Our 22 month old son decided last week that he hates taking a bath. He had a meltdown because I would not let him put his potty in the bathtub. Since that night nothing I try makes him happy. I have tried adding new toys to the bathtub. Having either myself or DH take a bath but he just climbs over the side of the tub. I have been running the bath and attempting to bathe him in the tub. But I just end up bathing him on a thick towel beside the tub. I don't know what to do. ANy suggestions would be most appreciated.
Water colors are good incentive. Changing the color of the water with food coloring has always worked for me as well.
My children also love taking baths in the kitchen sink - it's a family ritual at my Grandma's house. But, if you have a large double kitchen sink - or even small. It might be fun. I wouldn't try putting him in there while he's upset though.
Good Luck !
Good luck! We went through the same thing with our son, around the same age. He's doing it a little now, at 36 months, but not as bad. Maybe try giving him a bath every other night or just washing his hair every other night. Maybe he doesn't like the water on his head. Something else we did was bath "paint". We received it as a gift, so I'm not sure where to get it. But if he likes to paint, this may get him in the water. We also tried new wash clothes with charaters he likes and we let him pick a toy to take in the bath with him, so the toy could take a bath too. It's a phase and will pass, so just be patient.
I say just model good behavior and he should soon follow suit.
Get in the tub and talk about how much you love it.
Give yourself a treat (glass of milk, cracker?? lol)
in his presence and say how it's for your being a good girl and bathing so well.
I'll bet it won't be long after that.
Also, make sure nothing is scaring him about bathing.
You never know what's going through their heads!
Could just be the stubborn-little-boy-blues, though ; )
Blessings,
H.
My now 3 year old went through the same thing at the same age, he had always loved baths, then one day - no more baths, he just went on bath strike. I got some new bath toys and that didn't help so he got showers for about 3 months (screaming the whole time). Then just as quick as it started, it was over and he went back to taking baths and loving it. But now, since the end of summer, he thinks he should always take a bath in a swim suit and I don't know how to stop that.
K.
Christy,
My dd (now 16 months) began to revolt against baths a few months ago so now I just take her in the shower with me. She has a few toys in there (bath crayons work well) and I can wash her and rinse her quickly. I make sure my dh is close by with her towel in case she is ready to get out before I am, but she really loves the showers now. Sometimes I hold her and we slow dance and sing lullabys too- it is really a very sweet and special time for us. Also she has caught me taking baths by myself a few times now and has seen that they aren't just for babies, so now she will take a bath occasionally, but she really prefers showers.
I had a similar problem. My son would throw a screaming fit anytime we would put him in the water. So a few months ago we started letting him take showers with Daddy. He likes being a big boy like Daddy & is very enthusiastic about it most of the time. He still doesn't like having his hair washed though, so he saves it for last & tries to be very quick about it. I've considered trying a bath again to see if he's changed his mind, but I really like having that responsibility transferred to my hubby. :) I don't really know what the best thing to do is, but just do what works. Eventually, it will surely pass. I hope.
I am going through this with my 24 month old Grandson that I am raising. He started after his mom took him swimming about 7 months ago. She brought him home early and said he did not like swimming. She has not seen him since and he has hated bath time since. He is starting to relax about it now and asking for a bath, but it is still requiring alot of coaxing and patience through the bath to keep him calm. I was relieved to see that it could be something of a stage and not just a tramatic event. I do believe we are getting past it and with time he will enjoy bath time again. I think you will find that is true as well.GOOD LUCK!!
Baby's do clam up on the bath situation the way i would do it would be make sure you have the bath ready before you take him in there don't have the water running have some bubbles in the water so he can enjoy the bubbles instead of thinking of the water in the tub, and has you approach the water in the bathtub try to talk to him like play a game of the bubbles as you start putting him in there. baby's and kids have a fear of water at times. some times they are dreaming of drowning in water so that alone frighting them and that fear seams to take over till some thing there will a sure them that water, bath, showers are ok. and you can take him over by the tub keep him clothed and turn the water on and let him stick his hands in the running water it might take some time to a sure his conscious mind that its ok that he is save with water. I hope that this will give you some clues that you can come up with on your own.you might be able to take him to the kitchen sink and let him have the feel of the running water.
from K.
My daughter loves her bath so I really am not speaking from experience. Having said that, he may like the crayola crayons that you can color on the bathtub with and crayola also makes these little color balls that turn the water different colors. I plan on getting them for my daugther for her stocking. You can see them at www.crayola.com. Hope this helps. Good luck!
Would he do a shower? My girls have to take showers because they're so suseptible to infections, so I got a adjustable shower bar at Lowe's to bring it down to their level. Maybe you could try to take a shower with him and see if that works :}
How lucky for you that he likes his potty so well <wry smile>.
I think your sponge bath on the towel is a good compromise. You're still changing his diapers, anyway, so that area is clean. Doesn't hurt if he gets a little dirty in some other nook or a cranny here or there while he warms back up to the tub in his own time. But if you want him back in the tub sooner than later, you could get him a neat new bathtub toy. Instead of bribing him with it, just stick it in there and casually get him in there so he can "accidentally" just happen to notice it. When he wants it, it's bath time. Better yet, make it a toy that suctions to the wall of the tub. You might just find he's climbing in, himself, and you have to get him to wait while you undress him :)
I really don't recommend any kind of bribe, because that gets it into his mind to ask, next time you want him to do something, what's in it for him.
L.
PS BE CAREFUL. Soft plastic toys are toxic and have chemicals in them that can feminize boys. Especially hot water will cause those chemicals to leach out of the plastic. Look for natural, organic, phthalate-free toys. You could go with something natural rubber. Here are some URLs I just sent my dad for my daughter's Christmas present suggestions:
http://www.naturallytrendy.com/item_579/Cool-It-Soother-t...
http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/category.cgi?item=HA1121
http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/item/HA1296/Haba-Trix.html
http://www.naturallytrendy.com/item_660/Chan-Pie-Gnon-Nat...
let him take a shower. .... tell him it's rain.
Shaving cream in the tub is fun! I also like the swimming suit idea.
My 20 month old revolts against the tub occassionally. (Luckily not too often.) I recently found that the small mirror from the counter (with supervision, of course!) is better at making him happy than any of his bath toys. He loves to look at himself and thinks his hair is so funny when full of shampoo. We only use it when he's not happy about the tub, so it is still fun for him. Good luck!
