18 month old HATES bath time! Any tips?

[charlottexox]

My LG used to LOVE bath time. It was her favourite part of the day / week. Since about 14 months she just hates it with a passion.
Just lifting a sponge up to wash her body she cries, and let's not even talk about hair washing! She is like something out of the exorcist when I am trying to wash her hair. She stands up and cries and screams, and even after I've finished she's still absolutely beside herself!
I have tried to distract her with bath toys, but she just isn't interested.
Anyone been through / going through the same?! Would love some advice on how to get DD to enjoy bathtime again without it being like a bloody exorcism every time!

sorry but it's a phase they go through. should pass in anything from a week to 5 years. wish I had some better news for you x

@Ummmmgogo I'm hoping it passes soon, it always makes me feel guilty when she's in the bath and in tears Thank you anyway, let's hope this doesn't go on for much longer x

Fill the bath enough so she can stand up and wash her down with a jug/cup don't wash her hair every bath and it will pass.

Just put a little water in and use shower attachment.

Make her laugh by splashing yourself with water and make funny faces.

Mine like it when I blow bubbles when they are in the bath. Or take in toys they don't normally have in the bath, like duplo, playmobil, tea set. How about giving her a shower instead, or having a bath with her?

I had this with my DD. I was getting quite upset with it and my Mum told me to stop stressing and just give her a wipe with a flannel in some bubbly water til she got over it so that's what I did! Hair was done by a teeny bit of baby shampoo on one flannel and wiped out with another damp one. She wasn't exactly gleaming for a while but clean enough. It seemed better than the torture of baths and her hating it more and more. Then one day she was playing with some water in a big shallow box at grandma's, and grandma asked if she'd like it filled up with warm water and bubbles so she could get in too and she did! No problems at all since that day. Not a perfect solution but it seemed to work out ok in the end.

I had to flannel down one of mine for a few weeks it really isn't worth the stress and hoha

You could try getting a flannel or cloth and getting it in the water so it's nice and heavy with water and placing it over her belly? Sometimes this makes wee ones feel more secure at at ease in the bath

My little boy is fairly younger than your little one but this is a god send when it comes to our bathtimes

Just a suggestion :)

Would she go swimming (weekly so she gets a wash)?
Shower with you or daddy?
A bath with you or daddy?
A sink bath in the kitchen?

It’s a phase... and yes it’s horrible. I think I just avoided baths for a bit with mine. Maybe a weekly wash...

Oh and bubbles as in ones to blow helped! Peppa pig episode about bubbles then we discovered bubbles blown in the air can land on the bath water and not burst so this helped I think.

Mine found a fairly deep bath more comforting (I think because they were warm) and we always had lots of toys in the bath that moved and made noises.

We also used to sing during bath time.

We had this and came up with quite a random solution that still works for us.

I spotted a toddler's shower cap in the chemist one day - small, pink towelling, with a flower on it (and a smiley face on the flower!).

I bought it and told DD that it was her special bath hat, just for wearing in the bath. We put it in the bathroom, and went up and visited it a couple of times that day, and talked about putting it on that night. We had visitors that day and they were brought up for a visit too

Bath time rolled round, and DP said DD could wear her hat if she got in the bath. There was a bit of drama - clearly, there was something bothering her about the bath - but she was absolutely DYING to wear her hat so in she got.

She still has some difficulty and on very difficult nights, DP fills the baby bath and puts it on the floor - it seems to be something to do with the big bath.