My son who is 13 months old used to love to take a bath we would tell him it is time for a bath and he would be standing at the tub waiting for the water to be ran. Now if you say bath he starts crying. We thought it could have been from the bubbles so we stoped using them and He still screams like he is scared of the tub. The only way he doesn't cry is if one of use (me or my husband) get in the tub with him. Please help me.
THANK YOU to everyone that gave me advice. The only thing that I could do that would get him in the tub is to give him his tooth brush and a little tooth paste since we brush teeth before bed it is just one less step before bed but I look at it as if it works then he can brush his teeth while taking a bath. So we bought a spare tooth brush. Thanks again.
C.
C.,
My son also went through a stage like this. He would scream when I put him in the tub. I still don't know why, it just went away. I just kept putting him in the tub and I also used less water, again I don't know why. Now he loves the bathtub and asks to take a bath several times a day(We don't), but he still asks. Be patient and try to add some toys etc and it will get better!
My son also went through this, so he started taking showers with my husband. He LOVED showering with daddy and since we have a tub/shower he became confident in the tub again.
C....try using less water, check the temp w/ your elbow and maybe you can even try taking your little one shopping for some fun bath toys. Good luck and hang in there!
Our daughter did this and I realized my hubby was making it too warm for her sensitive skin. She is very fair skinned.
Good luck!
Both of the responses at the bottom are correct. Another thing to keep in mind is have you changed anything recently? I know my little guy is 10 months and he cries when he doesn't take a bath in his baby bath. That thing is getting a bit too small for him, but he won't get out of it. I tried once taking him a bath in a smaller bath tub, a regular bath tub. He cried because it wasn't his baby bath tub he was in. I hope this helps.
We had the same problem with my daughter when she was maybe 18 months old and it lasted for a few months. Rest assured, unless something traumatic happened in the stub that this is probably a phase and he will out grow it. Don't stop exposing him to the tub, but maybe try to change the focus from getting in to playing in the water, make the tub a fun place again. Hang in there! it will pass! For us what started it was taking a bath in a hotel and she slipped getting in. Didn't hurt herself, but scared herself. Regardless of the cause, it is not fun when little ones are scared of something they used to love so much! For us, we just took it slow. We reduced baths to one or 2 a week. and we never forced her to get in. Sometimes we just played in the water. When she absolutely needed to get clean -- we put her in the shower with us. It took 2 of us and we tried to make it fun (the shower) but basically the goal was to get her clean. In the end, it took one of us sitting on the side of the tub with our feet in. Eventually, she didn't care.
My son went through a short phase like this too. But he loved his outdoor swimming pool. So we started asking him if he wanted to go swimming in the tub. We put lots of bath toys in there and gave him a cup. He loved pouring water over his Daddy's head, while his daddy leaned over the tub. We made it so much fun for him that bathtime soon became his favorite thing to do.
My daughter went through a phase like that around the same age. My neice and a couple of my nephews did as well.
I think it's a normal thing to have happen, and I personally didn't make my daughter take a bath during that time. I just took a wash cloth and wiped her down and if her hair was dirty I'd get it a little wetter and kind of "wash" her hair.
After a couple of weeks I was able to get her back into the tub with me and after a couple of days of that she was running for the tub when we mentioned bath.
Now she's almost 2.5 yrs and it's like it never happened.
Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Good luck!
Maybe it isn't the tub, but the transition to bathtime that is upsetting him. He is old enough now that he knows if he is going to go tale a bath he has to stop playing, so maybe he isn't afraid of the tub so much as he would rather be doing something else. Unfortunatly at this age our little ones have a very limited vocabulary so the express themselves by crying. You might try letting him take a few toys with him in the tub and see if that helps.
Also. The other mom that responded has a good point about being intimidated by the size of the tub. If bathing in the kitchen sink doesn't work for you.....if your son is anything like mine was at 13 months and bath in the sink would have been a bigger mess than it was worth....they make tubs that are bigger than the infant tub. We got an adorable blow up tub for our son. It looks like a duck and the duck goes in the tub (a little like a raft) and they sit in the duck. You fill the duck with water instead of the actual tub (we never quite perfected this). This lets your little guy bathe in a smaller area but the water is still contained. When the bath is over there is a suction cup on the back so you can stick it to the wall to dry. I got ours at Baby Depot and it was pretty cheap (less than $15).
Hi C.,
I am not a psychologist but in my experience it is normal for children to develop fears as a normal part of their development. Look how big the tub is compared to how small he is and especially if he is comfy with mom or dad in there to be a support system. Perhaps you can try using the kitchen sink. That way you can stand near him the space will be smaller and maybe in a few months you can try to reintroduce the tub. There is no harm in listening to your child and for whatever reason in his little mind he is now afraid of the tub. Don't force him to get in there. Either use the baby tub on the counter or use the kitchen sink. Hopefully that will be successful for you and the little guy.
C.
