Dear moms,
Our daughter has been getting a bath every night since she was about a week old. Last couple of nights, she went into the tub happily as she always does but then wanted out screaming within minutes. Tonight, I couldn't even get her into the tub. The strange thing is that she is happy to take off her clothes, her diaper and stands by the tub waiting to be picked up all smiling, saying and signing "bath". But as soon as I put her into the tub, she screamed and refused to stay in it. I checked the water to make sure it wasn't too hot. Is this a stage? Will it pass? Anything I can do to make baths fun again for her? Thank you in advance for your advice.
H.
Thank you everybody! I went into the tub with her the other night and we had no issues. Hopefully after a few nights of this we can go back to bathing on her own. It was comforting to hear that this is yet another normal phase that she will outgrow....
one of my now-8YO twins went through this stage (her sister didn't) - no idea *why* she suddenly found baths terrifying and showers weren't any better (in fact, we ended up having to hang a hoodie towel over the shower head because the sight of the shower head seemed to add to her agitation). And she got over it but we have no idea how or why. So just letting you know that it's not uncommon and will pass :-)
My daughter did this too. For her she was afraid of anything floating in the tub. The lint from her socks stuck to her feet and would float in the tub when I put her in. She would scream and cry and want to get out. It's so sad because they love baths so much. Anyway, I kept reassuring her it was just fuzz and wouldn't hurt her. It's just a phase, they are all phases!
check for any diaper rash, broken,chapped or cracked skin or scrapes which will burn when exposed to water.
I've never experienced this with any of mine (except when the water exposure hurt a recent boo boo or rash.)
Otherwise maybe it indeed is a stage.
Regards,
Gail
My 15 mo daughter is going through the exact same stage right now! It started middle of last week. Some nights are better than others...I have found that putting bubbles in the tub helps a ton. She is really distracted by them and loves to try to pick them up and play with them. I also let the water run a bit while she's in the tub...she likes to run her hand under it and try to "plug" the faucet with her fingers. One terrible night I even considered getting in the tub with her, but luckily I didn't have to resort to it...I would though!
Good luck and hope the phase passes quickly...
Both of my girls did this about the same age. I have a 3 and a 4 year old. It is very frustrating, but it passed quickly. I just let them know bathing wasn't an option and they took a bath screaming or not. We tried showers, for a little bit, but it didn't make much difference. You could try a new bath toy, bubbles, bath paint, etc. My girls love the bath crayons.
Are you sure her skin isn't dry or sensitive now with the cold weather. It could be that any soap or bubbles you add to the bath is irritating her skin now in a way it didn't before... or it could be a phase :-)
Sorry I can't be of more help.
T.
Interesting...I do recall my kid doing something similar, but it was after we'd gone swimming and she got water up her nose. I figured the two were related. But after reading a lot of the responses, maybe it was a stage? Fascinating!!
I started taking baths and showers with my daughter when she began to freak out about the tub. She is 4 now and has been easy to bathe since I started doing that, and no, I don't bathe with her all the time, but she still likes to strip and hop into the shower some mornings with me. Fine by me, my favorite thing in the whole world is a huggable, clean, adorable kid!
Yes, it's a stage, yes it will pass. Try taking a bath with her or putting something new in the tub.
We were going through the same thing here with our 14 month old daughter. It was such a surprise to me because she loved her bath. Just like your daughter ,mine gets all happy and undressed and we fill the tub. I put her in and in seconds she would be crying with terror and wants out. Because she has a 4 year old sister I have found that she will bath with her. When I tried to bath her alone I really felt like she would have liked me in the tub with her. She felt safer if I leaned my body in and had my arms around her. So if you don't have an older sibling then maybe try taking a bath with her. What ever you do don't force it. You don't want to make baths a tramatizing experience. I backed off right away and spaced her baths out more. I'd say she is all ready over the issue. It took about 2 weeks.Best wishes.
H.: Believe me this to will pass along with a million other strange things our children all do.
I can suggest some thing we did with our 5 children and now with the grandchildren when they get to this stage( the boys do it again about 4 and think they are Huck Finn or Peter Pan who doesn't have tho bathe).
We get them colored soap bubbles, and foam soap that comes in colors. They also have a bunch of the tupperware or even cottage cheese containers to play with. We now have a giant sink in the kitchen that holds a 4 year old. The girls all want to play mermaid and the guys want to be fish.
When its summertime we just buy a cheap pool and let them take the bath in that. Just don't stress on it.
Enjoy the moments and memories with your little one. Nana Glenda
