Mary Doesn't Like to Take a Bath; Need Advice

[AJPratt]

I am not sure what is going on. Mary has always enjoyed her bath, but recently she does not. At first I thought perhaps it could be irritating a little diaper rash, but she still doesn't seem to want to be in the tub even when there is no rash. She won't even sit down! Any advice before I have the stinkiest baby on the block?

 

[cmdtrgd]

I don't know if this is doable, but could you take her into the shower with you? Wouldn't it be nice if there was a baby carrier made out of the netting that they make delicates bags from?

 

[babywings76]

How old is she? Is she fussy about it or out and out screaming and acts like she's in pain when you go to put her in? Is she scared of the noise of the water or the "exposed" feeling of being naked and alone in a big tub? Is it the temperature of the water she doesn't like? Too hot or too cool? One of my kids cried when I'd put her in, but I just tried to bathe her as quickly as I could and get her out. Eventually she got used to it and was fine. Then she turned into a mermaid and it was practically impossible to get her out!

 

[Sheila]

If memory serves me correctly, your daughter is around the age of 2?Both of mine (8 months old & 24 months old) absolutely HATE the "safe" temp of the water. They think it's too cold & fuss. If the little floating ducky says the water is too hot for them, they are happy. Go figure! LOLHas she had a pool, beach or bath incident where she went under & got scared?How full do you fill the tub? My 2 year old likes it about 6" deep. Deep enough to play, but not to go under & get scared.She also has a set of bath toys that she only plays with in the tub. Because her time with those toys are limited to tub time, she really looks forward to them. While the water is running, she's steadily throwing them in the tub and fussing to get undressed. She's ready to go!!!Do you have "splash" time? I close the shower curtain & let her go to town. She can splash all she wants with the curtain closed. So she'll tell me to close it. Then when she's done she opens it. We usually have at least 3 splash sessions per bath.

 

[chefcharity]

If she is 2, don't forget about the fun bath crayons, markers and paints. She gets to write on the walls and herself.
good luck.. That's tough. I know we hate to make our children cry, but they have to bathe! LOL!

Is it the washing hair part? They have some cool pitchers (dont know if it works or not) that has a flexible side that will press against their foreheads as you pour the water back on their hair. Walmart. Supposed to keep water our of eyes.

 

[PCMomto4]

My son went through a phase where he hated the bath, so that might be the same with her. I just put him in and washed and shampooed as fast as I could. He did get over it, he is five now and I don't remember how long it took, but he was about 2ish when the phase started.

 

[ChefForrester]

@ Kate Jensen ( cmdtrgd ) There was something about your reply that caught my memory, so I found it! http://www.theslingstation.com/showering.html There is a sling that does that! But if that doesn't work, or wasn't the solution you were looking for, it's a phase that a lot of them go through. When mine did, I made sure that I had a full length mat in the tub, a cover over the water nozzle to prevent a nasty accident, and that walmart pitcher with the flexible side that Chef Charity was talking about. A standing sponge/washcloth bath was the order of the day for about a month, then he calmed down and would sit . . . .most of the time. Bath times were short and to the point, but if he sat he got to play in the water again, so now he's all good. It happened when he was about 18 months, I think.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

One of the great mysteries in life for me is how a little guy who can spend hours running through a sprinkler, or playing in the lake or pool, can protest so much with a shower or bath.

I've come to the conclusion that it's just a power struggle, and one day, in the far off future, when he discovers girls, I will no longer have to struggle with him to take a bath or shower.

Until then, we load up the tub with toys that can only be used in the tub...and we also run the bath before he gets in, because we discovered he didn't like the noise of the tub running. Showers we don't even try, because he doesn't like the water coming down on his head. (hence the mystery as to why he can spend so much time running through a sprinkler...)

 

[NooraK]

You've already gotten lots of great advice, so I don't really know if there's much more I can add. The first thought that popped into my head when I read your post was that maybe there was something that happened that scared her since it just started happening. Then I though of the water temperature, it's no fun to sit in a bath if you're cold.

I'm sure it's just a phase though, and you'll be getting splashed and soaked again in to time.

 

[nikked]

Anne, I just emailed you...

Sorry I forgot the "e" on your name!

 

[AJPratt]

WOW! Thanks for all of the responses. Nic, I'll check my email.

Mary is 15 months and loves the pool. She fusses and cries going into the tub. And it gets worse when I rinse her hair. She just stands there and won't sit down. She did the same thing to my SIL when she was watching her. She used to just sit and play with my niece and nephew. I can get her some of those markers, she might like them. Maybe the water is too low, maybe its not hot enough. We do have some toys but not a lot. Maybe she is bored. I try not to run the water when she is in there. Maybe something did scare her. Hmmm... Many factors.

 

[Sheila]

Good luck finding the right combination! At her age, it's all trial & error since she doesn't have the verbal skills quite yet to really voice her opinion. (((hugs)))

 

[knpfaff]

When my son was almost 3, he suddenly despised getting his hair washed--full-fledged tantrum. The sudden nature of it concerned me so my husband and I did some heavy thinking. Then we remembered!

The day before my son started this, we were all working to put together his new playset. It began to sprinkle so I insisted he put on his hat. When he refused my mother told him that's how Pappy lost all of his hair--in the rain without a hat. (terrible, I know) Conrad took one look at my dad and immediately put on his hat. After that, he didn't want water on his head because he was afraid it would melt his hair off. Poor thing

 

[vonfirmath]

If she is 2, don't forget about the fun bath crayons, markers and paints. She gets to write on the walls and herself.
good luck.. That's tough. I know we hate to make our children cry, but they have to bathe! LOL!

Is it the washing hair part? They have some cool pitchers (dont know if it works or not) that has a flexible side that will press against their foreheads as you pour the water back on their hair. Walmart. Supposed to keep water our of eyes.

Those pitchers do NOT work well in our experience. Well, at least, not at this age. Because in order for it to work the child has to tilt their head back. If they don't, the water STILL gets in their eyes, it just goes around the pitcher to do so!

What worked for me in the "water in eyes thing" is convincing my son to do it himself. he fusses MUCH less when he's the one doing the wetting than when I am. and he loves filling his cup from the running faucet and wetting things down.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I'm confused. Just today I heard a bunch of women talking about this today.So if she doesn't like baths, why not just invite everyone over for a baby shower?

 

[ShellBeach]

My son was afraid of the drain for a while. Thought he might go down it with the water, I suppose. Try draining the tub after she's gone from the bathroom?

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

When I was a kid, car radios weren't so good, and unless we were within a certain number of miles of a powerful station, the radio was pretty much useless. My mother and father used to sing, and their harmony was actually quite entertaining.Their reppatoire included hymns and old standards, and some novelty songs that my brother and I still giggle about. (Imagine my surprise to hear a Louis Armstrong recording of one of them!)One song they used to sing went something like this...Alice where are you going?
Upstairs to take a bath.
Alice, legs like a toothpick,
Neck like a giraffe.Alice climbed in the bath tub,
Pulled out the plug and then
Oh my goodness, oh my soul
There goes Alice, down the hole!Alice, where are you going?
Glug Glug Glug
Glug Glug Glug(I suggest you don't sing this one!)

 

[esavvymom]

Just a thought - but maybe she probably watched the water go out of the tub, and was just putting 2 and 2 together, and now she's afraid SHE'LL go down the drain. Kids are smart! At this age, they start using those cognitive skills more than we really know. Just watch how she figures out other things- usually just by watching right? Why not learn cause/effect? She's not old enough to tell you why she's scared or give any clue- except to be scared or throw a fit for her bath. But she knows that water goes down the drain, therefore, everything goes down the drain.I think with my kids, we would show them that their little toys wouldn't go down the drain. My memory isn't really great, but I think it did help. Maybe she'll play in the tub water- from OUTSIDE the tub with you (if she's tall enough??)...play in the water with some toys, If she wants to get in- great! But if not, then together, let the water out and watch the toys swirl around and make it fun for her. Make light of hte fact that the toys just stand on top of the drain or something.Good luck! She'll probably get through it soon.