1 yr old suddenly hates bath time.

[Alibobs]

I'm not sure if this is in the right place, so feel free to move me if you think it would be best somewhere else.

Dd has always loved her bath. A few weeks ago, she started to get niggly when we put her in the bath, but we thought it would pass. Tonight, when we put her in the water she SCREAMED! I added more cold water, even though it wasn't too hot. I tried distracting her with toys. I tried giving her a dummy.  I even stripped off and got in their with her, but she clung to me or the side and carried on screaming.

So, any ideas? Has this happened to anyone else? There hasn't been anything that would of scared her previously that I can think of.

Do I keep trying each night and hope its a phase?

Hope someone has some answers. I would really appreciate the help.

TIA

[maggieruth]

my ds had one night where he just didn't want to be in the bath but it was a one off.  i guess if he got upset again i would ask myself if he was more worn out than usual, if he had been acquiring any new skills (scary to try to stand in the bath and if thats all you want to do...), if he was well fed and not too tired (it isn't always just a lovely wind down anymore)
does she need different bath toys?  sometimes ds is upset until i show him something new and he doesn't have the dexterity to do all the things he finds fasinating, like pouring, submerging things to make bubbles etc.
sorry probably not much help... anyone else been through this?

[Alibobs]

I've tried alternating bath toys, but she just doesn't want to know. Tonight, i mentioned the word bath and there was a complete meltdown. I persevered but she screamed through the bath, and carried on screaming as I put on her pyjamas, then through storytime between sips of milk. She has gone to bed earlier than normal (straight to sleep and no problem) because she's tired today, but like I said, its been brewing for a while and I don't think its that.

Thanks for the suggestions-

Anyone else?

[Erin M]

Maybe if you got in and let her watch you from outside the tub?  You could carry on and have a great time and maybe after a few days she'll want to join you there?  Is diaper rash a problem?  My LO HATES the bath when she has diaper rash, I think the warm water really must bother it (kind of like when you have sunburn - ouch!).  I would try to just keep her clean with a sponge bath approach for a bit as much as you can (after all, how dirty do LOs get at that age?).

Oh, and could you put her in there with her toys fully clothed with no water in the tub?  Maybe then she'll get used to being in there without it being scary.  Is it a big tub?  Maybe she suddenly realized how big it is.  I've seen inflatable tubs that you can put inside the big tub, perhaps she'd feel more cozy in there? 

Hope maybe some of this helped! 

[Alibobs]

Thanks very much for your reply. We have continued to give her baths, and tonight she is just moaning rather than screaming, so we'll see how we go I think. (dh is bathing her as I write) If it gets worse again, I might try your advice erin m, thank you.

[*Nicola*]

Ciara also went thru this stage. We did similar to Erin suggested... she watched dh from outside the bath then wanted to get in with him and that was the last we heard of it... until she got to 2 and started to hate hair washing (but thats another post )

HTH

[alyssa1]

My son has just started to go through the same thing (he is almost 16months).  Before he loved the bath and now he will come into the bathrom and try to run out before we put him in.  Here are some things that we have tried and now (2weeks later) he likes it again and doesn't want out.
-we had a shower/bath with him 1 time and made it really fun
-let him bring his favourite balls (little soccer ball and basketball) into the tub with him and created a throwing into the cup game
-had a bubble bath a few times
-cleared all toys out 2 nights and he just swam around on his belly - sometimes too many toys restricts their movement
-kept him in the bath and told him that he needed to get cleaned off and then proceeded to talk to him about cleaning all the parts of the body and why it was so important - sometimes this happened through the crying
-kept the tap on a little bit and made a game of filling up cups and dumping them on his toes/head/my hands
-a good splashing game
-getting him in there quickly - undressing him in the living room, having the bath ready and just taking off the diaper in the bathroom - preparing him but having it all ready before we went in

We trired to think of so many things to make it enjoyable for him again.  We also realized that this started to happen after he had been bathed in the sink at my mom's house a few times, so there might have been some confusion there for him    He really enjoys the sink bath though - even though he is 16months and barely fits - he really enjoys stepping back and forth from one sink to the next and also the running water on his body - I think this fun in the sink made him really wonder why he had to get in the tub at our house.  My moms bathroom is under renovation and we are there a lot with him. 

I would just try new things but I would continue to bath her just as often as you did before.  Some of my friends stopped bathing as much when there lo started to fuss about it and now they have a real problem.  We are just going to continue to bath him everynight and try to change it up a little.
I hope some of these ideas help 

[Alibobs]

Thanks. Yesterday, we tried bathing her after her breakfast in the morning and it was much better, still a bit of a fuss, but not like at night. We did it again this morning, and it was the same. So we're going to try and fit it in in the morning until she calms right down. Thanks for all the advice.

[*Nicola*]

Fantastic ... glad it has worked out for you x