Afraid of the Tub

Hiya,

I had two little boys who did this. One of them had an uncontrollable irrational fear of the tub (after enjoying it for 18 months also) and it took him a long time to get over it. I think he was three before I was able to give him a bath without theatrics. My second son has never enjoyed baths and has taken showers since he was old enough to stand (we have to use the handheld shower heads).

So good luck, they will eventually grow out of it.:)

It is probably a stage, but she might have gotten scared for some reason and associated it with the tub. Could you co-bathe with her, or may be show her that she can take a shower? My husband bathes our son and he told me that sometimes the little guy doesn't want to get into the tub he just wants to play and splash around, so that is why they take showers. But may be try to get her some fun bath toys, washable crayons, alphabet letters that you can stick to the bath walls, etc.. and see if she shows any interest. How much does she talk, can you ask her how she feels about it? Hope this passes soon for you!

We went through two bath-aversion phases with our daughter (now nearly 2 1/2). The first time was at about 18 months, and I read somewhere that at this age children are noticing how the water goes down the drain and they may become afraid of the drain. We combated this phase by taking baths with her, and though she usually sat on our laps during this time, at least she got a bath! And she got over it after a while.

The second phase was several months later, and I still don't know what caused that. It even transferred to swimming this past summer, where she was totally afraid to get into the pool! However, my husband bought her some bath markers and that _totally_ did away with any fears she had. Immediately she happily got into the tub and had a great time. So I think, in our cases, it was a developmental issue where she was suddenly becoming more aware of dangers and weird things she hadn't noticed before, and it was a little overwhelming. Now she loves baths, and we can't even say the word "bath" around her or she gets way too excited.

Hang in there, she'll get over it, just be patient and work through it!

Sometimes kids go through stages where they like one thing one minute and do not like it the next. Try some bubble bath and see if she likes it. make sure to get hyperallegenic bubble for her as girls are more suseptible to uti's. when you go to the grocery store take her with you and ask her if she wants some bubbles in her bath and give her some choices for what she wants to use. that night put the bubbles in there and let her see how the bubbles form with the water. that may get her from being afraid of the water. i remember my son going through the same thing around that age and how the bubbles seemed to help. he was also afraid of the shower for a time period but now is okay with it. good luck.

Hi, A.:

Find an alternative way: sink, dish pan, etc.

Next force a baby, child, teen, adult, to do anything they are afraid of.

Who knows why she is afraid. It doesn't matter. Be loving and kind.

Good luck. D.

I've also heard the "scared of the drain" thing too. My son did this too for a short time around this age. At 18 months they are old enough to realize that the water goes down the drain, but not old enough to realize that they won't go down the drain with it!
Like all have said- it's a phase and will pass. Try some sponge baths or get in with her until it passes. :)

no expertise here, but just a thought... maybe she is just realizing how big the tub is. Maybe you could try to fill her baby bath with an inch of water and then if that works add a little more.

good luck =O}

my little one used to love it when we took bubbles into the bath. he also liked bubble baths. maybe if you make a big bubble bath and blow some bubbles like you're having the time of your life, she'll get back in. don't force it, though. she'll get back in when she's ready.

A.,
I think this is a phase most kids go through. It will pass and she'll be fine. Did anything happen in the tub? Like did she slip or bump herself? Maybe you can entice her back in with some cool new tub toys. Tub crayons/fingerpaint/foamies/etc. In the meantime, I'd just keep giving her the wash downs as you are.

I've come to learn quickly that everything appears to be a phase of some sort. If you're not opposed to it, try getting in the tub first and welcome her in. If she sees you in there she might go for it, and you can get a little more bonding time. Good Luck.

Hi A..

This is a stretch, and one you probably already thought of, but if your daughter goes to daycare, or a sitter while you work, is it possible that something happened with water while she was away from you? Just a thought.

If you can't identify a triggering event, then I'd just chalk it up to a phase, albeit a difficult to understand phase.

Like another poster suggested, I'd try to bathe with her. Maybe that would ease her fear a little.

Hope this passes soon!

Hi A.,

My daughter went through a similar period at about the same age after she had a little accident in the tub and soiled herself while bathing. She then went through a couple of weeks of not wanting to get in the tub and no longer wanting bubbles. I gradually changed the environment a bit initially by just cleaning her with the shower head extension and then slowly moving back to a bath. I even got in the bath with her to make her more comfortable. She was back to loving baths in a short time and the change had the added benefit of getting her used to taking a "baby shower" (i.e., with the shower head extension) so it all worked out. Maybe you can do something similar with your daughter and see how it goes. Good luck!

Just an idea but you could try bathing her at a differnent time of day, I"m assuming you do it at bedtime, She might have been overtired and more easily freaked out if the water was a bit cool or something and now it's a learned behavior kind of thing.
You could get new bath toys, they make cool crayons, or plastic measuring cups from your kitchen, try tinting the water, dim the lights, play music probably not all at once but just some ideas for you.

She will get over it, but trust yourself to handle it and help her.

As others have suggested, try changing it up -- maybe take a shower with her? Maybe she'll enjoy being held in the water as it comes down from the shower head, rather than sitting in standing water.

Phases pass, some just take longer than others.