Bath Time Troubles

My little one didn't like getting water in her ears,
and that would cause greatly distressed crying. Why
don't you try putting earplugs in her ears before
bathtime. Worked for us!

Wow, you have tried everything. Good Job! I have always taken my little ones in the shower with me as it is back breaking over the tub. I would stick to the shower. Does she need a bath everyday. Try backing it down to 2 0r 3 times a week or if there is an emergency bath needed. (got sick or muddy) Good luck. Blessings.

I bought a blow up bath tub that fits inside a regular bath tub as my daughter had the same problems. I also bought lots of bath time toys for her. I think my daughter was testing me at that age and I would tell her that she had to have a bath, no matter what. I also bought a small space heater to keep the bathroom really warm which seemed to help. She is now 31 months old and I can't get her OUT of the bath now. She takes a 20-30 min bath each night. If your daughter likes music, try playing some calm night time music.
Good luck!
L.

Hi V.,

I have 3 children, all of whom LOVED their tubs. My youngest is my only girl and she is 14 months old. Our issue is getting out of the tub, she loves it so much, I think she should have been a fish, lol.

I have a few tricks you can try. We always try to make "tubby time" fun. With my daughter we get her undressed, and let her walk to the tub herself. (actually she runs, lol) If you can't get her to enjoy this part and go willingly, you can either undress her infront of the tub or chase her teasingly saying "I'm gonna get that bum". My daughter laughs histerically as she runs to the tub, when I do that. (all 3 did)

If she will not come, try drawing the tub as you would. Be all excited. Then splash a little and play with some of her tub toys. Act like you are having the most wonderful time. She most likely won't want to miss out on any fun, and come check it out. You can make up all sorts of songs to go with getting in the tub, washing, getting out, anything. She will love anything you make up. My songs are rather goofy, such as... if we are rushing for time, I will sing "get in, soaka fanny and get out, boom boom" (lol.. see what I mean) or for tubby time: "Tubbytime, it's tuuu-bby time, splasha splasha" or for shampooing hair I sing "Shammy-poo..a...shammy-poo, wee eww, wee eww" We sing about body parts according to what I am washing. Quick little age appropriate songs, or we sing nursery rhymes. Whatever works. (although, not to toot my own horn, BUT she enjoys my own song creations so much more lol)

We have a few toys in our tub, maybe about 4. Not an overload of toys but just enough to entertain. Always make sure the water is a comfortable temperature. Not too hot and not too cold. You can test the water temperature on the inner arm area between your wrist and elbow. They also have little rubber duckies or little water thermometers you can get to make sure the water is just right.

I always put them in before the water finishes drawing, then I wash them really quick. Now one of the issues I had with my 6 year old when he was a baby was he HATED having water poured on his head... he still does, BUT they have little water "visors" which look like a sun visor hat but are made of foam. Makes things much more peacful if that is an issue for you. They wear this on their head and that way the water doesn't go in their face or eyes.

Now of course, you know NEVER leave your child near or in water unattended. I sit right down at the side of the tub and we (mainly me, lol) sing songs, play with her & the toys, splash right along with her (sometimes this creates more of a mess than I planned, but is only water and a pretty quick clean up) I will even go as far as putting my face is the water and showing her how to blow bubbles. You can even bring a bottle of bubbles and while she is in the tub blow the bubbles into the water. (my daughter is mesmorized by bubbles)I am constantly talking or singing to or with her.

Now she will crawl around in there, as she does not use any kind of seat, but I am right there and I keep my arm over the side of the tub in case I need to help her. (although crawling around she is usually fine, but I still do anyway)

She will also stand in the tub, like what you mentioned. HOWEVER, I have gotten this in check. What I do is the first time she stands I hold her by the arm and tell her to sit down or she will fall and go "boom". If she does not sit I tell her if she doesn't sit down "we all done, and tubby go bye bye" She will usually sit right down. I usually give her a "3 strike" rule, meaning 3 times and tubby is done. If it continues I immediately end the tub. (she does not like this so she rarely stands anymore)

If she listens and does not stand up, we will play in the tub for a little while. When it's time to be done (sometimes when the water is getting cold and someone is all pruney, as we get carried away playing, lol) But when it's time to be done, I pull the plug and we splash and play until the water is all gone. We also love to watch the water swirl around as it goes down, or watch the toys circle around as the water disappears.

I take her out and wrap her up in her towel. (this is when mine protests) I sing a song (I made up.. anything will do) about drying off, which helps. Then I hold her facing outward and we look into the mirror. I say "Who is that beautiful girl? It's my baby Kylie! Ohh you smell so good!" She will point to herself and smile. Another thing we do sometimes is what I refer to as "baby bath close up" lol, As we look into the mirror I hold her far from the mirror then we get close and repeat this a couple times. She laughs histerically.

I take her and put on her lotion and get her dressed. Now she is not fond of this part, but she is a big Backyardigans fan! (HUGE) So I play their music cd while I do this and sing along with it. It keeps her calm and works for us. (I also have little things such as chimes and ink pictures of her hands and feet when she was a newborn, which hang on her wall right above where I change/get her dressed) She ADORES the chimes, and will point to her hands and feet prints and say "baby".

As far as tub toys, I would like to add I am not a fan of those rubber tub toys or any kind that have holes where water can get trapped in them. They will eventually get all gross. We have a little red ball, a cup, and two little Backyardigan figurines. (Pablo and Uniqua) The Backyardigans came with a pirate ship to go in the water also, but water gets in it, and it just grosses me out too much. I had to take the whole thing apart unscrewing this and that to get all the water out. Needless to say this no longer comes in the tub, but she doesn't mind.

The advise I can give you is when approaching bath time, make it relaxed and playful. What child doesn't enjoy playing and spending time with Mommy?! Not to mention gives you some quality/bonding time with her. Moments like these will fly by faster than you know it. I hope some of my ideas will be helpful for you! Good luck!

Where are the bath toys? I have a 4 year old and 18month old and that is what makes bath time so much fun. My 18 month old loves the octopus faucet protector by crayola. You can turn it upside down and water pours out the 4 legs in an arch that makes him laugh like crazy. Baby born swim baby is a hit with him and yesterday for valentines day I got him these dinosaurs from cost plus that light up different colors when they are in the water. They loved that last night. I think the biggest hit would be cups that you can fill.
Good luck with that. And if it still is difficult- give her a bath every other day or every 3rd day. Babies don't need baths every day unless they are obviously dirty.

Hi, my name is J.. I have a 17 yr. old son and 14 yr. old daughter. May I make two suggestions? First, don't bathe your 15 mo. old daughter every night...sounds like you could both welcome a little peace. Second, do you have a youngster "friend" you could borrow sometimes or another child of your own close in age she could bathe with? My kids did not like bathe time either UNTIL the youngest got old enough to sit well in the tub with the older...then it became fun because they had eachother. Or you could have a special toy she only gets in the tub. One more thing. Try having someone else bathe her...sometimes when we feel bad about something, we can make our little ones feel bad about it too. Don't dismay...if mine made it, yours will. March on, Mother! J.

Hi V.,

Try using baby wash with lavander or camomille (calming wash), my son used to be the same way. But after I start using the calming wash in his bubble bath, now he looks forward to showering. Hopefully that will work for her. Also, they get fascinated with the bubble bath, I suggest you bubble bath her every time and make bath time a fun time for her.

Its fun to have babies!

-e!

My son also went through a time when he hated bathes. About the same time. Two word, BATH TOYS! He loves his bath now. :) Good luck!

If you worried about her slipping, place one to two of the non-slid bath mats that a bunch of little suction cups on the back (note - scub both sides frequently and replace).

In addition, this is a fun time for them, place floating toys in the tub and sit along side the tub. Heck, you can be in the tub, as well, I had several children, so there was always two in the tub to play.

I'm not quite sure how you feel because both of my children love taking baths. I would suggest getting a variety of toys for her to play with while she's in the bathtub. They make bathtub color crayons too. My daughter loves them. Try and make it a fun experience rather than a chore. Try to get her to participate in preparing the bath also. Let her plug the drain and turn on the water. Maybe then she will be a little more interested in it. Good luck.

Not that I am an expert. I found that with my kids when they began to be irritated by bath time, I had to let the routine slide a little and bathe them maybe every other day (barring any big issues ie: rashes, mud, etc) and then they seemed more willing on the days when we did bath. I know it sounds wierd but our doctor said that their skin often became irritated and too dry when I bathed them every day anyway, so we killed two birds with one stone. Good luck.

we read books to our son so he would relax once he was old enough to sit.
Get a long anti slip matt, and tell her not to walk around, if she does, then slips, remind her that is why she should not!
Do not use soaps or bubble bath until the last minute, so her bottom is not irritated. Maybe she is getting cold or hot?
Give her a waterproof baby dool to wash, change toys every night, etc. Make washing ahri easy and fun. Dove shampoo and cond. works best for us as far as pain if it does get into eyes. no tangles either!

We have an inflatable duck tub that fits nicely inside our regularly sized tub. I believe it's made by Munchkin. It is the perfect size for our son who is big (10mos old/30 or so inches/25 lbs) He's not ready to be loose in the tub so this is a good alternative because it's like a mini tub just for him. Also the beak quacks when you squeeze it - he loves that. Hope this info is helpful.

It's normal to start having fears around now. My son is 11 months now and doesn't like his baths. I do two different things. I will still bath him in the kitchen sink (he's small for his age) or I will just take a bath with him. If he's really upset in the bath I will nurse him a few minutes while dumping water on his legs, chest, and back. I also encourage him to splash the water with his feet. I fill the tub up with enough water to allow him to float (don't do this if you aren't actually in the water sitting in the tub with her). I also put toys in the tub. He likes the baby brush from the hospital and other things that float. Good luck!

For both of my children, I have used the Munchkin inflatable duckie tub. It's great for travel and my kids feel secure in it and love to play. You can find them at Target or RiteAid. Hope this helps...good luck!

My Neice hates bath time also. When I watched her, I put her in the tub with cups and plastic bowls, and we kinda went nuts playing, and splashing around. She was so distracted having fun, dumping water everywhere, that I had her washed up without her even realizing it. Then she was upset she had to get out. Walmart had paints and crayons for the tub also. They could distract her, and make bath time fun. Girls aren't supposed to take Bubble baths, so that can't help you, but maybe playtime can. Good luck.

Hi V.. some great advice here. With my son, tantrums were either b/c he was tired or didn't understand. Maybe some books about bathtime, pictures of kids having fun. When she IS having fun in the water, get pictures of HER! use them like icons. maybe let her wear her bathing suit. and what I did with my son was ANY time of day - late mornings, early afternoons. I'm sure you have a ton of toys. maybe have a "pretend we're at the beach" day. create "the scene" in the bathroom so that it's a surprise? or let her help you. "what do we need for a day at the beach?"

many children are afraid of drain. if that scares her, maybe you can cover it.

best of luck. ~J.

Hi V.,

You didn't mention if you have any toys for her. The key thing is to have a distraction. My children love bath time (HATE washing their hair) because they get to pick out a few toys to bring in with them. It doesn't have to be specially designed "bath toys". I let them bring in any of their toys that can survive water exposure. And nine out of ten times they prefer these to the toys in the store that are made specifically for the bath.

Also try using bubbles. Don't put too much, as it can irritate their skin if they are soaking in it too long. And there are also soap crayons, finger paints and other fun bathing things you can experiment with. She might be a little young still for those, but check it out. Oh, and you might try finger puppets too. She doesn't need to be in there too long, so just try a few things to keep her distracted until she's clean.

Hope that helps!! Good luck!!

You've had a lot of good suggestions, I also used a blow up tub and that worked well. The only other thought I had was maybe she's just getting tired and cranky that time of the evening? With my first daughter I bathed her in the morning after daddy left for work, it was such a nice quiet time for both of us and very relaxed. Then at night I'd just wash her hands and face really well. With our second daughter that just doesn't work with our schedule, it may not work for you either, but I thought I'd throw it out there. :)

Wow, it sounds like you've tried every possible thing! I'm sure it's temporary, 15 months is a difficult age to try and make her understand--at some point you will be able to explain to her that this is going to happen no matter what, but in the meantime I would keep it as short as possible and be as gentle with her as you can...

Hope this helps,
J.