23 month old hates his hair being washed- Please share what works for you!

[joymaker]

My DS is increasingly finding bath time less fun, I think mainly because he knows at some point he is going to have his hair washed. I have seen a couple of types of cap that can be puchased but wonder how affective they really are (one type looks like the peak of a normal cap, the other a ridged plastic circle with a hole cut out for the head IYKWIM). Recommendations please!

If you have any other tips or ideas (or know of any bath toys) that might help this would also be great. I really want him to enjoy bath time as much as he used to.

Thanks in advance

Haven't found an effective way of making it painless, but we don't wash it every night, tell DDs whether it is or isn't hair wash night, and do it very first thing so they can get on with enjoying the bath afterwards.

We also tell them how brave they're being (they never are though) and have a towel extremely handy to dramatically dab their eyes every 2 seconds

DD hated her hair being washed, so we stopped.
She hasn't had a hair wash for 5 years now other than at the hairdressers.
You can't tell, really you can't.

My DS is the same age, and has the exact same problem. It's water being in his eyes he hates, and as soon as I start washing his hair, he reaches for a towel to dry his face.

I've been slowly teaching him the flannel method my mum used on us - get a dry-ish flannel and hold it over their eyes while you're rinsing. Once I'd done it to myself to show him it was okay, he kind of got the idea, but it's slow going. I only wash his hair once/twice a week with shampoo though, which might explain the speed

Caps didn't help us. When he was little, I used to get him to lie down with his neck resting on my right arm and head tilted back - difficult to get him to stay like that but when we could we could get his hair wet without his face getting wet at all - then deal with putting shampoo on (never the problem) then repeat for the rinse - this was the best method for us although hair wash nights were often rather loud still.

Now he sits in the shower and tilts his head first back then forward.

Strangely enough he can do it himself at swimming

I do wonder whether swimming goggles might have been the way forward.

Surely its not necessary to wash your son's hair every day. Its not as if he is a sweaty teenager. I only wash dd hair once a week.

I suggest that you get a no tears formula shampoo and use a sponge to wash his hair. We found that it helps to give my dd an old terry nappy to hold over her face and I get her to close her eyes as well.

I find it hardest bit is combing out tangles in dd's beautiful locks. We make a game of it say "incy wincy spider in L' hair", "No incy wincy you aren't allowed there" we use detangling spray and try and get our as many of the tangles as possible using fingers instead of a brush.

I also allow dd an extra bedtime story for being good about hair washing.

Ecomony terry nappies.

www.realterrynappies.co.uk/terry-nappies-economy-x12-1-p.asp

or you can try ebay.

The secret is really, simply, to make him put up with it, obviously making it as easy as possible at the same time. Use a scoop to put the water on his head and say "shut eyes", or get him to put a flannel over them. Top to toe baby really is no tears (unlike J&J "no tears" shampoo).

And I definitely agree with posters upthread who say you don't need to wash their hair every day. DS has his done about twice a week (or if he gets it full of crap).

Thanks eveyone,

Don't think I'll waist money on a cap then. I think it's the water and fear of it trickling in his eyes DS hates as I don't always use shampoo.

I don't wash DS's hair every day - in fact he only has a bath once every two/three days (which helps maintain the natural oils in the skin) as he is prone to exzema otherwise- though I need to do it at least once a week because he has curley hair and it's easier to comb and brush out then (it gets very knotty otherwise).

DonInKiller We currently use Little Me but will look out for the Top to Toe baby shampoo you suggest.

xStar I like your flannel method and also the very thick terrys for him to hold over his face is a good idea ReallyTired -I use real nappies anyway
When I wash it, I shall make it the first thing I do rather than the last (can't believe I haven't tried this already!)

plantsitter "tell them how brave they're being ...dramatically dab their eyes every 2 seconds"

mistle I think swimming goggles might also be an idea for a new bath 'toy' for him too...

DS is 25m & not keen on hair washing tho wouldn't say he hates it. We keep his hair really short & do it once a week very quickly.

HTH

My sister showed me on Sat how she washes my nephew's hair (he's 17 months) in the bath. You need about 2 inches of water, and it's probably handiest to do it before you put any bubble bath in.

She puts a couple of handfuls of water on his head, then the shampoo and rubs it in quickly. There are no drips onto his face at this stage because his hair is not too wet.

To rinse, she lies him flat on his back and pours water over the top of his head from a plastic cup. He thinks it's a game and kicks his legs in the air, he doesn't even realise what she is doing! By the time he sits up again, the only water running onto his face is clear - no shampoo.

You will however need a towel handy as the leg kicking creates huge splashes. Also you may need it if the child doesn't like water on their face (my DN however just thinks it's great fun)

My sister wishes she had realised this method when her daughter was a baby as hair washing was a nightmare for about a year at the same age.

just use a wet flannel with a tiny smear of shampoo and just rince backwards with the flannel, rinse flanel and keep doing this untill soap has gone, no need to even pour water over head. this worked successfully for dd even with long hair, i would use flannel on top and pour water on the hair down her back.

We mad sure that hairwash night is only on a saturday,he had his own calendar so that he wasaware of each day, so he didn't get put of baths altogether. When we washed my DS hair i wet his hair using a sponge, then applied little bit of shampoo, rubbed it in and rinsed it using a wet sponge, wiping it back until clean. Then after he came out i used a towel to blot his hair and sprayed aussie long hair leave in conditioner on his hair, which is fab and removes all the tangles which stopped the complaining when we had/have to comb his hair. DS is now four and we have moved onto using a jug for rinsing (www.mothercare.com/Mothercare-Shampoo-Rinse-Cup-Blue/dp/B001CR86LK?ie=UTF8&ref=sr_1_1&nodeId=42764041&sr=1-1&qid=1334318883&pf_rd_r=0K63XHAM5T8KPSAPBZSX&pf_rd_m=A2LBKNDJ2KZUGQ&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_i=0&pf_rd_p=231490887&pf_rd_s=center-7) but we still use this technique on DD who is 2.

The jug is really useful by the way stops all the soap in the eyes, also my DD doesn't mind wearing goggles, so when we rinse her hair we use them - stops the crying.

OnTheBottom do hope it lasts for your sis. My DS never minded his hair being washed until 22 months old. He has a lot of hair which I love and and really don't want to cut

And yes festi, your method is similar to what I do already though think in haste to get it over with as quickly as possible when the fussing starts the water on the flannel has definately increased! I will try slowing right back down.

So terribly glad to hear I am not the only one that has a real struggle on my hands whenever it is hair washing day!!

Will also be giving the sponge / wet flannel a try from now on - hopefully it works for us, and my DD gets calmer about having her hair washed.

I have this problem as my boys will put their heads back, but not keep them there, so the water just dribbles back down from their heads onto their faces.

My solution is to sacrifice a dry towel which I fold up small, they pin against their faces while I wash and rinse. The water doesn't penetrate (even using it for 2 of them) if I am fast enough.

Firstly, reduce frequency to once a week. Secondly, let them help you wash your hair so that they can see that it is not scary but actually quite fun. My boys both help me wash in the mornings including pouring bottles of water over my face so that I can show them how, if you keep your eyes close, it doesn't work.

I am not saying that they love it but they do tolerate it and the oldest (2.10) will close his eyes and count to ten with me while I wash the shampoo out and then towel his eyes.

Doesn't hurt, that is.

Swimming goggles

We wash twice a week, and give them flannels to hold over their faces, with strict instructions to tip their heads back. Actually mine really don't like water in their ears - more than their eyes, and when I realised that it made life easier.

I also use a flannel - but instead of over the face, I use it to wash the hair, so you damp the hair, pop shampoo on the flannel and massage it in, then rinse very gradually with water from the flannel - easier to stop going in the face than a cup. And this worked for a little boy who was practically phobic about water on his head. A flannel made all the difference.

Keep hair short, use a damp flannel with a tiny amount of shampoo to wash as well as rinse, wash once a week (or less if it doesn't need it), or try dry shampoo for in-between times.

DD (29 months) hates it too - or rather, she hates having to lie down in the bath so that I can wet it and rinse the shampoo out. I used to be the same when I was a kid so I wanted to nip it in the bud. I make it clear that we need to wash her hair, and tell her that if she won't lie down, I'll have to pour water over her head while she's sitting up. I start doing this (only with a small handful of water) and she quickly agrees to lie down. I think that with DD, what she really hates is water going on her face or in her ears, so I reassure her that I won't let that happen.

I should add that I only bathe my kids twice a week as they have quite dry skin. If we had to do the hair battle every night I might have to try something else!