Bath time gone haywire

[toomuchtooyoung]

My 21 mth old dd has recently become scared of the bath. She's still in the baby bath as I'm due our second in a few weeks and find it easier than using the main bath.

Whilst on holiday our cottage did not have a baby bath so she came inTo the main bath with me and seemed ok, if a bit wary. Returning home she screamed and screamed at her first bath, wouldn't sit just scared and upset.

So i spent a few days with her playing in and out of her bath out of the bathroom, with no water. She seemed fine and the first time we tried a bath she eventually sat down and was happy as usual. But she would suddenly decide she wanted out and was a scrabbling soapy slippery thing.

The last three times she has refused to sit, but will squat, but still will suddenly stand up and demand out. So far I've persauded her to squat again to finish off the bath. Have tried the shower cubicle with just minimal water in a jug, but still not keen.

During this weeks warm weather, happy to get in and out of her paddling pool, but still will only squat.

Thinking of going back to playtime with a dry bath, but wondered f anyone had any other suggestions, or ideas why this has happened, what to do next??

Do you mean that she is not using the baby bath now you're home? My DD is only 8 mo and I have no experience of a 21 mth old. I wondered if she might have enjoyed the baths with you so much on holiday/ got used to it/ knew it was more grown up and want to be in the big bath again at home possibly with you. Did anything happen while you were away that might make her timid around water? How about taking her swimming to acclimatize her to it again?

I hope you get some more suggestions soon!

She's still in the baby bath, and has to be until I give birth to ds1 in a few weeks. Too uncomfortable otherwise.

She hasn't slipped, fallen or had any real scare as far as I recall, wasn't overly keen on the big bath, but had to be cleaned somehow. She only has a bath every other night and was quite happy splashing about in her paddling pool, rubbing water in her hair and face etc. In fact it used to be a struggle to get her out of her bath she loved it so much!

It's just this squatting thing and then the sudden demand to be out. She just looks perpetually on edge in there no matter how relaxed we try to make the whole thing.

I use the big bath for my dd2 12 months with a bath mat as baby bath was slippery and restrictive. You could try just filling the bath so it is only ankle deep deep so she can crawl around in it. Put plenty of bath toys around to play with

Will move onto big bath when ds has arrived and I'm physically capable of getting her in and out, but not possible yet. Her baby bath is actually still very roomy, so she's not limited for space, she will squat at one end and still not sit or lie down.

I found both DC had phases when they didn't like the bath. So I washed them not in the bath. Cant remember how long the phases lasted but they did stop.

How about just not bathing her? How dirty does a 21 month old get? The more you push it, the more she'll hate it. I would do strip washes until she's happier with the idea of bathing. Maybe she'll get keen again when she gets to 'help' with her baby brother's baths?