Bath Phobia

What if you get a doll of some kind and put the doll in the tub for a few days. Show her that the doll will not go down the drain. That is so sad. Doesn't sound like the doctors office handled this too well. I would suggest you also let them know.

I would give a doll or some large toys a bath and have her help, then show her how all the water and the dirt go down the drain but the toys and the doll stay in the tub. Show her how all the bad stuff goes away and all the good stuff stays.

Maybe have her think of ways to tell the dolls how not to be afraid in the bathtub and all the good things about being clean (don't get sick as often, ect)

I guess the best thing to remember is that it is a "phase", my husband and I survive almost any situation with the kids by reminding ourselves that it will pass. My son has done treatments from 15mons-current(8) and just hold her on your lap and make it time for just you and her. I like the idea of the high chair and coloring etc. My son and I are so used to the sound now, we both fall asleep no matter what time of day (Pavlovs dog!!) Anyway, I would try using the mask on her stuffed animals, dolls or if she really hates it, just don't use the mask part. My youngest doesn't like it either and about half way through the treatment I let her just put the tube in her mouth, she likes that much better. About the baths, luckily it is winter and she probably doesn't really need to bathe too much, just give a week with washing her with a rag and then go to the store together and by a new tub toy or bubbles or bath crayons (not the markers) or the colorful bath fizzes. She will hopefully be really excited to play with her new toy. I like that idea about watching her toys in the tub too! Good luck. Just try not to make a big deal out of the fear of baths, I would say that all four of my kids have been afraid at least once when they were toddlers. I think it is a natural fear of just not understanding the drain!!

if it was summer I would say try a pool or sprinkler....can't do that with snow still around!

My son also did just fine with just the regular nazzole at age 1 even if I had to just put it in front of his face...as far as the bathtub, if your daughter is small enough give her a bath in the sink and then when that gets old which it does say its ok now to take a bath in the big girl bath...Good Luck to you. Kids with asthma are hard especially are hard!

I realize that your daughter's bath phobia is much more complex than simply being afraid of going down the drain, but there is a Mr. Roger's song on PBS Kids about that aspect of her fear. Mr. Roger's calm personality, in combination with the song, really helped my son with his fear. http://pbskids.org/rogers/songLyricsYouCanNeverGoDownTheD...

What a terrible experience for your daughter to go through!! My daughter is 21 months and just went through an all out bath rebilion! This was complete with screaming, clinging to me, turning red, hystericalness, the whole nine yards. I started trying to give her sponge baths in the sink and at first she would not even put any body part near the water but she would let me wash her with the wash cloth. I then tried to take baths with her. She would be ok as long as she could sit on my lap or my knees. Then it graduated to me being in the tub with her but she would actually sit in the tub and not on my legs. This went on for about a month then literally one night I was getting ready for our joint bath and she just walked right over to the tub and tried to get in all by herself like nothing had ever happened. I was shocked. Ever since I cannot get her out of the tub!!! She has not had any problems since then. As quickly as it started it was over just one random night. She'll work it out herself but has to feel asured that nothing bad will happen to her or her brother in the tub. I wouldn't force the issue as that may make her fear worse.
Good luck!! I know this can be a little frustrating.

Poor little girl! I think the doctor should have explained treatment options before "trying" a new one on your daughter. Geez, how terrifing!

It sounds like your daughter may need some happy, positive experiences with the tub. My suggestion: To get my dd (26 m.o.) in the tub in the bath, I'll call it "Paint time". We'll go to the bathroom with Crayola washable finger paints in tubes. I put her in the DRY tub on the mat. Usually take her clothes off, but you can even leave them on the first time, since the paint easily washes off in the washing machine.

Just reassure her that it's time to paint and the tub is the easiest to clean. (no water, yet). Squirt some paint on the wall and tub and let her smear it around. A little goes a long way! You may have to start painting, to get her interested. Just make sure to keep a happy, carefree attitude.

Then give her a wet soapy washcloth and some water in a cup, or maybe turn on the facet if she'll let you, and ask her to help wash off the paint (toddlers usually love to help). We usually use the shower head (it's a hose one). After a few times, she'll probably let you close the tub drain to help "wash" the tub with bubbles. Just don't pull the drain plug while she's in there! Good luck!

Hi there,

Just let your daughter have showers until she is ready to take baths again. Is it possible to "secretly" bathe your son while she is in preschool, sleeping or playing? Another possibility would be to shower him too, while he is sitting in the tub, but you would need a shower with a hose. I did that for the longest time when my son was little because he hated taking baths. It is also much faster, so I didn't mind at all.

I feel so sorry for your daughter. What a terrifying experience. Maybe she is old enough for a reasonable conversation explaining that she is not a fishy, maybe proof it to her in front of a mirror. Also, I would explain and show to her that as long as the drain is covered, it is impossible for stuff to go down and that things bigger than the hole cannot go down.

Good luck!

Switch doctors. That practice has to be aware of this nurse being completely oblivious to childrens needs. Sheesh, the last thing you need is to be told your child has asthma and then have her tortured. I am sure that your daughter has connected the fish mask with torture and fish with water, etc..you get my drift.

o my! first of all you are just going to have to ell your daughter that the nurse was not nice and reassure her that will never happen again. Then i would call the doctors office and explain the situation tso that this woman doesnt continue to traumatze children. She did not go about that the right way at all, well i gues htat is obvious now that your child is traumatized

You have a lot of good suggestions here...but I have a few more thoughts.

First with the asthma out of the blue....Asthma is wheezing and inflammation in the airways. It can be mild to severe. It has triggers such as allergies, cold air, viral infections. If you have wheezing two or more times you may have "asthma". My son was diagnosed with "asthma" but so far at age 5 his only triggers have been viral infections...not all of them but some of them. We had a severe attack that took a hospital stay to get control of his wheezing and placed him on pulmicort as a preventative. But up to then last Oct. we only used the neb as needed with xopenex (albuterol) during colds. They can grow out of this I have been told. Although you get more medicine with the mask....you can use the other attachment....at first my son would not use the mask without crying either...the nurse should have worked more with you and your daughter so she would not be scared. The dino mask actually hooked my son into sort of liking it.....but at first its scary...loud...different...if she was really wheezing they may have been more worried about her getting the oxygen she needed verses being nice....but still

As for the bath...do you have the mask? Show her it won't go down the drain, get toy fish and show her. Maybe place a cup or wash cloth over it? There are quite a few preschool shows about this fear from Mr. Rogers and Bear in the Big blue house and I'm sure a lot of others.

Good luck....its hard for us moms...but fears come and go at this age hopefully this one rides out quickly.

My husband bought my daughter an inflatable duck tub (probably from Target or somewhere). To be honest, I kind of thought it was unnecessary (my daughter was in love with rubber duckies at the time), but it might be helpful for you. There is no drain, you have to just tip it, I guess. It's big enough to fit VERY snugly in your tub...I guess if you had to you could put it on the floor and fill it manually. There wasn't a ton of room in it but it could work during this transition period for you. I'm sure she'll get over it but how stressful for all of you! Good luck!

Don't have a real bath solution, but I would let the dr know so they don't have this reoccuring with another parent. My son had daily neb treatments from 22 mon-age 5 when he could use an inhaler properly (luckily he outgrew childhood asthma) We would do stories during it. He would sit on my lap and we would read, read, read. This became our bedtime routine. Also when he had flare-ups we would put him in the high chair and he would color or paint through the treatments. He resisted at first but since this was necessary his breathing we made it as fun as possible and he learned the mask wasn't so bad. My doctor did not want me using the other attachment since he did not feel it worked as well. (Did I mention he was diagnosed two days after my second son was born--my husband and mom had to teach me how to do it since I was still in the hospital!)

My suggestion is for the neb treatment. My daughter was diagnosed at 2 with Asthma. She hated the fish mask with a passion. Screaming, crying, the whole nine yards. They do not have to wear the mask. They do just fine with the regular attachment. If she has to have another treatment make sure you tell them you don't want the mask.

I'm thinking she saw something on tv where something or someone went down the drain. Sounds a little like Finding Nemo? Lots of kids have that phobia. Try filling the bathtub and putting some toys in there. Bring her in to the bathroom and drain the tub while she is standing there. Show her that the water goes down the drain but the toys stay in the tub. Explain that if the toys, which are smaller than her brother, do not go down the drain, a person could never go down the drain. Try to make bathtime more fun. Try bubbles. Buy some bubbles and instead of using them outside, use them in the tub. They love that. It's a little messy, but your in the tub, so who cares. Watch your floors, they become slippy if the bubbles spill on the floor. If all else fails, know that she will grow out of it.

As far as naptime goes, she might be afraid, now that she has a little brother, that she is missing something if she does not nap. My oldest went through that when her sister was born. She really needed a nap, so I started offering treats if she would just sleep for one hour. (always slept longer) When that stopped working, we would play a game (just the two of us) when she woke up, if she would go to sleep. When they are at that age they need a routine for their naps. As hard as it is when you have running around to do, you need to have nap time at pretty much the same time every day. After lunch is always good. That way she knows, lunch is over and now it's time for my nap. It might be hard if you are use to running around during the day, but if you really want her to nap, do your running around in the morning. Once you start the routine, she will automatically know, lunch is over, now I am going to lay down. Start that now because it is very hard in the summer to start a routine like that. Routine really is key for nap time.
Good luck!

Awesome suggestions!~ Good luck...we all grow out of fears with a little time and a lot of love.