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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

12 month old dd scared of bath and being in water

10 replies

stripeysock · 26/08/2009 15:24

My dd used to love the bath untill 3 weeks ago and is now absolutely petrified and shrieks if i put her in. At first i thought it was a phase and now i am starting to worry. She also wouldn't go in the sea or a paddling pool last week. Help

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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belgo · 26/08/2009 15:25

Have you tried getting in the bath with her?

Original poster

stripeysock · 26/08/2009 15:26

yes, its still really awfull.

OP posts:

asteroids · 26/08/2009 15:35

How about filling a washing up bowl with bubbly water and putting it in the garden. Put some toys in it and start playing. Your dd might want to join in. Praise her if she joins in. Don't try to undress her or give any indication that she has to get into the water. If she gets wet, it doesn't matter.
Try it for a few days and see what happens. If you have other children, could they join in too? No splashing though.

Original poster

stripeysock · 26/08/2009 15:40

yes, we tried that last night but in the bathroom she played happily and didn't want to be taken away from it. However we just had a poo everywhere incident and i really had to get her in the bath to clean her so she freaked again.
I will persevere with it though

OP posts:

IdrisTheDragon · 26/08/2009 15:45

DS got scared of the bath around that age. I just stopped giving him a bath at all for a couple of weeks (he did get washed and tried again. He was fine after that.

Original poster

stripeysock · 26/08/2009 16:04

thanks, i wondered about doing that.
cheers

OP posts:

PrammyMammy · 26/08/2009 16:26

ds is just out of his bath phobia phase, he loved the bath one day, and the next he screamed, sobbed, punched, kicked, tried to climb out. It was horrible. Lasted around a month. He is almost 21 months old.

We tried bubbles, crayola colour disk things, new toys, but none of that worked. I let him help me with the dishes (he sat on the side splashing around while i washed) and he enjoyed that but still hated the bath. I got in with him and he clung to me like velcro until the water went cold. We tried a basin in the conservatory and a paddling pool out the back. nothing.
Wind up fish in the rain filled sand pit, nope. Public pool was a horror.

Finally we gave up trying and didn't put him in the bath, i/dp left the door open while we were in and he stayed clear for a while, then one day he wandered in, took a big scoop of bubbles and put it on his head and laughed. I asked him if he was coming in and that was that. He just stopped being scared on his own.

Original poster

stripeysock · 26/08/2009 16:45

how long was a while?

OP posts:

PrammyMammy · 26/08/2009 16:57

Over a week.

mathanxiety · 26/08/2009 18:52

Couldn't get DD washed fully for over two months; she would get frantic in the tub and actually try to run out of it, climb over the side, etc. I was afraid she would fall and get badly hurt. Dirt seemed better by comparison. She got over it gradually by washing her doll in the tub with about two inches of water in it for them both. (She wasn't really clean for about 6 months)

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