Bath time is no fun anymore :(

[Anonymous]

Ariella used to love the bath time. Now, she wails the second I put her in the bath. Washing her hair is getting nearly impossible since she starts screaming hysterically the second she suspects that I’m about to wash her hair. What can I do to make her like this part of our routine again? I miss my little girl enjoying her bath and having a huge smile on her face when it’s time to take a bath. Now, she whimpers when she sees me fill the tub with water and screams when I put her in the bath :(( I’m heartbroken but she needs to be washed and so does her hair. Any ideas??

mariannardh2008-02-17 22:47:32

[Anonymous]

We’ve been going through this with Hailey for a while now. She used to love her bath, though was never terribly fond of hair washing, but didn’t cry, until now- screaming hysterically while being washed and in anticipation of having her hair washed. Just recently it stopped (well she didn’t do it for the past 2 baths). For her it’s sensory- the soap, the water getting rinsed off. I don’t know what turned things around for her. For Sarah when she went through a bad bath phase, I found that a fun bath puppet helped. We picked out one that was a turtle she liked from baby Einsteins, and told her that he was going to wash her hair and rinse it, along with his funny voice and us being totally ridiculous. But it worked and she still plays with it now. There are other fun things out there now- special soaps and colours that you can add to the tub. There are also visors that they can wear so that they don’t get water in their eyes, if that’s her fear. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Claire went through this once, and for her, it happened after she slipped in the tub and got water in her face. I hated it too because she LOVED her bath until then. But after this, she would scream HYSTERICALLY when we started the water.

What finally helped was for me to get IN the tub with her. I took a bath with her and held her next to me and played ALOT. We did this for a few nights and then she was fine.

[Anonymous]

She never really liked any toys in the tub and the weirdest thing is that she never really SAT in the tub. Since she could stand on her own, she’d just stand the whole time which didn’t bother me b/c she’d let me wash her. Now, it’s getting more challanging. DH has to help me out since I can’t do it on my own anymore with the belly sticking out. I’m just afraid I’ll tumble over or something like that.

Lori- I’ll look into the visor. Where can I get all the fun things for bathtime that you recommended?

[Anonymous]

Isaac had this problem for a while and what ended up working for us was doing baths where he didn’t get his hair washed! That way he didn’t know if it would happen or not.

[Anonymous]

Sarah, what do you mean?

[Anonymous]

Walmart has the visor and some fun bath things too. Really any store with a baby section will probably have some good “distraction” things for the bath. Sarah recently got a cabbage patch bath baby and she LOVES her! She washes her, rinses her off, etc…maybe Ariella would enjoy taking care of another baby in the bath while you wash her?

I read in another thread that Ariella qualified for OT services. This issue would definitely be something to discuss with her OT b/c bathtime can be very overwhelming and miserable for babies with sensory issues.

Good luck and I hope it’s just a phase for her!

[Anonymous]

Amy, when the OT came to evuluate her, I mentioned the fact that she doesn’t like to wash her hair or to change her diapers. She told me that she has some sensory issues (not too bad) and that it could be worked on. I’m all for it. She’s also afraid of loud noises and fast moving objects so if therapy helps her, I say “why not”.

[Anonymous]

I mean that some days he will get his hair washed and others not. It helps him not to have so much anxiety with each bath b/c he knows it will not happen every bath now. I hope that makes more sense.

Isaac also has sensory issues and as he has gotten older he has been doing so much better with them (with OT of course)

[Anonymous]

Seth goes through these phases too. One thing that works for us on top of bath toys is that I will read him a story (I will let him pick the book) or play flash cards with him once he is in the tub. I also sometimes let him pick one of his non bath toys to take in if he wants (as long as it is waterproof like legos or a ball). I have figured out that sometimes he just doesn’t want to stop what he is doing to take a bath. I have also noticed that he is worse about the bath at night so on weekends, I will often give him his bath in the morning when he is a little more calm and less tired. I am finding at his age, everything is a challenge!!!! Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I took her into the shower with me and she did great. She let me wash her hair with no problems and was playing with water and giggling. It was a problem taking her OUT of it as she didn’t want to get out. Maybe she doesn’t want to be in the tub anymore?? I don’t know if I should skip the tub and just move on to showers…what do you think?

[Anonymous]

Maybe you should try doing showers for a while and then throw a bath in every now and then. Maybe she’ll like it if it becomes more of a special treat.

[Anonymous]

I say go with what works. Should save you some time and make it easier on you. I guess the only downside would be if the bath was an essential part of the bedtime ritual, but from what you described it sounded like it wasn’t really helping to calm her down anyway.

[Anonymous]

Naomi, definitely not. She’d get so worked up and frustrated that I did the complete opposite.

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