Washing a 15 Month Old's Hair

I had the same problem while washing my 4-month-old son's hair. I started to sing while I was washing his hair, and that seemed to work. Then, when I would rinse the shampoo out of his hair, I used a cup, and told him I was almost done. Now, because of that I have no problems when it comes to washing his hair. He loves it when I wash his hair.

I've found that making it a game and telling them to look at the ceiling for something gets their mind off of the water, and it runs down their backs and not in their eyes. I also use a shower sprayer that can be hand held it helps when they're moving around to find the things on the ceiling.

Neither of my girls likes getting their hair washed. We have the same problem that you do with my 14 month old, every meal her hands go through her hair. So when we are in the tub we make a game out of it. I take my cup fill it a litte bit with water and tell them, "I'm gonna get your belly" and I splash them in the bellys, then we move up, "I'm gonna get your chest", then we move to arms, shoulders, necks and back until I start getting the bottom of their hair, by this time they are laughing so hard they don't usually notice when I dump it on their heads...after I dump their heads once I might go back and get their belly's again or their necks again and go back to their heads...It doesn't always workbut most of the time it does!!!!!!

Have you tried playing in the swimming pool? I have no idea if this is just temporary or just my children but last week my 13 mo twins were just like your daughter. The cup with the rubber piece helped but I always had to get some water on the front to wash the hair closest to thier forehead - bath time was over and thier was often crying. However, this weekend we took them to a relatives and spent alot of time getting them used to the swimming pool. We went slowly and carefully and by the end of the weekend we had trouble getting them to keep thier faces out of the water. This week it is like magic, they laugh when you pour the water over thier heads to get the shampoo out. I don't know if it will help, but it just might.

Oh and good luck with the food through the hair thing, we get that with almost every meal too. If you find a way to stop that let me know, because I am very tired of chef boyardee mo hawks.

Ahhh, the things we do for them that they hate!!!!!!!!! My daughter (2 1/2) isn't so bad about getting her hair washed anymore, but she hates having it combed out! We switched over to a hand held showerhead to rinse it out easier. Although she's not crazy about it, rinsing it goes easier because it's faster. Also, I bought a mirror that goes in the shower and she watches as I put 'bubbles in her hair' (we have a song). Plus, I wash it with shampoo and put the conditioner in before I do any rinsing- that way I only have to rinse once. That makes doing this easier. I know what you mean about her rubbing her hands in it............my daughter has GORGEOUS, LONG, BEAUTIFUL hair and it's usually a mess because that's where she seems to keep her food! ;-) Good luck and know it gets easier- only to have another battle on your hands!!!!!

Don't waste your money on those headband thingies, they don't work! Both of my kids have gone thru phases where they hate it. With my daughter, counting the number of rinses worked. And, she covers her eyes with her hands so that the water won't get in them. My son still doesn't love it, but I haven't really found anything to take his mind off of it. I leave it for last thing and just do it as quick as I can.

Hi C....I hope you are having a good day...my suggestion would be to let her know exactly what washing her hair will do...for instance play a game...get some crayons for the tub. Draw on the tub...show her how you get the crayon off using the cup you use to wash her hair.. Pretend to draw on her forehead with the crayon, but use a finger to massage the shampoo in..she will think you are coloring on her hair...Then tell her you are going to get the crayon out of her hair...rinse it...it might work,I do that with my neice who is 17months old. Just dont let her get a hold of real crayons to draw on herself...lol

Hi C.! I'm R. 7 I'm new here. I think you should make it a game like everyone else suggested. I haven't had that problem yet since mines only 10 months so i don't know too much about it. Good luck!

HELLO C.!
I HAVE 2 CHILDREN A DAUGHTER 13 AND A SON 8. MY SON THINKS HE A FISH(LOL) SO I NVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH HIM, BUT MY DAUGHTER USED TO SCREAM BLOODY MURDER WHEN SHE WAS YOUNGER AND IT WAS HAIR WASHING TIME. WHAT I FOUND THAT WORKED FOR US-I LET HER WAS HER OWN HAIR--YES EVEN AT 15MOS.--SHE THOUGHT OF IT AS A GAME. ANOTHER THING I DID WAS TO SING SONGS WITH HAND MOVEMENTS AND WHILE SHE WAS SO INTO SINGING AND LAUGHING I SNUCK THE SOAP IN HER HAIR AND WHEN IF WAS TIME TO DUMP THE WATER SHE WOULD STOP SINGING BUT I WOULD JUST KEEP ON SINGING ANG LAUGHING AND LET HER KNOW SHE WAS ALRIGHT. WE GOT OVER OUR HAIR WARS PRETTY QUICKLY.

My daughter screams whenever I rinse her hair and even a drop goes in her eyes. I found a pitcher-thing at Toys R Us. Instead of a spout, it has a stretchy rubber thing on it that you place against the child's head so that the water goes down his/her back instead of all over. It has worked wonders for us and was worth the $5. It was with the bathing supplies.
Hope this helps!

First it's so much easier to use tearless shampoo and rinse with a hose-type shower or a container of water poured over their head from practically birth. Then they are used to it and don't know any different. Just be fast and try to run in away from their face, remember, water doesn't hurt them! Just stay calm and remind them of that.

Since it's probally too late for that, I would suggest using a dry (or damp) wash cloth over the eyes, just hold it with one hand on the forehead, hanging over the eyes while rinsing. That ususally stops the fear of the water, however, buying the ring type thing that goes over her forehead is ok too, if it makes her less fearful it's ok and it's not like your spoiling them this way.

BTW I'm a proffesional nanny and mother of 3, so I have some previous experience LOL

Good luck, and remember to stay calm, your fear and anxiety will transfer to her and reinforce her fear.

C.,
I sometimes used a bottle that I could fill with water and squirt it out. That way I could point it toward the back of her head and squeeze real hard and there wasnt much water to fall back in her eyes then. And I used to wet her hair with a washcloth. Sometimes I would just have a washcloth and hold it on her forehead so it wouln't go in her eyes too and sometimes the washcloth got pretty wet but it did't go in her eyes. Just some thoughts K.

I have gone/still going through this with my 2 year old. I have found that having him help me wash it helps. Getting them involved always makes it a little bit easier. Another trick I figured out is that he likes to turn on the shower and sit under the spray... I will soap him up before he realizes it and he gets rinsed right quickly..its pretty wet that way but it works.

Hello C. my son is 5 yrs. old right to this day he don't like to get he's hair wash ethier. So but he have to get the head wash because of ring worms stuff they play in dirt or sand in their hair. So this what i did put shampoo on the rag and let him wash he's own hair. I had the some problem with my 2child she's a girl i did the some for her too and now 12. it was hard for her then my son. Give it a try let me knoe if it wrk or not here my e-mail ____@____.com I would like to hear from you

C.,

I bought an attachment that converts the showerhead into a hand held sprayer. I bought it at Wal-Mart (so it's not expensive) and installed it myself (so it's not that hard to do). I like it because it gives me a lot of control over where the water sprays. I had my son hold a dry washcloth over his eyes, just in case, to catch any stray drips. Now that he is five, he can use it all by himself. It definitely makes him feel in control when it comes to being clean and taking a shower/bath. I liked the spray attachment so much I bought one to install on the shower in my bathroom as well! Good luck!

I think we've all been there....I even bothered to get one of those headbands (which didn't work by the way). Maybe this will work for you---when my son went through this (22 months old now), I decided to ease him back into allowing me to wash his hair. I did a few things until I found out which one worked for him. I leaned him back (he would fight to do just that...but eventually he would) and do one of the following: poor warm water using a cup over his belly several times and making it a game "water on the belly..water on the belly", or I would ask him to kick which he loved right away. The idea of kicking and splashing water was enjoyable to him. Eventually I was able to work up to pouring water on his hair. It took some time and in the interim I admit I had to shower with him to wash his hair..which even this may be an option for you. Our son now loves to dunk his head in the water when he's taking a bath. Good luck. She won't be scared of the water or hate water getting in her eyes forever.

This may sound crazy, but my daughter took a bath with me every morning up to the start of pre-school this year. We started this when she was about a month old. We work full-time, and we just found it easier this way. She was safe, I could wash her easier, and I usually read her a book in the tub. Then, I'd hand her to Daddy to dry off and dress her.

The best part of this is the hair washing. She sat up while I wet the back of her hair--pouring the water with a cup. When it came time to the front part/top part, I told her she had to put her head back. She felt safe and I could be right there holding her and talking to her as I washed her hair. I explained to her if she kept her head back that the water would go back into the tub. If she put her head forward, the water would go forward into her eyes. I also kept a washcloth on the side of the tub as she liked to wipe her eyes, anyway! Now that she turned five, she takes baths on her own. She's had swimming lessons this past year and she's pretty good about putting her head back in the water now!

Also, I do not wash my childs hair every day. It's not good for her hair because it takes the natural oils out. I wash it every three days. Up to September, I just used the baby wash that I used on her body for her hair, and then a conditioner only on the ends (conditioner is harder to get out). Then I used a leave-in apray conditioner (Aussie). Now I use a children's tearless shampoo, an Aussie conditoner that I have to rinse out, and also a leave-in Aussie conditoner. My little ones hair is LONG, so every three days is perfect for this! LOL.

I had this problem with both of my daughters. I tried a shampoo sleeve purchased from a beauty supply store (waste of money), a plastic visor (also didn't fly), and finally swim goggles and a nose clip. My oldest was so fascinated by the purple color the goggles added to everything that I could, very quickly, wash her hair with very little protest. Even now that she is 4, she holds a washcloth tightly against her forehead when I am wetting or rinsing her hair. My youngest daughter was not so easy. We had this ongoing fight at bath time until she was nearly 20 months old. The she would finally look up at the animal decals I had placed on the ceiling when I told her it's time to look up. I'm not sure if it was her maturity that finally did it, or the fact that I started keeping her brush at the dining room table. Every time she'd put food in her hair, I'd immediately brush it. She has curly hair so this is less than pleasant for her, even when I'm gentle.

My husband always claimed he had no problem with the younger one when he would have her lay back against his hand in the bathtub. That may work, but I worried that she would try to lay back when I wasn't ready for it and get a mouthful of soapy water into her lungs.

Best of luck,
K.

Hi C.~
I do have one of those visers ~ it has to fit tight or it does no good. So I wouldnt even bother. What i do it tell my daughter to look up. AS long as her head is back the water will not go in her face. We make a game of it too. I do not know if you use conditioner yet or not but I would recomend getting the 2 in 1 for her. One of the things we do it count and she gets silly~ Good lUck

L.

My son hated when I would rinse out his hair and then I ordered this cup thingy out of One Step Ahead and we have no problems any more. Hope this helps.

http://www.onestepahead.com/product/86186/442788/117.html