How to Create a Peaceful Transition from Bath to Changing Table

Around this age I would start teaching him about transitions using a familiar cue, even though he has no concept of time. Say, "two more minutes and no more bath time." This applies to other activities as well, like playing with toys, etc. And be consistent. That way he'll know what to expect (and that you're the boss ;D)

Hi,

I agree, 5 min is too short. We use a baby tub (I think it is larger than a lot of the ones I've seen out there) inside the bathtub and that works great for my 12 month old. I can't stand the thought of filling the whole big tub and using all of that water, but the little tub also keeps her toys in reach, helps to buffer her from the edge of the tub if she should slip and keeps her warm since we fill it up past her belly.

I would give him a warning that bath is almost over a few minutes before and then tell him the bath is all done. I like the idea of saying good bye to the bath toys and water.

If he is contentedly playing in the tub, it could be a relaxing time of the day for you. Just sit and watch him play (we do the washing first so the rest of the time is play). And there is no law that says he should be bathed every night or even at night. You could wipe down his face and hands with a washcloth and bathe him in the morning or whenever or just give him a bath every couple of days.

Good luck.

My 20 month old loves her bath & hates getting out too. We bathe her in the big tub with just a couple inches of water and lots of toys. We had to establish a "fun" routine of getting out of the tub. BUt I agree with everyone that 5 min is way too short! She likes at least 15 min in the tub so we just put her in earlier so she's still getting out at the same time.

ANyway, when it's time to get out I just gather up all her toys except the one she's playing with and put them away. I have the hooded towel ready (corners tucked into my jeans pockets and hood in my mouth. I pick her up facing away from me and pull her onto my lap (often kicking and screaming) and immediately wrap her in the towel and reach for the drain plug and say in a very excited voice - "ok lets watch the water go down the drain and look for the funnel"! She stops crying and watches for the funnel to appear over the drain & says there it is when she sees it. We watch until it's gone and we say "all gone" and then she says night night to the fishes hanging on the all and I tell her how we are going to go look out the window in the living room while I whisk her there. We sit on the couch looking out the window for about 5 minutes while I dry her off and she get to relax, looking at the trees, leaves, cars going by, planes in the sky, whatever. If my husband is here that's his chance to say night night. Then I take her in and get her changed - again I talk to her the whole time about her day or something she is going to do tomorrow so as to distract her. Most of the time all of this results in a relatively peaceful transition to getting dressed and then she gets her stories & bottle.

Hope that helps. Works for us most of the time. Also, I've read that you shouldn't pull the plug and drain the tub with small children as they might become scared that they will get sucked down the drain with the bathwater, so you might want to exercise caution if you decide to take that advice.

I give my daughter a bath, then put on a fresh diaper, lotion, her pjs and then give her her bedtime bottle. She started flipping out after the tub and I realized that it was because she knew the bottle was coming. Now I have the bottle ready right away. I do tub, then diaper and bottle, then pjs and lotion and it works much better.

Why only 5 minutes for a bath? If he loves it don't you think it would be a fun time for him to stay in longer. I don't think there really is a set time limit on baths... Maybe, when he is ready to come out he will be calm and happy instead of being taken out just when things are getting fun?

sorry i had to laugh when i read your question...memories of my 2 girls. that said, yes give him a longer bath w/toys. can you get a baby tub? or he is old enough to take a bath in a real tub. (obviously watch him like a hawk) as for the transistion from tub to changing table...offer his bottle or if he has a lovey. but, dont worry it gets better.

Is there any reason you're still bathing him in the kitchen sink? If he can sit up on his own he is fairly safe in the tub with supervision. We only bathed our son in the sink until he was a few months and then moved to the tub. He loved the ability to stretch out. He also likes showers because we would often take him into the shower with us rather than running a tub bath.

We usually turn on the shower in the bathroom to warm the air a little and then fill the tub so our little guy doesn't get too chilly during bath time. We have let him stay in the tub as long as he was having fun and wasn't getting cold (and even sometimes after getting cold if he was still happy).

At a year, your little guy has realized he might have some control over his environment. I would recommend trying a "real" bath in the bathtub and letting him play for 15-20 minutes. While 5 minutes may be "plenty" for a child his age, what harm is there in letting him enjoy his bath experience for a little longer? His fingers might get a little pruny but he will survive and you might find a longer bath tires him out a little better before bed without the crying and drama.

I agree with Jill M. 5 minutes is torture - he wants to play! Give him a little more time. My 16 month old stands up when he's ready to get out. Not much more than 10 minutes. Good luck. Oh and I agree that he's ready for the real tub.

Call me crazy, but I don't understand why people are talking about timing the bath? We are using warm water, (And I would DEFINITELY be using the regular tub - the air will be warmer in a smaller space) and isn't everyone sitting right there with the child making sure they aren't getting chilled? My child loves the bath and I wouldn't dream of cutting it short because of a suggested time limit. Sure I am tired at the end of the day, but sometimes we do the bath right after dinner and then play in pajamas for another hour- that might help if you are too tired at bedtime. If the water does chill too quickly, use warmer water or let some water drain out and add warmer water later...

try a timer... set it and when it goes off it's time to get out... this way there is an audible ding when time is up and you're not necessarily the bad guy - the timer is.

let him bring a bath toy with him to the changing table to continue to play while you're diapering him etc....

also have something that he likes to do afterwards. my daughter gets to watch 1 episode of curious george after tub...so she knows, tub, timer goes off, get dressed, on the couch for a 15 minute episode and then off to bed. it's the same thing every night.

Celeste,

I would say at 13 months old you should be putting your son in a real bath tub. And my 14 month old daughter loves the bath and would scream too if I took her out after only 5 minutes. She really loves to play with stacking cups and her duck and things like that. I also keep pouring warm water over my daughters back and front so she keeps warm. And since she isn't in front of a window that helps too.

I generally wait til she gets tired before I take her out about 10 to 15 minutes long. Also when she comes out if she get fussy with the drying I sing to her. "This is the way we dry the baby so late in the evening" type song and things like that to distract her from coming out of the bath.

Good luck,
L. M

You have gotten great advise. Move to a big tub, give it more time etc. My son is 1 1/2 and I find it helps the transition go better if he acknowledges it and helps. I have a mesh bag that I hang in the shower that gets filled with his toys. When the water is getting cold I say help Mama pick up ok? and we pick up the toys and put them in the bag together. This takes 5 minutes maybe and lets him accept the idea that it is coming to an end. I also have him push down the drain button and "let the water out" he says goodbye to the water and watches it go away and then turns to me with open arms, ready for the next step of drying off and pj's. Moving to the big tub helped a lot and routine, routine, routine!

Good luck!

Do you let the water completely drain before you take him out? Have you thought about putting him in the actual bathtub? There are some great little tubs you can put inside the bathtub. You might find it a little easier to let him play in the tub a little longer if it's not in your sink. Where is the changing table? Have you thought about just changing him on the counter by the sink? Let him take one of his favorite bath toys out of the tub. Or you could have him clean up the toys when bath time is all done so there's kind of a sequence. He was washed and played a little and now it's time to put the toys away and say goodbye to the water. You could even sing a little song to him as the water is draining and when the water is all gone make up a little tune about now it's time to take (insert son's name here) out of the bath and dry him off. Kind of continue the fun of the bath outside of the tub.

Honestly my son spent more time then that in the tub at only weeks old. He had colic and it was the only quiet time we got at night. He's now 22 months and still loves his bath of about a half hour. I would let him play a little longer if he's having fun. Transitions are always hard though you may need to add a toy or activity he enjoys into your routine.

Put him in the regular tub and let him play in the water for 10-15 minutes if he's gotten to play and the water is getting cold he won't fight so much. We drain the tub before our 2 yr old gets out so he can say bye to the water and we make getting out of the tub a fun game just like getting in.

I've never heard of a 5 minute rule for baths! LOL!
If he loves the tub so much- put him the real bathtub and let him play! My girls play in the tub for 30 mins or more. They get nice and clean and have a blast.
No such thing as too long of a bath if he's happy and the water is warm enough.
Relax- put your kid in the tub!!
-S.

This sounds a little simplistic, but are you pulling him out of a full sink of water or are you letting the water drain out first? My daughter has been showered since she was an infant (at first with one of us, and now alone) and turning the water off makes it a whole lot less fun to be in there. I'm wondering if pulling the plug and letting the water drain out would make it easier to get him out of!

I have a 12 month old so I feel your pain. She is the exact same way. We have these bath toys that are sort of like small rubber ducks and they have lights inside that glow REALLY bright and the lights change color. They are made by Summer Infant and you can buy them at Babies R' Us in the bath toy section. I think they are about $10 for a package of three. As long as she has one in her hand when I take her out of the tub then she is happy and doesn't even care that I took her out. It also distracts her while I get her dressed. Good luck!

My boys (3 years and 17 months) both love taking baths, and I have not yet figured out how to get them out without great distress. Giving them warnings or even letting the tub water drain doesn't seem to do the trick -- they will sit in an empty and cold bathtub and not want to get out! So I don't have any advice about the transition, but I do think that if your son loves to take a bath you should let him stay in there for more than 5 min. I wouldn't even really put a time limit on it. I never time my kids' baths, but I'm sure they have been in there for 15 or 20 min before. I get them out when it's bedtime or when I just can't sit there and watch them anymore. Sometimes we even read bedtime stories in the bathroom so they can prolong the bath! I agree with other moms who have reccommended letting your son use the tub now, though. He'll have room for more toys and even more fun!

My 15 month old granddaughter loves her bath. She has been in a real tub since she was perhaps 8 or 9 months old, watched at all times of course. She loves the water, loves to play with toys, with a cup, etc. Her bath lasts at least 15-20 minutes, sometimes more. 5 minutes is just not enough, and I would put him in the tub, not the sink. Just don't let the water get too high because he will get buoyant and be apt to lose his balance. My granddaughter doesn't really want the bath to end, but after 15-20 minutes, she doesn't really resist. I wrap her up in a towel and we make a game of getting dried and dressed (I let her pick out clothes and play with a toy, etc.) Sometimes she cries and fusses a bit when I unwrap the towel, but it is easy to distract her.

My 18 month old baby girl LOVES to play in the water. Her baths usually end up being in the morning though and I give them to her before i change in to the clothes i am going to wear for the day. She loves to splash and play in the water. She really loves the bubbles that johnsons baby bath makes. When i just take her from the "tub" (the sink or bathroom tub) she screams and cries because she wants to go back in and play. When her bath time is up i usually reach under her and pull the drain plug out or tilt it so it drains slowly. Once the water is gone i rinse her off and wrap her in a big towel then take her to her room to dry her off etc. When she notices the water going away i tell her water/bubbles are going buh bye. It's funny because she actually waves to them and says "bye bye". This also works for the tub. Sometimes she still is not happy about it, but gets over it quickly.
I would suggest if your nerves are running thin from a long day I would suggest giving the bath in the morning. I know you have a son, but with my daughter the only way i can put her hair in pony tails is when it's wet so it is much easier all around for morning baths. Also if she leaks through her diaper it's easier to strip her down and put her in the sink and do a bath.
I hope this helps. Good luck!

Married Mom of almost 14 yr old boy and 18 month old baby girl.

I agree with the others- 5 minutes is way too short at his age! He wants to play in the water. Our daughter's baths are 20-25 minutes sometimes! If the water gets cold we fill up the tub a bit more- I know you are tired....Do you have a husband/partner at home? My hubby often sits with my daughter while she takes a bath. Sometimes I even take a magazine in the bathroom with me and try to read a couple of pages while she is in there...in some ways I find it relaxing because it is time when she is in a structured setting and playing independently (while I sit by of course).

That said, she does get upset when we get her out sometimes... we often give her a warning, have a fun towel ready (we have a frog towel), and talk about the next step (reaading books, or whatever we're going to do). Sometimes though, she's ready to get out on her own!

I am sure this is a silly question but do you wrap him right up in a towel? I just tell my too the fast we get all dressed then you will be warm again. Have you tried doing bath in the bathroom? Maybe if you can have a smaller space were it stays warmer in the room because of the moister it won't seem as cold when he gets out.

I agree with a longer bath in a big boy tub (either a regular adult tub or a large toddler tub). My 21 m.o. son sometimes spends almost an hour in the tub! Sure hes a lil prune by the time he comes out, but he has had fun and is so much more calm. It also gives me a break. I have him in one spot! Not getting into everything chasing him around.

I can't imagine my daughter only having a 5 minute bath. At his age, bath time should be more than getting clean. That's why they have bath toys! LOL My daughter would spend all day in the tub, if I let her. I suggest you start by bathing him in a tub, and not the sink. (He's really too old for that.) Then make it fun time! We do singing, playing with silly, colorful plastic toys, and she LOVES bubbles. I can understand a short bath with children under 6 months, as they generally can't sit up on their own, but by 13 months, that shouldn't be an issue. Good luck!