Author Topic: hair washing 20 month old...  (Read 2458 times)

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Offline *Becky*

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hair washing 20 month old...
« on: January 17, 2013, 18:55:04 pm »
It is HELL!!!  :'( 

M is the sweetest easiest little thing ever apart from 2 things.
1. Chronic EWings.
2. Hair washing.

oh...and sort of teeth brushing but that is a bit better.

I don't know what to do about washing her hair. Tonight was so bad, I was just basically pouring water over her head with her screaming poor kid. Very BW.  ::)

With H he just go it even at a young age and out his head back but she won't. She won't sit in the bath, won't put her head back, won't do anything in fact. She just screams and says no,no.no.

So - how do you do it? Do you have any tools you use i.e. eye protectors etc?




Henry James and Martha Rose - my spirited pair!

Offline Mashi

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Re: hair washing 20 month old...
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2013, 19:33:11 pm »
Becky we have been dealing with the same issues, and sorry to say but at 4.5yo he is no better.  Every hairwash is a fight. I have, many times, just dumped the cups of water over his head because he was screaming.  Feel terrible about it sometimes but other times I rationalise it to myself that I gave him 40 chances to co-operate and he didn't.  I warn him that it is getting done, and that I will do it the hard way if he does not co-operate, and then I go for it.  I hate it.

Charlibob gave me a tip that we have had some success with (but not always, because he is who he is!!) and he wears a pair of sunglasses in the bath  8)  I took him to try on loads of pairs and told him what they were for and had him choose a special bath pair. It helps a bit, but the water can still run down between his head and the glasses, but it does help. I think it at least makes him feel like he is being protected from the water. I have asked a dozen times for him to wear his swimming goggles but he won't.

I do give him a dry facecloth/flannel and fold it up and tell him to hold it over his eyes but he does not always hold it tight enough or he drops it and gets angry and has a fit and it all starts again. But he was nearly 3ish before he could even hold it there at all really.

We have one of those pitchers with the soft area for putting against his head, and it pours the water back and makes sure it does not go in his eyes. It works well but you have to pour slowly, I have to still have him tip back a wee bit and make him cooperate.  Which is a pain. But it does work well enough.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mutong-SC001-Shampoo-Rinse-Cup/dp/B000SQE2KK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358450924&sr=8-1

I have debated trying one of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clippasafe-CL201-Shampoo-Shield/dp/B000G1TDNI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358450924&sr=8-2
But to me it seems that too many areas are still unaccessable or hard to rinse ???

What makes it hardest of all is that DS freaks that the water is too cold or too hot. Like, he SCREAMS beyond belief.  And between "THAT'S FREEZING" and "YOU'RE BURNING ME!!" is like half a degree ::)

It's all a proper nightmare. Worse in the summer when he comes home from kindergarten with sand in his hair. Nightmare every night.

Hugs  :-* :-* :-*

Offline creations

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Re: hair washing 20 month old...
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2013, 23:47:06 pm »
My DS hates water on his head, even just the back of his head without his face getting wet and without shampoo.  For me hair washing is not as important as teeth brushing and it's not something I'm going to upset him about unnecessarily.  As a result I don't wash his hair every day although he does have a bath every day.  When I do wash his hair (once per week, more often if there is real dirt in it) I pour a little water on the back until he complains then use a wash cloth.  he doesn't like it but he doesn't scream his head off like he would with water poured over and he is gradually becoming less resistant.  Food and paint usually comes out really easily with a wash cloth.  Sand is another matter though.  He isn't a big sand player yet so I don't often have that problem.
Oh, and I usually just use water, if I need to use any sort of soap I use the baby top and tail solution which doesn't sting eyes rather than shampoo and i add it to the bath water rather than directly onto his head which makes so many bubbles that a lot of rinsing is needed.


Offline CCCmom27

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Re: hair washing 20 month old...
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2013, 01:23:05 am »
We have the same issue and it's gotten increasingly worse.  Although he did attempt to tip his head back the other night after seeing DS1.  But then he immediately put his head upright and a lot of water dripped in his eyes anyways.  If I use a cup I count to 3 before I pour each time.  Sometimes I use the shower sprayer which is quicker but also more water in his face so I usually use a cup.  I was hoping it would pass but Mashi wasn't too encouraging  :P





Offline *Becky*

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Re: hair washing 20 month old...
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2013, 19:03:25 pm »
thanks all of you.
Mashi  - Henry is the exact same about the temp of the water, it is a nightmare! I am going to try both products you have mentioned - I will try anything!

Creations - goodness, no I only attempt to wash her hair once a week now, it could never be daily but I am so worried about the summer and being out in the sandpit etc....we don't bath daily except in the summer.

CCCmom27 - sorry it is rough for you too - I did not go through this with DS thankfully.




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Offline C&B&E

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Re: hair washing 20 month old...
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2013, 19:09:37 pm »
Both of mine hate it too. I found out with Ben that it is water in his ears he hates even more than in his eyes, so I really watch out for that. 

With E I tend to mostly wash and rinse hers with a wet flannel - takes ages but better than her sobbing her heart out every time  :-\.  She doesn't have very much hair though so might not work if M does!
Claire x



Offline cath~

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Re: hair washing 20 month old...
« Reply #6 on: January 18, 2013, 19:13:16 pm »
one thing that has helped us (a bit) is letting L tip jugs of water over her head herself... she is always shocked/stunned by it but then does it again!  She's not always in mood for this though.

If I do it myself I use the shower head cos it's quicker than jugs of water, and just use my hand to stop it running over her face as best I can (we use no tears shampoo so don't have to worry about that). Is all over quite quickly.   When she is older I might let her hold the shower herself to wash her hair but at the moment I am sure we would just have water going everywhere if I let her do that.
DD1 - 8 years old
DD2 - 5 years old

Offline cath~

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Re: hair washing 20 month old...
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2013, 19:15:28 pm »
oh, and something else that works sometimes is just lying her back in the bath, supporting her under her shoulders, until her head is in the water, to wet and rinse her hair.
DD1 - 8 years old
DD2 - 5 years old

Offline koe2moe

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Re: hair washing 20 month old...
« Reply #8 on: January 18, 2013, 19:33:26 pm »
Becky, have you seen this?  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Soft-Children-Shampoo-Shower/dp/B007KE6POE/ref=sr_1_2?s=baby&ie=UTF8&qid=1358537451&sr=1-2
Is it shampoo getting in her eyes that bothers her or water getting into ears?  Have you tried giving her cups to hold over her ears if that bothers her?  I used to have to distract with something high up but i had to ask DH to help.  Or asked DS to look at the lights in the ceiling. 



Offline dnvrmama

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Re: hair washing 20 month old...
« Reply #9 on: January 18, 2013, 21:36:59 pm »
We're having the same problem. For a few weeks it worked to take a folded up hand towel and hold it tightly across his forehead and ears and have him look up, but now he resists anything touching his head or ears. To get him to look up we all howled madly like wolves and we all had a lot of fun with that!

Currently in the same boat

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Re: hair washing 20 month old...
« Reply #10 on: January 19, 2013, 08:31:10 am »
I have one of the shampoo caps koe linked, also another one (from a £ shop) and DS wouldn't have either of them on his head.  I had thought if we started using them for dress up no where near the bath he'd get into it, but no, just refuses.  I had one similar to that when I was a kid and loved it.

I will remember the cups on ears idea if it ever turns out that it's his ears that he doesn't like getting wet, that's a great tip!