My 15 month old (suddenly) HATES bathtime!

Derilynn - posted on 12/03/2011

The good news is he's two and a half now and LOVES bath time again! I ended up putting on my bathing suit and jumping in the tub with him. This lasted for about six weeks and then I tried him in the tub by himself and he was fine! Good luck with your little sweetpea! I'm sure this phase will soon pass! :)

Kirsten - posted on 12/03/2011

yes I am going through it right now!! my 17 month old keeps crying everytime she gets put in the bathtub.. she used to smile and giggle.. i dont know why but maybe it'll pass?

Penni - posted on 02/23/2011

Yes we had the same problem, not sure why. The only reason I could figure was he had an older brother, that possibly dumped water or splashed him and he did not like it. You simply need to wait it out, I even got in the bath with him, and for awhile did not bathe them together and it took about a month but he got over it.

Charlene - posted on 05/06/2010

Have you tried a bubble bath? All the bubbles might make him enjoy bathtime a little more. Thankfully this usually is just a phase kids go through! :) Good luck.

Derilynn - posted on 05/06/2010

Thank you for your suggestions! I ended up putting on my bathing suit and holding him on my lap during yesterday's bath. Big sister was there to help distract him, and I think that helped. He was a little scared and clingy at first, but he was smiling by the end. I guess bathtime will be a family event (and a little less frequent) until he gets over his fear. Thanks for your support :)

Kristin - posted on 05/05/2010

Mine went through it at about 3 years of age. I told him he could either take a bath and sit and we would do our best to keep things calm and the way he would enjoy it or he could take a shower with either his father or myself. Not bathing was not an option. He would go back and forth through them both.

Turns out, he got some water in his nose while playing in the tub during a bath. So, big drama anytime we wanted to wash his face or hair. We used a squeezed out cloth to get his face clean (lion licks) and had him sit with his head tipped way back and used our hand to keep the water from running into his face when wetting and then rinsing his hair.

Your son may just be done with the toddle tub and want the big people tub. Get yourself some stick ons or a tub mat, a spout cover, hair catcher, bath colors, bath crayons, and bath paints. He can only have those when he's in the tub and after he's clean. Except the colors, those go in when you start the water. The fist few items, mat/stickons and spout cover are for safety and the haircatcher is the drain filter so he can't get through. All of this stuff, except the bath colors can be used in the shower too.

Mine now love bath time.

Hope this helps.

Amy - posted on 05/05/2010

I went through it with my son he was afraid of going down the drain. We were consistent and fought him but we never let the water out while he was in the bathtub or bathroom for that matter! After a period of time I was able to reason with him and show him it was impossible to go down the drain but it took awhile!

Traci - posted on 05/05/2010

My son, who is now two, has gone through two periods, out of nowhere, where he SCREAMED through the bath. We tried toys, no toys, filling the bath, just letting the water run, my husband got in with him - basically, we ended up just putting him in and washing him quickly and getting him out. Eventually, again out of nowhere, he was fine - it was strange, but I have a couple of friends who have said their kids did the same thing. Just a phase I guess.

Melissa - posted on 05/03/2010

My daughter is 8 months and did that a couple of weeks ago (she baths in the tub). I ended up taking a bath with her so she knew it was ok and safe and she has been fine ever since. Even that day she was freaking out getting in until she realized mommy was in too and its ok. Good luck with it...I am sure whatever it is is just a phase. For ex: if you bathe him at night maybe he knows it means bedtime is coming and he's trying to avoid it.

Ashley - posted on 05/03/2010

my daughter did the same thing at the same age we found that if u throw some dotz this colour tablets that change the bath a differnt colour they sell them at walmart for cheap made her like it alot more