Can anyone offer tips to help toddler who hates a bath?

[SarahJenkins50]

I know it isn’t uncommon but I have a toddler who overnight started hating his bath and I am wondering if anyone has some tips for how to help. The situation is:

• Overnight he seemed to go from enjoying to hating a bath, screaming, refusing to get in and climbing out if he was in. We couldn’t think of anything that had upset him to cause it.

• it isn’t a fear of water because he loves going swimming and playing with water.

• we have tried different toys, different times of day so he isn’t over tired, different baths, with or without me in with him, and with or without his young cousins too.

• we have taken a break for several weeks and done flannel washes and tried again but it’s always the same.

• it’s been going on for 7 months now and is getting more and more difficult to work around as he gets more and more able to refuse to get on.

Has anyone gone through this and did you find anything which made a difference?

Thank you!
Sarah

Get in there with him?

Shower?

Both of my children have gone this. It’s just (yet another) shitty toddler phase. I remember my eldest would get in but refused to sit down, so I’d give her a quick standing up wash and hair wash and get her out again.

They get over themselves eventually

If you have a shower, a quick hose down with that is sometimes what they want.

He will enjoy baths again one day.

Our DS hates baths from the get go he will tolerate them now once in a while we have just showered him either in the showe enclosure thing with us or us in ga shower attachment in the bath - good luck!

My DD went through something like this but I don't remember it lasting as long as it seems to with yours.

Could it be the water depth he's scared of of something? Maybe a shallower water level could help. Or could the bubble bath you use be stinging him or something? It's hard to say with young children but one bad experience like soap in the eyes could be behind it all. I'm sure he will grow out of it.. frustrating as it is.

Have just remembered one thing that helped DD was playing music in the bathroom from one of our phones while she was in there.

Do you have a non slip mat?

Try bath crayons/foam sponge letters/other bath toys?

Add the water once he's in?

My child has hated baths since birth! Never a relaxing time. Always hated it and cried. A turning point was us moving house and we ended up buying a house without a bath. She hates showers too and but loved the paddling pool...so I but one of those Flexi bucket things for gardening and she has a bath in there, no problem. Less water, room to play, stays warm. We thought we were going to have to pay to have a bath fitted asap but actually she is nearly 4 and still enjoys having a bath in it. We so get some funny looks from family that have said we wash her in a bucket.

Duplo in the bath has really helped my bath-hating toddler

When mine went through this phase he opted to come in shower with me, sitting in the tray with toys. Eventually he snapped out of it, I think it was when we went on holiday and he had a bath there with a beach toy in it.

Bath bombs, colour changing bubble bath, bath crayons.

I used all these for my ds who has autism, who hated the bath.

He especially liked the colour changing tablets from amazon. I think it was a tub of 300 for £12, something like that, you add the different tablets in to change the colours.

We did showers - much quicker and they liked coming in with us and sitting in the shower with the water coming down.

If he likes swimming try putting his swimming costume on for his bath, sounds mad but it worked for my daughter.

Shower. I used to get in the shower with DD 1, she thought it was fun.

Try going thorough the process at the swimming baths washing his hair flannel soap etc . if he happy in the baths them try home shower get in with him same process . then move on to the bath say the shower broken .jump in with him toys fun just keep at it . they go through phases it when they are teens nothing works other than turning off the WiFi and confiscating gadgets .

Both mine went throug this. With my eldest we had to put her favourite toy in for her to fish out but no hair washes for weeks. My youngest we had to put a large jug over the plug filled with water as we realised he was scared of falling down the plug hole.

My ds did this and we think we has worried about weeing/ pooing in the water, even though that wasn't something he often did. We got round it by him wearing his swimming shorts into the bath. Think it made him feel more secure. He was back to loving the bath after we introduced those.

showers... my toddler hates showers so he's happy to get in the bath. or go in with them.

Thank you everyone. I’ll try his swimming trunks and some colour changing tablets and report back in a few days!

We have tried a shower, and the shower attachment in the bath but he seems more scared of that than the bath so have left that for now.

About 1cm of water in the bottom, but a HUGE quantity of bubbles?

@welshweasel exactly my first tought 😂😂😂

This happened my lb overnight when he was 3! We eventually had immediate success with underwater lights, glow sticks, lights off and a disco strobe light going. We also found light up bath ducks. Instant success!