassuring her that nothing would hurt her and she got over it within a few weeks.

I had a similar problem with my 10 month old in the bath. We transitioned from the sink to the tub and she was terrified of the shower apparatus and just being in the big tub. She screamed and cried (and this was supposed to be our calming down ritual before bed) but I could not calm her down. I went back to the sink even though she was too big for it and could climb out. I called her pediatrician, who said to go back to the big tub, even if she screamed and cried and to push through it. I did and it took several days (maybe 6 or 7?) for all the tears to stop. First couple of days was terrible screaming, then it got to sobs and finally she loves the bath. I spoke to her in a calm voice, showed her her favorite toys and tried my best to ignore the crying and just got the bath over as quickly as possible. Now she can stay as long as she likes. I hope it helps. Good luck and call your doctor if it continues.

Yes! My oldest son went through it. He was afraid of everything. I don't remember the bath fear lasting too long. What I think helped was that his older sister, by 14 months, took a bath with him and he could see she wasn't afraid and that helped.

First give her a 10 minute warning "after we have dinner we going to take a bath." Then again at 5min. before tub time. Try and sound excited. "Come on let's go! It's TUBBY TIME!"

Maybe try putting her in an empty tub to play with toys then gradually turn on the water. Add bubbles - I use the baby soaps for bubble so it doesn't irritate. Put a little soap on a wash cloth, and blow on it on the side without soap. This will make great bubbles that always get belly laughs! Let her wash your face, let her wash herself. These types of distractions work well sometimes.

It is a hard stage. But it won't last forever. Just make sure you don't play into her fears. Good luck.

A.