Bath: Any Suggestions for....

[amandaw]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a very nearly 2 year old who's decided that she hates baths?

She's always been fine with water...not so great with hair washing, but baths have never been an issue in themselves, yet in the last week, as soon as she hears the bath running, she runs away and starts crying, and is in hysterics by the time we've gone to fetch her and start to undress her (I swear the neighbours must think we're into ritualistic torture at 6pm :p:o)....and now for the last 2 nights, she refuses to sit down and just cries the whole time she's in there

DH made a huge fuss and kept sitting her down (remarkable unsuccessfully the other night) and tonight I tried the ignore and just washed her over standing up (not great for safety I know, but just worth a try) - still hysterics for the time she is in there

What I'd love to know is what worked for you....any suggestion would be MUCH appreciated :thumbsup:

[kezzaskids]

Have you tried her in the shower with you.? Or maybe goggles and a shower cap? Bubbles in the bath and blowing bubbles?
Worst comes to worse how about the local heated pools with a swim and a rinse under the shower there.
She will get over it. Luckily my DS now 3 went through this stage last summer so it was easier. He would go in his blow up pool so I just washed him in there!

[NibbleCurlynBub]

Stop making it a fight.

Bath time should be FUN!

1. Keep in mind she doesn't need a bath every day if it is just going to be a fight. Stick to every 3 days so long as she doesn't get messy and well.. If she is messy she will need one regardless.

Slowly work it back up.

2. Do it with her. One of you get in the bath and make it look nice. Make it cuddle and play time.
She will relax eventually.

Oh and 3. Don't pour water over her head. It often scares toddlers or upsets them.
Get a flannel or a sponge if you can and do it that way.

[biscotti]

Far out Amanda, same drama here. Our solution was showering with Miss 8 with all the usual bath toys, loves it, starts getting undressed as soon as she hears the shower running.

We have those bath crayons too, they work wonders!!! They both draw all over the screen and tiles :)

Errr.....:confused:....got any 8 yr olds handy :D

[punkbaby]

Food colouring :)
Hop in the bath with her
Try and make it fun as well it should be enjoyable and if shes scared then i would leave it and try again later.

one thing that worked for us was using the baby bath, worked a treat :)

[miloand4]

Hey there I had the same problem at that age with ds2 so I bought a little blow up pool (you can get them in the cheapie shops for about 5 $ ) and set it up in the bathroom or you could try a different room. Filled it with warm water from a bucket and bubbles and toys and had no probs bathing him :D took a little more effort than just running the bath but less effort where his tantrums where concerned. Sometimes something in the bath might scare them like the water going down the plughole and it takes a while to realise it is safe good luck:)

[amandaw]

Thanks all for your prompt replies :yelclap: Definitely some things to try!


Have you tried her in the shower with you.? Or maybe goggles and a shower cap? Bubbles in the bath and blowing bubbles?
She will get over it. Luckily my DS now 3 went through this stage last summer so it was easier. He would go in his blow up pool so I just washed him in there!

yeah - doesn't do the shower anymore (even with us)...does have an issue with the water running, but the goggles and shower cap sounds like a fun one (and should make a good photo if its doesn't work :laughing:)


Stop making it a fight.
Bath time should be FUN!


We've (or rather I've...DH isn't so patient) been trying to be relaxed and fun with it. Since the issues started, we've been doing every 2nd night instead of every night, especially if we don't have anywhere to be the next day. I think I'd freeze to death in the temp her baths are (I'm sooo a boiling water person) but maybe something to try - I've had to stop bathing our 3 mo with her because she just gets him upset and I can't watch the 2 of them safely if she won't sit down anymore. And I wish it was just a matter of water on the head - that has always been a little bit of a struggle, but it's the whole bath thing now:crying: we'd been doing okay on the water over the head thing because I went and brought one of the jugs with the rubberised fronts (so fits to her forehead so no water on the face)



We have those bath crayons too, they work wonders!!! They both draw all over the screen and tiles
Errr........got any 8 yr olds handy

Um - nope unfortunately no 8 year olds :laughing: the people across the road have twin 4 year olds...would that work :laughing: And where did you get your bath crayons from....I had them growing up way back, and she does love her colouring


Food colouring
one thing that worked for us was using the baby bath, worked a treat

Well we have one of them very handy - hadn't thought about that...and does food colouring dye their skin??

Also have a blow up pool in the garage, so may be worth a shot too

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

[mummeeto2]

When DS went thru this, we bought some new bath toys & gave them to him that morning to play with. He got a bit attached to them and at bath time we told him they needed a bath too. He got in with no dramas, I think he was thinking about the new toys & not the bath

[amandaw]

:laughing: It's her birthday tomorrow and we actually have some for her :laughing: - not that we knew this would happen when I brought them, but has been good timing in the big scheme of things

[punkbaby]

you only need a few drops of food colouring, it wont stain. i hae 4 containers in the bathroom with a spare eyedropper and ask them to pick :) Well when they hated the bath, they helped pit it in, the trick is to do it once you have the water i the bath and get them to mix a few colours to see what colour they get

[neostudded]

Food colouring :)

I made a thread ages ago suggesting food coloring to make bath time fun and people were shocked and thought it was a bad idea. I am glad someone else does this to.:thumbsup: and nope, doesn't stain skin.

By the way, another suggestion is getting in the bath with your two year old.

[drewid]

Andrew went through this stage last year and the easiest thing was to get in the bath with him. I slowly got him used to having warmer baths (yay!). Also the introduction of LOTS of bubbles, and using those little coloured tablets you can get at the shops (love these). Also, some new toys help (sometimes).

Good news is it does pass though. Little lord loves the bath again and these days you have to settle in the bathroom for half an hour or so and wait for him to tire of it. I am the daggiest mum...sitting on a beanbag in the bathroom, crocheting :D

[amandaw]

I am the daggiest mum...sitting on a beanbag in the bathroom, crocheting :D

:laughing: Prior to Mitchell's arrival I used to sit on C's footstool and read while she played - took it as 10 mins of me time as well...though that's when she used to like them!

[biscotti]

And where did you get your bath crayons from....


The chemist here sells them and Amazen Games has them too. If you can't find any, let me know and I'll pop some in the post :yes:

[Mrs Potts]

Some good suggestions here for you Amanda, sorry I have nothing to add.

We have the opposite problem here - Miss K has an absolute fit whenever someone else has a shower because she *has* to have one too! She stands outside the bathroom and screams the whole time the person is in the shower. It's usually easier to throw her in too - she has to be the cleanest kid on the block! :laughing:

[SpottySocks]

We went through the same thing with our now 4 yr old when she was about 2 1/2 to 3 yrs and Bubble bath worked for us. You can get a big bottle from the supermarket for around 2 or 3 dollars. She loved the idea of bubbles and was happy to get in if there were lots and lots of bubbles!

My mum gave her some of those bath bombs things that fizz and smell and she loves those as well.

The bath crayons were a big hit as well we got them from kmart. They came in a packet of 6 and we just gave her 3 colours at a time.

I'd forgotten about the bath time tantrums we used to have - it was quite a nightmare for a while! Goodluck