14 Mo Old Recently Hates Bathtime

I'm 31 w a 19 month old, we're gonna make it! Maybe he was shocked before by some hot or cold water? Tried wind up bath toys or making his name or just playing w letters? Happy parenting!

ah yes, my daughter did this off and on at that age. Sometimes it was because once the temp was too hot. Then another time she decided that she didn't like having her hair washed (that lasted almost a year). You could have him stand while you wash him real quick. I watched super nanny last week when the family was dealing with this problem, and she got this big floating dinosaur and a bucket of toys. She told the child look your dinosaur is going in for a bath and threw it in. Then she said look at me dump all the toys in, wow, they need cleaning too. Now it's time for your bath. In he went without a problem. I don't know if this will work for the rest of us, but it is worth a try. Good luck.

hi there...my son did the exact same thing at about the same age. he loved his baths, but all of a sudden he would do anything to try and escape from the tub...crying, screaming, etc. from what i hear, this is totally normal. kids love one thing one minute and hate it the next. he's 18 months now. he loved the bath until about 14 months, hated it for a month or two, loved it for a month or two, etc...he does the same with food. loves green beans one week, hates them the next. it's just common for the age. have you tried the bathtime puzzle books that might keep him occupied instead of just a toy? these seemed to work for us. i hate to say it, but you might just have to ride it out. it's probably just a phase. when we were going through this, i also tried giving him a bath in the morning. i found he was more irritable at night during his bath because he was winding down and tired from the day...i'm not sure if any of this helps. just wanted to let you know that it's very common and i went through the same thing. good luck!

I don't know if this may be the problem or not but you said that his father has always given him a bath and then you decided to give him one that night. Children do not like drastic changes like that in their routines...it's loke overload to them. I don't have any experience with that kind of change because I'm ALWAYS the one giving the bath. But, I can vouch for a change in her diaper changing routine sometimes. Sometimes her father will do diaper duty (once in a blue moon when he feels like it) and there for awhile she was throwing a fit with him as he took her to change it. THEN, he found a way to make it fun for her by throwing her on the bed afterwards and letting her play on the double bed that is also in the room with her big girl bed. So, he made it a fun activity that they share doing when he takes her to get her diaper changed. Maybe if you continue to bathe him, find some kind of "personalized" activity that is fun that you could do with him while he's in the tub...like use bubbles or a special toy ONLY when you bathe him until he gets used to you doing it. :-) Hope that helps you out a bit. Good luck!

My daughter just did this (she's now 15 months). I tried changing things a bit - like running water before bathtime and then bringing her in, singing songs, and she had previously been in a small tub that fit inside the bath tub, and so we removed that. These small changes made a big difference for us. Also, we don't let the water out of the tub in front of her. I heard that can freak them out.

Good luck!

My daughter did this too. It passed. During the phase, she was more willing to take a bath with Mom than Dad. Around the same time she started fearing showers. While she has willingly taken one shower since, the shower fear persists.

The bath aversion probably didn't last a month.

After being such a water baby, my son began hating baths at about 12 months old. What I did is to get natural food dyes from whole foods and have him drip it into the bath. I also got other things like paint for the bath and color tablets... this helped coax him back in. Good luck.

My daughter did this and I stopped baths for a while. We only did a bath once a week and spot cleaned with a cloth during the week. Then I started just taking toys and her in the shower with me. She liked it much better and it was easier to get her clean. again they really only need a bath once a week.

Very funny, because my 18 month old started this a couple months ago, too... I don't have any ideas about making it better for you and your little boy except for bathe him as fast as possible:) hehe

And, yeah- it's a stage, there's probably NO rational reason whatsoever for it, and it will pass)

My son used to love bath time, too, and then we went thru a similar period. It turns out the echo of the water running in the tub was just too loud for his little ears. He was fine as long as I ran the water with him out of the room, even if only in the hallway at the doorway. Hope this helps. Good Luck. T.

My son hated baths until he was about 2. During the preschool years it seems that all you need is one drop of water that splashes into their eye, or one cold bath, or whatever...it doesn't take much to make them scared but it takes a long time to get over it!!! We would have everything all ready before telling him it was bathtime. We also used just a little water in the tub so it wouldn't splash him too much. Bath crayons, colored bath tablets, cups, and toys helped us. We found a "bathtub chemistry" set that has plastic test tubes and colored tablets so he could mix colors which helped us, but my son was 3 then. I always wash hair last-we still have trouble with that one. We also do baths every other day, unless he's super dirty. It helps my sons dry skin and gives us some peace!

They go through phases. Try to make it as quick as you can. Birng his most favorite toy with him. Take a doll and show him how you give the doll a bath first and that might help. They just go through phases.

Maybe have Daddy do bathtime again tonight and see if he does the same thing. It might just be because he is only used to seeing Daddy do the bathtime routine.

I would first make sure the bath was ran and ready for him before taking him the bathroom for his bath. Also, I suggest some fun bath toys - try to make it as fun as possible. My husband has gotten into the tub with my son before (with his swim trunks on :) and you may even want to try that so he is not bathing alone although that could start something you may not want to continue.

Try adding some more tub toys, a little music,or singing some silly songs. Sometimes they just go through their spells and then snap back into the routine. Good Luck

If it isn't fun, I would stop nightly baths. They don't need it every night and especially in the winter, its very drying to their skin. You can always give him a sponge bath until its fun again. Have you ever tried bathing with him? My girl and I used to do that around that age and it was a great time. There have been times when getting my girl into the tub or shower was difficult, but once she is in there she has a great time. Maybe he would like some different bath toys? Good luck, he will likely outgrow this phase. Our misery was always the tooth brush but whatever it is can make you not enjoy the limited time we have with them.