Help! Toddler suddenly terrified of the bath

[Dreamingsleeper]

My 2 year old is suddenly frightened of getting in the bath when previously she’d be in there for hours if we let her.

She says it’s the plug she’s frightened of. It’s one of those push plugs and a few times before she’s sat on it and some water has drained. We quickly put the plug back in and all laughed about it but it now seems to have stoked some primal fear in her that she’ll get sucked down the drain.

We’ve tried all the tricks on the internet - mounds of bubbles in the bath to make the plug less visible, demonstrating how it works so it is less mysterious, putting her baby brother in with her as company, putting a bath mat over it as ‘protection’, buying new bath toys to distract her but I still can’t get her to sit in! The most success I’ve had this past week is for her to stand in a few inches and I clean her with a sponge but even then she was so upset.

What can I do? Has this happened to your DC? Is it just a phase? My husband thinks we should just give up and shower with her until it passes but would this not be reinforcing that there IS something to fear in the bath?

Please help!

Ds 2 is exactly the same. He used to love a good splash. I have to bath with him now. Otherwise is terrified.

Hello!
This happened with our ds around the time he turned 2. It was really stressful as we had no idea why he suddenly became fearful (and I mean shaking screaming scrabbling up the sides to try and get out) of somewhere he had always absolutely loved. Completely understand how tough it must be - found it completely ruined bedtime routine and made me anxious as i didn’t know how to handle it at all.

We too just washed him stood up in a couple of inches or used the shower. I also did chocolate buttons after a quick frantic dip or gave him a button in the bath when he stood in it and offered him another if he’d sit down haha. We bought those bath colouring pencils but that didn’t help. I honestly had no clue what to do.

One of us used to get in with him as a sort of solution too as he was much calmer but again he still didn’t want to sit down at all.

In the end, after about 2.5 months, out of nowhere we were in the bathroom and he asked to get in the bath. I ran a couple of inches and put him in - no tears and he asked to get out only 5 mins later. After that he had cured himself. Completely bizarre. I can only think it was a phase.

Sorry I can’t be of more help with a magic answer. But wanted to let you know we’d been through it too and it resolved itself. Good luck with it xxx

Mine was the same. We also just did a stand up wash quickly while he was afraid. He naturally got over it during the heatwave last year. I'm sorry I don't have a quick solution , it's perfectly normal though.

My younger one got like that last year. I found I had to do a strip wash for a couple of months as he just didn't want to go in. He's nearly four now and has been happily going in the bath for months, so I think these things just pass. If yours has an older sibling / someone else to go in with, that can help get them back into it.

@YawningMumma yes it makes me really anxious for the bedtime routine too. It seems to make her tense which then has a knock on effect for her settling for bed. I will try the chocolate button bribe!

@HappyWipings I’m praying for a heatwave haha!