What To Do When Your Baby Starts to Cry During Baths
- Posted by MetropolisMom on September 13th, 2008 filed in Baby Tips
Have you experience your 20-month-old son who used to love to take baths, now screams and throws fits at bath time? Sometime I cannot even get him to go near the tub! I have started to dread his bath time. Here are some tips that I have discovered that you could also use.
Do not force him
Never force him to go into the tub. Instead, give you son a sponge baths for a few days. This should ease some of the anxiety and fear that he has built up. Little by little you can introduce to him the idea of taking a bath.
Theme baths
Theme baths can make bath time more appealing to reluctant bathers. When it is “fishermen’s night” at our house, my kids take a toy fishing pole and rubber fish into the tub with them. For “hunter” baths, they play with plastic crocodiles, birds, and bears; and when it is “silly kids” night, I give them a bubble bath and bubbles for blowing.
Try standing your son up
Let him try to stand up in the tub while you wash him. Children are often squeamish about sitting in water, and they may dislike the feel of the tile. You must, however, have another adult in the bathroom to help you. That person should hold your son to prevent him from slipping while you wash him.
Ask your husband
Ask your husband to take a bath with your son. Or if you are comfortable with the idea, you can take one with him. Your son may feel more relaxed about taking a bath if he knows that bath time is something that he can share with you or our husband, and not something that is being forced to him.
What is scaring your child?
If the sound of rushing water is the culprit, muffle the noise by keeping the bathroom door closed while you run the water. When your son is ready for his bath, turn the faucet off before he enters the bathroom. Try not to overfill the tub - the feeling of buoyancy may be what is scary. See whether these changes make a difference.
Let your son help you
Let him help you at bath time by getting his own pajamas, diaper, towel, soap, bubbles, and a special toy ready for his bath. Giving him responsibility and control may help him overcome his resistance to taking a bath.
Make bath time more fun
I keep a small laundry basket in the bathroom filled with toys my son loves rubber ducks and whales, scoopers, funnels, squirt bottles, and buckets for his water “experiments.” My problem is getting my son out of the tub!
Buy foam soap
You can try buying foam soap at the drugstore. It comes in pump bottles in a variety of colors. My kids love to spray pictures on the tiles, and “necklaces” and “bracelets” on their rubber clowns and bears. Best of all, they voluntarily soap themselves.
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