Sudden terror of baths and showers. HELP!!!

amother

Sun, May 29 2011, 8:36 pm

Has anyone experienced this with their toddler?
My dd is 26 months old.
She has always loved her baths and showers. We have not experienced any changes or problems with her baths. No burns, no soap in eyes, no slips or falls, etc. Nothing. My DH and I are the only ones who bathe her.

Last week, she put up a huge fight about taking a bath. She had been in a bad mood that evening, so I figured the fight to get her into the tub and washed - even though it was a bit extreme - was just an extension of her bad mood. But since then, even when she's in a great mood, dd FREAKS OUT whenever we bathe her. We've always given her a bath every single night. But the stress of the fight to bathe her recently has made us avoid it, and bathe her every two or three days instead.

My dd has very very tight curly hair, so it really does need to be washed. I thought of maybe just sponge bathing her outside of the tub (as the fear seems to revolve around the tub, bath or shower....any and all of it). But I just can't wash her hair without getting her into the tub.

So, what happens when we push her to shower/bathe? Oy....she starts to shake, scream, turns purple from the force of her crying, desperately clings to us, and screams "I don't like my bath anymore!!!" repeatedly. Tonight, it got SO bad, that at one point I jumped into the tub (fully clothed!!) to hold her while my DH continued rinsing all the soap and shampoo off her.

WHAT IS GOING ON!?!?! Please tell me this is just a phase.

The ONLY thing I can think of is that I'm a few days away, Gd willing, from giving birth. I think my dd has picked up on the fact that a baby is coming, and maybe this is causing her anxiety. But why the bath?? What has changed? I don't get the sense she's just seeking attention, but I can't say for sure.

sarahmalka

Mon, May 30 2011, 9:23 pm

This is ringing a bell, I think it happened with my son. Obviously it got better if I can't remember exactly! We did end up switching to showers instead of baths at some point, but I don't know if that strategy fits with your family. DS still screams bloody murder if we pour water on his head to rinse out shampoo, but it's easier to deal with rinsing in the shower than bath.
Could you maybe have her pick out some special bath/shower toys, and special shampoo or soap? Something all her own, and some way that she has a semblance of control in the process.
GL!

amother

Mon, May 30 2011, 10:10 pm

its a stage. I have the same thing with my ds on & off. he used to love the bath then he hated it then started loving it again. short time ago he started crying again every time I bathed him and didnt let me lay him down, till I showed him the "tepel" & showed him how he could fill it up with water & spill it on himself-that distracted him & since then (meanwhile) he begs me to bathe him & he asks for it to play with. now he doesnt want to come out of the bath.

Alef Bais

Mon, May 30 2011, 10:53 pm

My 2-year-old recently had a trauma involving the tub and developed a terrible fear of getting in it for a bath.

I knew what caused the problem. There had been a bug in the tub the previous time I was about to run water for the bath. I disposed of the bug, ran the water and the 2-year-old was enjoying her bath until my 4-year-old who was also in the bath decided to play a good joke and yelled, "A bug! There's a bug!!!" for kicks. My 2-year-old literally jumped out of the tub and refused to go back in.

The next bath session when I tried to give her a bath, she was too scared to go near the tub. This is what I did: I undressed her and took off my tights and shoes. I lifted her in my arms and stepped into the bathtub. My legs were in the water and she was in my arms where she felt safe. I reassured her that it's okay, the water feels good etc... Eventually, I put her down to sit in the water and hugged her so that she couldn't jump out, the whole time calmly reassuring her. She realized that there was nothing to be afraid of and began enjoying her bath again.

I know your situation is not exactly the same, but perhaps you can gain some ideas of what might help by reading about what worked for me Smile

amother

Mon, May 30 2011, 11:08 pm

Alef Bais wrote:

OP here
Thank you for this, and thanks for all the other suggestions, ladies!