Mucky toddler!: 17 mo DS refuses to go in bath and shower

[OhNoNotTheHoneyBabies]

Hi,

We only have a shower in our flat so I've been washing DS in a baby bath since he was born.

Recently he has been flat-out refusing to get in the bath at all, or he will stand in it and refuse to sit down (I can sometimes get him washed if he does this, though he gets quite cold).

He's also completely terrified of going in the shower. I've tried getting him to come into the shower with me, but he just screams and refuses.

So, the result is a bloomin' grubby, mucky toddler!!

Any ideas how I can get him to have a bath???? Or is it going to be sponge baths from now on?

do you take him swimming - see if water can be made more 'fun' so to speak?

Have you got some fun toys to play with in the bath? My DS loves having his teapot with him in the bath. Try and make it more appealing - less for a wash and more about fun.

Is there any space in your shower out of the direct flow from the water? You could sit him there (with bath toys to keep him occupied) while you shower then attack wash him with a facecloth when you are done.

Otherwise, my advice is just to go with the sponge baths for a bit. Our ds (now 3) also hated the shower when he was v little, but now has to be dragged out of it (water restrictions!).

I've been thru the stinky toddler thing too :o

Thanks for your replies everyone!

DS has bath toys e.g. boats, watering can etc. and used to love playing with them while he was in the bath. He liked having baths until about 3 weeks ago and now he's suddenly taken against them. I suspect it's him trying to exert his independence...

I haven't taken him swimming yet, but I think it might be a good idea - maybe he'll start to like his baths again if he sees that being in the water is fun.

Our shower cubicle is a bit small, by I think I'll try and coax him in there while I have a shower...it's worth a shot anyway!!

Oh the joys of encroaching toddlerhood! He's taken against lots of random things recently e.g. baths, raincover of the buggy being on, sweetcorn(!?)...

We have probs on & off getting our ds in bath, usually doing something different helps, eg going in bath still wearing socks, thought this was very funny, having a biscuit while in bath, asking him to try & have the quickest bath ever, anything unusual

Could you try a small inflatable paddling pool in the bottom of the cubicle, maybe with a couple of bath toys in? Once he is used to this, you could try and introduce the shower slowly, we had to get a longer hose to reach down low enough so it didn't spray everywhere!

DS took against the bath at around a year old - wouldn't have a shower either as we only had one over the bath at that time.

I used to wash him sitting on a towel on my lap & kept him perfectly clean.

He didn't decide to try the bath again until after DD was born and he saw her enjoying herself in it, then it was as if he'd never had any problems.

They both switched to the shower as soon as they could wash themselves properly & now rarely have anything else - DD has the occasional bubble bath, but I don't think DS has had a bath for about 15 years.

Quick update on the bath-refusing situation!

Last night I managed to get DS sitting down in his bath for a full 10 minutes by putting the bath in the living room with lots of toys and his favourite CD on! Result!

Hopefully this is not just a one off....

I love showers :) I'm a twice a day girl...
However, I am short and hate going in a shower where I can't bring the shower head down lower (still above my head, but nearer me) - if it's too high it's like being in a rain storm and it hurts my eyes after a while. I can imagine as a small child it's not that nice (for some - others will love it) especially if it's a small cubicle.

If you have a moveable shower head, I would stand him in the shower, hold onto the hose and wash him down without allowing it to 'rain' on him from a great height. Let him hold it too (get naked first!!).

I hope you don't have carpet in your lounge

Congrats on the successful bath, OhNo!

Let us know how you get on.