My son is 19months and he hates to bathe

Gyllian - posted on 10/06/2010

My son fell in the tub and was terrified for months :( i got him a special blue bath mat and we started taking showers together he was afraid at first but then i found these fizzy tub colors by crayola and give him a cup and hes nutty haha
and if bath time if completely miserable try sink baths for awhile or pick up a small tub to put in the big one

Rachel - posted on 10/05/2010

Hmmm, I can't be much help with this topic...my son is 22 months and he LOVES baths. He comes up and says "Bath Please". Maybe if you do a bubble bath, so he can play with the bubbles? Maybe take him to the store and let him pick out his own bathtub toys?

Lisa - posted on 08/11/2010

My son will take a bath but doesn't enjoy it as much as his sister likes baths...She'll stay in there until you have to take her out. We let our son take showers with us (have since he was a baby) or I don't put the plug in the bath and just let the water trinkle into the tub. Then he thinks it's awesome. He'll play in the water coming out the spout and now every once in awhile, he'll reach down and put the plug in himself.

Angela - posted on 08/10/2010

my comment may not make you feel great...but! my son loves the bath, he gives the water kisses n loves..lol. but i have got some balls that squirt water, i used to squirt it at his stomach and he loved it, then i asked my other son to watch him for a second while i got his towel, and all of a sudden he hated the ball squirting water at him, i got him over this by squirting myself in my face with it, not so much fun for me, but he loved it! i would try the kitchen sink, its not as daunting, but they will grow out of it, my other two did. keeping calm and light hearted about it is key. :o)

Katy - posted on 08/09/2010

My son went thru that phase at about 8-10 months old, but it only lasted a couple weeks. He is now 19 1/2 months old, and still bathes in the kitchen sink. When he went thru that phase of not liking bathtime, I would need two people to bathe him. One to bathe, and one to distract. For my son, treats worked great. (Not sweets, but what he thought of treats.) Yogurt, applesauce, bite size pieces of fruit... you get the idea.

Becky - posted on 08/09/2010

my son hated being in the bathtub once he was able to stand and walk. he gets very mad when I sit him back down when hes standing. he is 19.5 months and I bring him in the shower with me all the time or my mom does. he gets angry when he can't have a shower with someone. he loves having the water spraying on him. i have a bath mat in my shower so he doesnt slip when he stands up and toys in the shower as well. he happily plays while i wash up ect. the bonus about having him in the shower is it helps clear him up when hes got a sinus cold.

Dagbjört - posted on 08/09/2010

Hi :) my son is 19 months and he has been HATING taken a bath for 2 months, just one day decided he didnt like bath :/ but i finally found a way and now he LOVE´S his bath time :))) i gave him a bath in the kitchen sink with alot´s of toy´s and a baby bubble bath:) just take it easy let him take his time playing with the water first with his fingers and after a few minutes he hopefully will put one foot in and then the other one :)))) good luck :)))

Shanna - posted on 08/08/2010

Thanks heavens my son got over this quick! He has a skin condition, so we have to bathe him multiple times a day. It was tough at first.

We have a clear shower liner and I let him sit in the bathroom and see me shower. Then I would leave the water on, get out and take his hand and put it in the water. He got used to the wet splashi-ness of it. Then I put him in the empty bathtub with his toys (clothes on). Next step was empty tub naked. Once he got used to it being an okay place to be, it was easier to get him to relax in the tub. I never try to lay him back because I think it makes him feel like he is losing control/balance. Instead, I lean him forward and put a washcloth on his forehead when I wash his hair. Oh! and at first, I didn't let him hear/see the water running from the tap.

Good luck.

Kim - posted on 08/06/2010

hi i dont know if this will help but i bought my 19 month old son these crayons that he can draw all over the bath and the tiles and they just wipe straight off with water and he loves them im hard pressed to take him out of bath now he screams the place down when i try to take him out. Good luck :)

Roxy - posted on 08/05/2010

i have had the same problem with my boy... he is the same age but he has only stopped liking the bath since he has been walking.. i figured persistence is the key...i try to make it as positive as i can for him and hope eventually he may just figure out the bath isnt so bad

Rebecca - posted on 08/05/2010

My so used to be the same way. He also likes being splashed with water, so I sat him in his little tub and would splash him. There would be a mixture of laughing and crying. I also sang to him and and was overly excited saying things like 'YAY, WOO, THIS IS FUN!' Also I bought him a bunch of sand toys and he really liked playing with the sand sifter in there and the little watering bucket thing. This seemed to help a lot showing him the water coming out of the toys. Also my fiance took over at some point when I got really frustrated and told me that I was too tense and frustrated and then he completely stopped freaking out. The eventually I took back over again and he loves the tub now. He started taking a shower a month ago and started screaming again and I used the same tactics and now he quietly plays with his toys and doesn't insist I hold him while in the shower.
I think the water does freak some children out. He still screams when he goes into a pool and the beach because the water is too cod so we don't force that yet. Hopefully next year he'll want to go in the water more. Also talking to him works a lot. They're at an age where they can understand a lot and just a soothing voice might be comforting.

Jeanette - posted on 08/05/2010

try to shower him it worked for my daughter i started this when she was 5 days old she hated to lie in the bath even when she a month old so i carried on with the shower and it really soothed her to feel the water running on her instead of the whole body of water around her. take him in the shower with you and hold him close to your body and let the water run on his back then slowly let him stand in the shower with you and make it fun with lots of toys he can get distracted with ( my shower looks like a toy shop) my daughter now pushes me out of the way of the stream of water so she can have fun. I hope it works for you :)

Amy - posted on 08/04/2010

my 20 month old daughter HATES the bath, has since birth. I have found that after taking a parent/infant swim lesson it has gotten much better until I go to wash her hair. So I wait and wash her hair right before she gets out that way she isn't in long afterwards.

Jodie - posted on 08/04/2010

If you have a pool nearby, joining an "aquabubs" program or similar might help....

Jeanette - posted on 08/04/2010

I hope this helps..... when my daughter was born she did not like to bath either so i did the next best thing i showered with her at the tender age of 5 days old much to my husband's horror and she loved it because she could feel the water on her and it was not so overwhelming for her to have all that water surrounding her. try it with your son. she is now 19 months old and loves the shower and she pushes me out of the stream of water to get soaked and when she has had enough of the stream of water she moves away from it and happily plays in the shower with all her toys. she never complains when i have to wash her body and happily lifts her legs to have them washed. when i'm finished with the washing she happily rinses herself off and does not stop smiling :)

Kimberley - posted on 08/03/2010

Hey, I am so glad to hear other people are having issues too. My daughter also hates the bath. She was fine when she was much younger but when I went to swap her into the big bath she hated it I am now still using her small bath but even that now is a real nightmare as she cries and screams most of the time she is in there. I have bought toys etc (3rd and bird wash mitt too) and even these cannot calm her. I am going to persevere with her a little longer in the small bath but occasionally using a bath seat in the big bath. I hope she grows out of it soon though.

Kelly - posted on 08/02/2010

My daughter loves to take a shower with me instead of bathing in the tub, maybe try that?

Amanda - posted on 08/02/2010

My daughter also dislikes the tub. She refuses to sit down. On the days when she is ok with playing in the water, she will stand and play. I have to wash her while she stands in the water and on the days when I dont have time to try to wash her hair with just a wash cloth and I lay her down, she screams and claws at me like I am trying to drown her. I am in the same boat as you are, but I figure if I stay calm and continue to be gentle and talk her through it, eventually she will be ok wit it.

Pam - posted on 07/30/2010

have you tried giving him a shower my 19 month old loves to take a shower it is quick he gets in and out in about 5 min. then gets extra time to play.

Natika - posted on 07/30/2010

Yes it did help thanks. Im going to continue to try different things with him.

Sarah - posted on 07/30/2010

Thank you for sharing this Natika! I have a very similar issue with my 19 mth old son too! The only time he ever liked to bath was when he was newborn- he just used to sleep through but now he hates it! - He loves playing with water , he will dip his hands in, he loves it sprayed on his face but if I try & put him in the bath he screams, crys & pulls his legs up! I have a baby bath thermometer so the water is the correct temperature, i've tried him in his baby bath and in the big bath, I also tried him in the shower and tried to get him to put his feet into my foot spa!!! Now I stand him next to the big bath - strip him to his nappy, quickly wash his hair then the rest of his bod ( I do his privates when I do his nappy!) whilst he's standing on the towel, I splash him with water & he is ok with this! Occasionally I try to pick him up but at the first resistance I stop as I just don't want him to be afraid!!! I dry him quickly so he doesn't get cold( no heating in my bathroom!) I think he will grow out of his fear in his own time but will not force him just keep trying to show him that playing with water can be fun!!! Hope this helps!

Natika - posted on 07/30/2010

lol Ive tried that and I keep the water warm I just dont know what to do anymore. I hope he will grow out of this phase

Heather - posted on 07/29/2010

My daughter likes to take baths, but she doesn't like to stay in for very long. She will play for about 5 minutes and then is ready to wash up and get out.

I have found, to keep her in the tub, even for 5 minutes, I would try some matchbox cars or some mega blocks, something that he really likes to play with that's safe in the water. Maybe making the water a little warmer will help, maybe it's too cool for his liking???