2 year old terrified of the bath

[medjool]

DD2 used to adore bath time, playing, splashing, helping to bath her baby brother. A few weeks ago, she started to completely freak out in the bath/before getting in. There are only 2 factors we can think of which may have caused this:-

1. She hates having her hair washed, however, she doesn't have her hair washed every time she has a bath and I'm clear when she is not going to have it done.
2. She pooed in the bath a few weeks ago which I don't think she was expecting and the addition to the bath gave her a big fright. Having said that, we've put her in the bath with water, without water for a shower and fully clothed with a promise of no water at all and she's still terrified so not sure that this is what caused the problem.

She goes from saying 'no bath' to screaming and trying to climb out. Someone recommended we get bubbles, but as she's got a bit of eczema and her sister has pretty bad eczema, I'm not sure this is the best idea, so looking for alternatives. She's completely lost interest in helping to bath the baby, DH has tried to have a bath with her and she just clings onto him for dear life with as much of her body out of the water as possible. She still loves water play - it seems to be the physical confines of the bath. It's such shame that what used to be a fun activity is now so torturous for both of us!!

Any ideas on how to get her over this - particularly if you've had a similar situation?

DD1 did the same thing at about the same age. We got a big yellow fish sponge, some bubble bath and a tea set to play with in the bath and it worked a treat.

E45 do a kids' bubble bath that doesn't irritate DD2's eczema.

Don't worry! We went through this when dd was 2, following bathing in a different bath on holiday, and I think she got some cotton or something caught on her toe one time that upset her. She would scream as soon as her toes touched the water - so I ended up stopping trying, and just gave her a wash down each night instead (and did her hair with a flannel and shampoo - she had very short hair, luckily!). It took about 5-6 weeks before we got back to bathtimes again - some new bath toys helped, and I took it slowly, with a tiny amount of water at first, and letting her know she didn't have to sit down if she didn't want to. Almost as quickly as it started, we were back to bathing as if it had never happened!
Good luck .

My DS2 was very like this. Can you get in the bath with her? He gradually became less afraid and loves baths now.

DS1 was almost phobic of having his hair washed, to the point where we just had to leave it for months! In the end it was a gradual process of letting him tip a thimbleful (literally!) of water over his head by himself, then a slightly larger cup (loads of praise and 'aren't you brave' etc). Now he will tip a large jug of water over his hair to wet it, lets us rub in the shampoo, and he rinses it off himself. No way will he let us do it for him, he's terrified of that, for whatever reason.

He's still slightly scared of the process but it's way better than it was. There is hope!

DS's are 3 and 5 btw.

Don't worry it is just a phase. My daughter went through the exact same thing. get in the bath with them, take them shopping for fun bath toys and just try to keep the time in the bath to a minimum until they get over this stage. It will honestly be fine :)

My DD became terrified of the plughole at roughly 3 yo, absolutely nothing we said could convince her that she wouldn't go down with the water. It took persistence and patience and explaining every time she had a bath that she couldn't go down, demonstrating it with our hands and telling stories about where the water was going plus letting her get out before the plug was pulled for at least a year before she got over it. We never did get to the bottom of it.

Could she be in the bathroom while you are in the bath, or even just in the doorway? Having a chat or you reading her a story while laying there? Maybe you could get her involved in playing with your bubbles as long as you give her hands a good rinse and moisturise afterwards?

Good luck!

My ds3 was like this,I think its the openess of the bath and the nakedness and the water at a point where a toddler is making sense of the world.

You could get out the baby bath and bathe her in that,she might prefer to bathe in a swimsuit,you could wash her hair using a flannel it might be the oppressive feel of the water on her head and face that takes her breath?,you could buy bath crayons,bath toys,wash dollies in the bath.

My ds was afraid of the water going down the plug???? at the time it was irritating having to fill the tub and empty it in secret but it didnt last forever and we showed him the pipe outside where the water passed through.

It will pass.

Wow - good to hear other children have had similar problems.

I convinced her to have a shower tonight. She still wasn't happy, but didn't try as hard to climb out of the bath. I like the idea of bath crayons and thanks for the tip on E45 bubbles.

Now showers are something my daughter is terrified of lol. You are lucky your little on will go in the shower :)