14 Month Old Hates Bath Time

[Poopiepie]

My dd is 14 months old and all of a sudden started hating bath times from about the time she was 9 months old. We thought it was something that would pass but even now, at 14 months, everytime she hears the bath running, she gets into a crying fit.
We've tried big bathtub, small bath tub, shower, bath with mummy, bath with daddy but nothing works - she just screams and cries the whole time.
I've even tried letting her watch me when I'm showering but she has the same screaming / crying reaction...
However, we have been taking her swimming since she was 6 months old and she loves being in the pool????
Cann't understand it. And Hair Washing is an even bigger drama!
Any ideas or anyone been through this themselves???

[Coolmama]

have you tried bathing at a different time - maybe she is associating bath with the start of bedtime and that is what makes her unahppy so how about a "splass around" at midday or in the morning - might be worth a try.

[Poopiepie]

thanks Coolmama - have tried the morning bath but will now also give midday splash around a try!! ta again!

[mummy2rachel]

My dd was the same for the past few weeks. We overcame it recently by getting her to use her hands to splash a little tub of water first and using a bubble machine to create distraction. When she was distracted, we got her to stand in the bath. Slowly I splashed the water in the tub. She was fascinated by it and wanted to do it herself too. Soon she realised that it was easier to sit down to play with the water and bath toys. And we managed to give her her bath with no fuss.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[Poopiepie]

Hi mummy2rachel - will try that tonight!! Have a bubbly machine I was given as part of my baby shower (!) thought i would never use it so stashed it away somewhere!! Hopefully, it'll be put to good use this evening!!
PS Midday splash did not work
Thanks guys.

[WhiteWineAndJaffaCakes]

I went through this a few months ago when dd was about the same age. We got her used to standing in a dry bath with toys to play with (even fully clothed to start with) and at the same time had a bowl of very shallow water in the living room during the day that she could play with if she wanted. When she'd got used to those we started putting a very tiny amount of water in the bath and gradually built it up. Lots of patience was the key and lots of praise for any small step forward. She's fine now - a proper waterbaby.