DS suddenly terrified of the bath

[Lijay]

My DS 20 months has become terrified of the bath. Even the mention of it or if I turn the taps on. I thought it might have been because he fell over in it a couple of weeks ago - I didn't place the non slip mat quite right and he fell. I picked him back up straight away and he was fine at the time.
It's got so bad he even cries when I have a shower now. Today I thought I'd just try a flannel wash so he doesn't even have to go in the bath and he still screamed, seem to be shaking and clinging on to me. I'm not really sure where to go from here? My walls are quite thin and I'm sure my neighbours will think I'm torturing the boy! Any ideas?

Both of mine went through a phase of being scared of the bath. Not sure if it's for everyone, but I bathed them in the kitchen sink as an alternative and made it into a silly game (pretending they were dirty dishes!). Did it for a week or two and then reintroduced the bath and they were fine (although periodically begged for kitchen sink baths! 🤣).

Introduce some new exciting bath toys.

Get in with him.

Can you go swimming or play in a paddling pool?

My 3 yo will use the baby bath- they jump in once we take baby out. Maybe you could get a long style one and put it in the bedroom with towels to catch splashes.
Bath dollys and play. Make a big joke of NOOO that's teddy's bath, YOU can't go in it!!! Let DC in fully clothed. Make it as funny and silly as possible.

You're going to have to back right off for a while and try and build up his confidence. He doesn't need a bath every day, just wash the essential hands, face and nappy area - away from the bathroom .

Maybe put some toys in a washing up bowl so he can play with them and build up gradually from there. A bit of splashing, a few bubbles and then see if he'll try something a bit bigger. The kitchen sink idea sounds a good one.

Apart from basic hygiene, it's more important that he gets over his fear. Good luck.

All four of mine went through a stage at some point between 1-2 years of being afraid of the bath. I just bathed them the bare minimum with only a small amount of water and they grew out of it. New bath toys always helped too.

Thanks for the suggestions. He already goes to swimming lessons once a week and strangely loves them... Even being underwater.
I tried washing him in the kitchen today with flannels and that didn't work, he screamed just as much. but I haven't tried the sink or his old baby bath yet so will give that a go!
Also i don't wash him everyday already. Mainly every other day but perhaps I could eek it out an extra day then. Thank you 😊

I think you're right and it's all about the fear of falling again. You'll need to work on small steps reduce the fear and build back up to having a bath. Definitely don't force the issue or try to push him at all. Start very small like washing his hands in the sink or filling up his water bottle with the tap and build up to giving his toys a bath in a bowl and then giving them a bath in the actual bath. I would also consider getting in the bath with him when he's ready as this will be a big reassurance.

Is he scared or just crying because he doesn't want to? Mine started protesting bathtime after the age of two. They start protesting lots of things because they want to be in control of their little lives.

I just wash him with a flannel if needed and do bathtime once or twice a week maximum. He accepts that when I say it's bathtime then it's non negotiable because he needs it, and I let him pick any toys that won't get ruined to take in with him- cars, trucks, duplo etc. measuring jugs and spoons etc from the kitchen are also a hit.

Sometimes I'll ask if he wants a bath, already knowing he'll say no and already not bothered because he doesn't need it. But it lets him say "no I don't want to" and I say "that's ok. We'll do it tomorrow instead." Gives him the illusion of a bit of control.

my ds went through this.

I sat in the bath with him and a new toy he loved, and played with just a cup of water, didn't get it on him other than toes when it was being played with.

Second time i bought a flannel in with us, did the same thing, bought a jug and a cup and played again, only we got a bit wetter, and we used the flannel to 'mop up' and i pretended he had a smudge on his hand so used the flannel to wipe it off.

Over the next week we did this a little bit every day, and once he would get in to play, i started using the taps to refill the jug, popped the plug in an let some water gather in the bath with us.

It really was just patience, reassurance, and tiny step/making it fun.

tbh, he never really took to having baths and we ended up switching him to me getting in and doing a mix of a couple of inches of water and the shower head.

I will say some of our problem is he is autistic and even at 18 still can't stand water on his face or clothes, and will not take a bath. he showers and i still have to help wash his hair as he has to hold a flannel over his eyes to keep the water off.

My 20 month old has just gone through this and seems to be coming out the other side, has lasted a couple of months. We cut bath time down to twice a week and tried to wash her as quick as possible to not make it more traumatic for her, she’d also stand up clinging on screaming like she was terrified, but she would sit down if I got in with her. I’d suggest trying some new bath toys but otherwise just waiting it out, it will probably pass soon!

Some really great ideas thank you. Funnily enough I washed his hands in the sink today and he was fine with it. But I'm going to try getting him to fill up his water bottle tomorrow and then Friday I'll get him to give his toys a bath and so on.

He's definitely scared. He starts shaking and clinging to me. Having said that he definitely the right age to be testing boundaries and control so Im going to try asking him if he wants a bath tomorrow and letting him say no. Fab idea!

Thank you! Its good to know its passing for you. Similar age as well so I'm hoping DS will be the same.

Bath crayons got dd over that phase

My 2 year old went through this not too long ago and there was no reason for it. She would scream the place down if I even mentioned a bath.
I tried going swimming with her, washing her with flannels, showering and even getting in the bath with her but nothing worked. We bought some new toys for the bath, new bubble bath, put projector lights on and blew bubbles but nothing settled her.
Then one day she got in the bath normally and has been fine since, no idea what caused it and it was an absolute nightmare at the time but it did pass.

DD went through this phase. It’s really common. We used to bathe her in a pop up paddling pool in the kitchen for a while whilst she still protested loudly but it wasn’t fully on banshee screams like if we put her in the bath. Then we went to a Club Med, left her in the kids club and they had her swimming with armbands on with her head under a fountain thing squealing with delight. And she never complained about the bath again after that. So I’d try taking him swimming? So it’s realising getting wet is fine, but without even thinking about having a bath.

DD would only have a wash in the shower after swimming at that age. She's still alive and a right bathroom hog. I agree back right off and focus on water play. It will get easier.