Hi everyone,
My daughter has always LOVED the bath and never minded having her hair washed or anything. About 2 weeks ago we found out that she had an ear infection in her left ear. We took her to the Dr and she just finished her antibiotic. Ever since she was diagnosed with the ear infection she will not allow me to lay her back in the bath tub in order to wash the shampoo out of her hair. I am sure that the laying back was putting pressure on the ear. This has become a nightmare at bath time. When I try to lay her back she starts crying hysterically and wiggles all around until I put her back into the sitting position. She then will continue to cry until I get her out of the tub. It is almost like she is scared to lay back in the tub or something. I purchased one of those shampoo rinse cups but it does not work for her. It worries me that I am not getting all the shampoo out which can cause cradle cap. Does anyone have suggestions on how I can rinse the shampoo out in a more easier way that will not only make my daughter happier but her Mommy less stressed out at bathtime? Thanking everyone in advance!
M.,
My best friend's daughter has the same problem. She absoulutely hates getting her hair rinsed. The thing that worked for her was to give her a dry wash rag that she could hold over her face while she was getting rinsed. Good luck!
We had the same problem with our son. I found a product at Target in the baby department that is a foam visor with a velcro hook in the back. The foam material helped keep it in place and it covered his eyes and ears while I rinsed with a hand held shower head. I used it till the velcro wore out!! Since he is older, we now use a wash cloth that he holds over his eyes and ears while I rinse. I am sure you can probably find the visors at Kmart, Target or Walmart type stores. If I remember correctly I believe Evenflo made them and they came in a pack of two, one with duckies on it and the other looked like a crab! If you are unable to find them, I have noticed that craft stores sell the visor "blanks" that kids can decorate, maybe they make one small enough for a 14 month old that would do the trick.
Jennifer
I remember when I was little my mom would rinse my hair and she would tell me to look up at the birdie.She would point up to the shower head where she put a fake bird and it worked every time. I have an almost 15 month old daughter and I say,"Mia where's the birdie?"She looks right up at the shower head!I don't even have a fake bird yet but I will probably get her one cause it's just so funny seeing her look for the birdie.R. F
Hey Hon, You can try buying those earplugs to put in her ears during bathtime. Instead of laying her down take a cup and rinse her hair while sitting up. You may need to get her to look at the ceiling or take a washcoth that is preferably dry and roll it pretty good so that it covers her forhead from ear to ear so that a very minimal gets in her face. That is the only way I can do my daughters hair, she has always had chronic ear infections and was evenually put under for tubes in her ears..Good Luck
I would get one of those foam visors that keeps the water out of their eyes. I used that to wash my sons hair until he was about 3 1/2. He barely even realized I was washing his hair...he could just keep on playing. Probably different for girls...I don't know how long your daughter's hair is at this point.
We have a removable shower head that we use and it works great! You could try that if possible.
Hi M.,
when one of my sons had tubes in his ears due to ear problems the dr told me to put a cotton ball (or part of one depending on the size of your daughters ears..) and cover the opening and cotton ball with vaseline to rinse his hair.... or when he took a bath to ensure that no water got in... so I did that and when it was time to pour the water on his hair I always folded up a clean damp wash cloth and had him hold it on his eyes while I made a game of rinsing and playing peek a boo with him... hope this helps you..
S.
Have you tried the shower? All four of my kids love the shower. I start putting them in at a young age. You could let her take a bath and then use the hand held shower. I don't know if she will cry with a little water in her face.
I am very familiar with this problem...how to get the shampoo out of the hair of a screaming child. First I used a cup but it was difficult and took very long. Then I bought on of those " sink showers" which is basically a shower heard on a hose that slips over the bathtub faucet. It worked great. Now that she is older ( she is 13) I bought another one the fits over the sink faucet and we can wash hair while she is standing up. We also changed our shower head to the kind that comes with a hose and is detachable. Hope this helps a little.
I had the same problem with my son. During a quite bad ear infection, he wouldn't lay down and he put the soap in his hair, so I wasn't getting it all out with the cup. I tunred on the shower, let him play in it for a bit, he got comfortable and I would put him under the water and wash the soap out. I still do it almost every bath, because he likes it and it's not a fight. I stil let him have a bath to soak, and just use the shower at the end to wash the soap off. Hope this helps and good luck!
Hi! Both of my children ages 4 and 16 months have tubes in their ears, so we never let them lay in water. My daughter is absoulty scared to put her ears near the water. She knows what it feels like to get water in them. When I rinse their hair, I pull out the drain and turn the water on for them to play with, meanwhile I am filling up a cup to rinse with. The water keeps them occupied and they don't seem to mind what I'm doing.
Hi M.,
Have her look up to the ceiling when you are ready to rinse. Then place your hand right by her hair line to catch any water that may drip onto her face. You may want to put something on the ceiling for her to look at that will make it fun.
Hope this helps, I wish you the best.
