Washing My 3 Year Olds Hair...

I haven't read others' suggestions: Maybe you can try the foam visors. They have cute fish, penguin, crab, and frog? ones. They come in packs of two for about $8. They can be used for the sun but are intended for use in the bath.
=Good luck!

An easy way to wash a child hair:
Put the child on his or her back in a tub a water = not to deep and apply shampoo. Rinse etc.
No tears products help.
B. v. Oosterom

Hi H., my 2 1/2 year old daughter is the same way. I distract her with getting her to sing a song with me...she gets in the bath and right away I'm asking her what song are we going to sing while we wash hair? she gets districted long enough for me to start....and then once the shampoo is in, I show her how many bubbles there are and hand them to her and she forgets she is upset (we use Suave 2 in 1 for kids - lathers HUGE and rinses easy - tear free). I also give her a washcloth to cover her eyes. Hang in there, hopefully it passes soon.

Hi H.:
I think there are a few reasons children hate having their hair washed.One of course,is that having water run over their face takes their breath away.It frightens them a bit. Another,is because one time or another,they have had soap get in their eyes and they fear that.Depending on how much water you put in the bath,A child will feel very vulnerable, you holding them laying on their back.They are afraid they will go under.I tried a couple methods. I always waited till last to wash their hair,and emptied most of the water.I then washed it real fast,and used a wash rag full of water,to rinse,with their head bent back,if they didn't feel comfortable enough to lay back. I would tell them,that if they tilt their head back,for one second,I'd just wipe off the soap,so it wouldn't get in their eyes.Then I'd give them a dry rag to wipe their face,when i was done.I know it can get frustrating,but if your child sees you getting upset,you give him more reason to be leary. I wish you the best. J. M

Have you tried letting him do it? My 2 boys, 2 and 4, were the same way. Now that I let them do most of it and I just make sure it's actually clean there is much less drama.

Wal-Mart has this pitcher thing made for washing infant and toddlers hair. It has a handle for you to hold and on the front side a soft rubber panel. You fill the container with water, hold the rubber panel to the child's forehead, tip their chin up a little bit then pour the water. No soapy water goes in the child's eyes or face, the panel keeps it flowing to the back of their head. It's simple to use, comfortable for the child, and inexpensive; only costs around $4. We have been using one with our grandson for a couple years, with so much success, that we recently bought one for our younger son's newborn daughter too.

yeah i have trouble too..i just put the soap on the back of my son's head..and i get him to put his head under the running water...or i just use a wet wash cloth to rinse it quick..he wants out usually as soon as i start w/ the hair..so i save it for when i want him to come out. Don't put a lot of soap...just a little ..i put conditioner on at the same time..then try the wet wash cloth..wring it out ....show him how to rinse his own hair from the bath faucet

Hello H.,

My 3 yr old was the same way. He was fine till about his 3rd birthday. He is now 3yr and 9mns.

Anyways, I got tired of the fighthing. So, I told him about Lice!!! Yep, got on the computer with him, showed him pictures of lice, what he would have to do if he got lice. Oh course I probably made it seem worse by telling him the doctor has to use tweezers and plick the lice out.

But, it worked! And when we went to the doctor after I told him about lice he asked the doctor and the doctor told him everything that I did. So, there is not a fight anymore. Of course, we get the I don't want to wash my hair and then I gently remind him about the lice. I ususally say "Ok, you don't have to wash your hair, its your choice, but when I have to take you to the doctors to have the lice plicked out, just remember it was your choice not to wash your hair."

He may say "ok" at first, but then quickly changes it to "Ok, Mommy wash my wash, but be gentle and don't let the water get in my eyes."

We also agreed that I will wash my son's hair, as Daddy is to rough. So, Daddy will bath him and I step in for the washing of the hair.

Hope this helps and good luck,
M.

Hi H.,
The facecloth for him over his eyes, tilting the head back, and using a cup or coolwhip bowl to pour water over the head so it does not go in the face is the way to do it.
Also, my three sons loved to see their hair when it had the shampoo on it. We would make "horns", "spikes", etc and they would look in the mirror and laugh. It made having to take it off less horrible...I also too off a lot of the bubbles before rinsing. Try to make it fun:)
Hope this helps,
H.

Hi H.!
According to my Mom, I was the same way. She started washing my hair in the kitchen sink. She'd lay a towel down for me to lay on my back & she washed it like in a hair salon. She said I just couldn't handle laying in the tub full of water, bobbing. Hope you find something that works!

Hi H.,
Put him on a chair and have him bend over the sink. Easy solution. Best!
K.

How about trying one of those soft/foamy type visors for kids? You can get them at any sporting goods store....maybe fold up a small baby washcloth, put that on the front of his forehead, then put the visor over that....? hope it works, i know how brutal bathtime can be! lol

There are shampoo visors available. I had used this product for my son until he was 6 yrs old. I had bought this from Korea paying high shipping (almost the price of the product) but now it seems like it's available in the US. This one uses elastic which stretches to fit even adult size head! It's on sale at Amazon.

http://amzn.com/B00792KR8W

Has having him help do it worked. Do you have a bathtub or shower? In the tub I would just let him lay on his back to rinse it himself. I would help a little for the front of his head. I just let him get comfortable and would say to him "Oh, you missed this spot" and help him a little. Sometimes giving them some of the power to do it themselves works.
Hope it works for you.

Let him help? Or take the bubbles from his hair/head and put them on his chest or in a cup for him to play with.

Hi H.
OK I went through this torture too. My son grew out of it but he was prob 2 when it stopped.
A few suggestions..
I did give him a dry washcloth which seemed to help him but then we started having him tilt his head back and just rinse it from the spout and that way it didn't get into his eyes-I think you could also have him dunk himself with head back. He hated water in his face and I think they feel so helpless.
Wow! I never thought of goggles what a great idea!
I have a new kid to ruin now she is 5 months old and she loves water so I started her early hoping HOPING to avoid this drama!
Good luck!
B.

My daughter is the same. I would tell her to hold her breath, and she put stuff over her face, but if she got ANY shampoo suds over her face, she would freak out.

I changed her shampoo to WEN, which you can look at on the internet, because I was using it and l loved what it did for my hair. It doesnt foam up and get sudsy, it's a cleansing conditioner. So, using the shower hose, it's easier to rinse her hair with more control, and I dont have to worry if I dont get it ALL out of her hair, because it eases the tangles too. And she doesnt lose her mind if it goes over her face, because it's not sudsy, and it doesnt sting her eyes.

Not saying this to be discouraging, but my son is almost 6 and we still fight about hair washing even though he usually does it himself now. I have boiled it down to some kids just hate it. it started when he was a baby he would scream when I washed his hair, but now my second son loves the bath and no tears at all. The only thing that ever worked was when I would give him a dry washcloth to dry his face immediatly after rinsing his hair. Good Luck!

My daughter was the same way and she was only like 18 months or so when it started. My solution...swim lessons! AND it kills two birds with one stone. Basically she now loves swimming and loves the bath and washing her hair is not a problem since she doesn't mind the water. I mean, nothing is worse than getting dunked! She also now at 20 months old (almost 21 months) can swim from the middle of the pool to the sides and knows to climb out. She also loves jumping in. I've tried all kinds of tricks like you, goggles (which now she's fine with since she swims with them), animal visors, that cup thing (which I returned after using once), shower head, etc. This was my only hope and it worked! My daughter swims in a saltwater pool and it's heated so there's no chemicals and it's awesome! I highly recommend it to everyone!

Good Luck,
D.

H.,
We keep dry washcloths on hand. WHen its time to rinse we say "look to the sky" and they put their head way back and cover their face and hide in the washcloth. I think its a security thing because we dont get their face wet! So try simple washcloths. Ours stopped crying immediately now they just panic for their washcloth - lol

Hi H., Most 3 year olds hate water on their face period, I think this is something parents have to deal with, weather they cry or not the hair stills gets washed, and they realize each time it's not going to hurt them, and eventually they stop crying. J.

Try letting him wash it... He is old enough. My little guy loves washing his own hair!

I use a wash cloth and wipe the shampoo out. It takes longer but my boys hate the water dripping in their eyes and ears. Might be worth a try.

My daughter is seven and she has always hated washing her hair. We did a combo of things to make it easier. We switched to using one of those hand held shower things, bought her a hat that helps keep water out. When she was younger we used more wash clothes to wash her hair and tried to use very little water. Now that she is older she washes her own hair. When she was old enough to talk we asked her what she wanted to do, why she cries so much, try to figure out what she hates about it. He may not like getting his hair/scalp wet. That is what is is for me and my girl. We just don't like getting our hair wet. It feels funny. I don't know if you do this or not, but it seems as if many parents overlook the value of asking their child(ren) what they thing they should do to solve a problem. They really are helpful.

Good Luck

When my kids were young and still fit in the kitchen sink, I would sit them in the sink and let the water run. They would play with the water and wouldn't even notice me messing with their hair. I was able to do intricate braids on my daughter(at ages 2 and 3) using this method.

My family used to lay me on the kitchen counter with my head over the sink. Any and all soap/water went in to the sink.

Kids really only need a drop of shampoo so just put on enough to barely lather it all over so there were no drips in his eyes! Then I drained the water out of the tub until he could lay down and his face was still showing but the rest of his head was under water. He panicked a little the first time so I taped a picture on the ceiling first for him to look at.
With his hair in the water I could softly swish it around and get the soap out with little problem.
Good news is that this helped him with his fear of water in his face, soon he did it himself, then moved onto showers, and now he is a most excellent fish.
Good Luck.

My daughter was the EXACT same way- I was certain she was crying so loud the neighbors were actually worried-( Sometimes letting her hold a "treat" until it was done worked well. But overall, it just had to go away on it's own. We tried having her help us do it, and she just didn't want it done at all-
She's 4 1/2 now, and she's a breeze when it comes to hairwashing-

Good Luck!

why dont you let him do it? give him a cup and let him pour water over his own head while you secretly do it too. has he learned to lay down yet? maybe try to get him to lay down. also try to do the hair wash first. good luck!

My son was the same way. We solved it by giving him a wash cloth (grown up size) to hold over his eyes and ears. We fold it into a triangle so the ends cover both ears. Then he looks up at the ceiling and the water stays off his face.

Hope this helps.