I have a 20 month old baby girl who has always LOVED the bath. A couple of days ago half way through her usual bath she stood up ad cried to get out. Nothing happened, we were playing with toys and crayons as usual. I took her out half bathed. Since then it has got so much worse. She would not even let my husband put her in the tub last night she was screaming and clinging on for dear life. We could not get her to sit down in the bath at all. We felt bad forcing her because for what ever reason she is all of a sudden scared. This is a big problem because she has to have a bath and her hair washed. We thought maybe one of her toys freaked her out so we took all those out last night and only left crayons in the tub. It did not seem to matter, she was still really scared! Tonight I am going to try and take a bath with her and see what she does. Has anyone elses children ever done this? I do not know what to do with her and I feel HORRIBLE forcing her in the water!
I think this happens at around the time kids realize that water goes down the drain. Both of my kids did that at around the same time. It's a phase, and whatever you can do that works.... It will pass, I promise.
J.
i am sorry, this has never happend to me or anyone i know but put her in the sink and do not force her in water that will effect her in a bad way she may have had a bad dream and remembered it during the bath. see if the sink will work. good luck.
You should check with the doctor to make sure she doesn't have a vaginal or other infection that could be irritated by the bath water.
Several months ago my daughter (who is now 25 months) all of a sudden didn't want to take a bath. I can't remember if she said she was scared or not, she just didn't want to take a bath. So, I tried not to give her a bath as often as before. I don't think it took too many weeks before she was ok again. Now she asks to take a bath at random times & then never wants to get out! haha
im sorry i dont know what to do i guess try giving her a bath with you
My 26 month old did the same thing a couple months ago. One day he was fine and the next he was screaming. For him he settled down after I let him stand beside the bath and play with the water as it was going into the tub (once i adjusted the temp). For whatever reason after that he was fine again.
Ditto what Jennifer said. I think forcing her will prolong the fear. Give her sponge baths even outside of the bathroom if you have to. It's a phase and she'll love the bath again soon enough.
My 3 year old has always had a fear of water. He's better now for the first time he enjoys baths. But untill he was just to big he took baths in the sink( the tub was to loud and scary) but he did just discover that water and small toys go down the drain. And he was scared all over again. But a $ 1.oo drain cover to keep hair from going down the drain solved that! I hope all goes well. Good luck!
Did she slip or something recently. Try giving her a bath in the kitchen sink.
I'm sorry to hear that. Have you changed soaps? Perhaps that may have irritated her bottom or her skin. I had to switch to gerber brands baby wash. I was using another brand and my daughter used to scream in the bathtub. Since I switched brands, I have a hard time getting her to get out of the bathtub. I suggest you try a different brand of baby soap (do not use adult soap). If nothing changes then I would check with your pediatrician. I hope it gets better for her.
Have you tried a shower instead? If you have a standalone shower (such as in many master baths where the shower is separate from the tub), try just letting her stand up in the shower. You can take a shower with her as well - be sure there are mats down though so it's not too slippery. Our 2 year old has alternated between showers and baths since he was quite young and he enjoys the showers. I'm 8 months pregnant, so when my husband is traveling I can't bend over the tub - showers have really come in handy.
