Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months

My 13 month old suddenly hates the bath!

My 13 month old suddenly hates the bath. She screrams hysterically and will not sit down in the tub  This started last week-- completely out of the blue.  There was no traumatic event proceeding this behavior. We tried to take her to an indoor pool this weekend and she started screaming and shaking the minute she saw the pool.  She previously loved the bath and loved swimming all last summer.  Has this happened to anyone else's little one?  Any suggestions on how to get over this?

Re: My 13 month old suddenly hates the bath!

  • For the past 3 weeks my 15 month old refuses to sit in the bath. He doesn't scream or anything but he is not particularly excited about the tub, and he used to love it! I am not making a big deal out of it and hoping it is just a phase - so I don't have any advice other than my LO is being similar. Maybe something happened that we didn't even realize caused an issue, like getting soap in eyes? 
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  • Have you tried getting in the bath with him and soothing him like you would if he got hurt? That's how I got DS to not scream in the bath when he was 23 months old. Maybe it's worth a try now?
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    Lilypie - (JzKZ) Lilypie - (DgGJ)

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  • My son started doing this suddenly about 6 weeks ago, at around 20 months. We've tried everything...mom in the tub with him, dad in the tub with him, new bath toys, nothing works. He just stands there and cries. We've had a little more success in the shower with him but its still not pretty. Pedi said not to worry about it. Definitely not fun for anyone. 
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  • We just went through this with my 23 month old DD.  She LOVED the bath....until she accidentally pooped in it.  We didn't make a big deal about it, but we did promptly remove her from the tub so we could drain the water and clean the poop out.  She was SO traumatized.  She would hyperventilate at the mention of "bath time".  It was horrible.  I actually did a little research, and apparently this is a normal toddler reaction to pooping in the tub.  lol.  Upon the suggestion of others who have dealt with this, we purchased "bath crayons".  They are non-toxic and are sold in the kids bath aisle.  You child can color your tub, and it rinses right off.  My daughter loved them.  Within about 3 days, she would only whimper at the mention of bath time.  Now she likes it again.  She still won't sit down in the water, but she will stand there content to color while we pour water over her.

    Your child might be a little young for the crayons, but they might work for you.  Good luck!  Oh, and they also make "bath tablets" that turn the water a fun color.  They are non-toxic, too.  My DD liked them, but not as much as the crayons. 

  • We had this and tried EVERYTHING (bath with DD, bubbles, colored water with fizzy, bath with me, shower...) nothing was working until finally I got bath crayons! He cried the first few times, then got excited about coloring the bath walls, and we played a few times when standing up and finally sat down on his own and now loves the bath. 

    I found he hates the bath because of washing his hair. I bought bath visors for each and that failed too so now I don't wash hair every time and when I do its the very last thing I do in the bath and he just cries though it.  

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  • Kids  go through phases and unfortunately we dont know why. If you are doing daily baths, switch to every 2 days to not make yourself crazy. It will pass.
  • Yes!!! You are singing my song, sister...

    We have been facing this all the sudden as well. I have stretched bath days to every 2-3 days as a result (she isn't sweaty like kids get in summertime). I think it has to do with washing her hair. My daughter has a LOT of hair, so skipping a shampoo is not an option.

     One thing which has worked the last two bath times was bringing in a bubble fan and using a fun new bubble bath (Hello Kitty). Here is the bubble fan we used...

    https://www.amazon.com/Gymboree-Bubble-Ooodles-Fan-contains/dp/B007S43X7S

    I may have to try the bath crayons, too. 

    Good luck, mama!

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