2 Year Old Hates to Get Her Hair Washed

My 2 year old daughter also does not love having her hair washed. I tell her that we are playing beauty salon and tell her that mommy gets her hair washed whenever I go. Then we make believe that we are at the salon and she digs it! Hope this helps!

Hi,

My daughter doesn't like getting her hair washed either, mostly because her hair is so thick and it takes a long time to comb through it. But the 2 things that have made it a little more bearable (for us both) are 1) distraction -- letting her get involved in deep play with something of interest and 2) giving her some control over the situation -- letting her put some shampoo in, or help rinse.

Hope this helps,

S.
mom of 6yo and 4yo

My daughter is the exact same age and we are currently going throught the same thing. The best advice I've gotten is this: She is totally into the little mermaid. So we put those glow in the dark stars on the ceiling in her bathroom and we "play mermaid". I put a night light in there and we turn off the light and she pretends to swim and all that fun stuff and then at the end I tell her to look at the stars and I do her hair just like the mermaid! So far it seems to be working.

Another thing I tried that did work was I got in with her and dumped water over my head and started laughing...therefore she too thought it was funny so I gave her a cup to do the same to herself. She did it several times. I hoped it would just get her to not be afraid of water running in her face.

we just used a soapy wash cloth and repeated water soaked wash clothes and didn't pour any water on our son for awhile.

I have a 3 year old daughter that did the same thing. We found out after seeing a specialist that she was getting so upset because she had problems with her ears and she hated when the water would get in them. All the fluid in her ears was causing her so much pain and i never put it together that that might be why she hated taking a bath, or swimming so much. My daughter had tubes put in her ears, and since has had better hearing, and has not fussed when she was in the bathtub. Since then we have put cotton in her ears so it wont get in there and she is ok with it. We have also tried for the eyes, Covering with a dry washcloth and telling her to look way up to the sky. I thought i would let u know our situation because i always thought she just didn't like the water on her head. Hopefully this is not the case for your child, but it may be worth checking out.

My 2 y/o (3 in Nov)is the same way! He seems to respond better to showers lately. Maybe that is an option for you too, just take her in with you. When you're washing your own hair it seems like a better idea to them....just like everything else! Good luck, this too shall pass :)

I wash my 2 year olds hair right at the end of the bath. I lather it up. He lets me rinse the back of his head in the tub with a cup of water. Then he gets out of the tub and I wrap him in towel - I call him my little burrito. Then I sit on the edge of the tub and cradle him with his head over the tub. He lets me pour a pitcher of water over his hair. Nothing gets in his eyes and I am careful about the ears. He doesn't mind and actually says it feels good. Just what works for us. Good luck!

my 3 y.o. was the same way, what works for us is having him lay back in the tub on his elbows and holding his head back. this way no water goes in his eyes. since we started this hair washing is not hair raising. good luck

My 35 month old daughter has never liked getting her hair washed. What has been working for us is to lay her down backwards in the tub (hair near faucet end). The tub is not filled, this is her version of a shower like her big brothers take. Using a cup I wet her hair, shampoo, lather, rinse, condition. Before she stands up I make sure her hair is wrung out as much as I can get it. As long as no wet hair drips in her face we usually have a tear free "bath".

Hi N.,
My son is 3 yrs old and bathtime and hairwashing was, no problem. In the last maybe 6 mths or so, I have to chase him, to get him in the tub and washing his hair another battle. I cover his eyes to prevent water from getting in them, I have the no tears shampoo, nothing seems to work. He stands up in the tub and says " I want to get out" and then attempts to climb out or grabs my neck to get out. I reasonally purchased a bath mitten in the shape of a duck, because he trys to wash himself up. But I realized it served as another useful tool for hairwashing. When it was bathtime I told him to get his duck and get in the tub, ok no problem. When it was time to wash his hair he says "I want to get out". I told him in a duck voice (sounds silly but whatever works), Duck wants you to stay in the tub and get your hair wash, ok. I did the quack quack noise and he started to laugh, I think his laughter put whatever fears or unwillingness to stay in the tub out of his mind. He then sat down and let me wash his hair. Hopefully, this will continue to work for us and possibly if you would like to try it go out and get that favorite character and happy bath and hairwashing time. GOOD LUCK.

L.

I read somewhere that a mom had used swim goggles with her child. She had success, but I've not tried it. Still, it is worth looking into. Good luck!

My 3 year old hates washing her hair. An idea sparked when my mom gave her a bath one day and she doesn't really mind rinsing her hair now b/c water doesn't really get in her eyes. We wash her hair (not rinse yet) and when she is done "playing" we drain all the water out, she lies on her back and rinse her hair off with the spout. It goes pretty quickly too! Good luck. I feel your pain-LOL!!

I agree with some of the other mom's who suggested ear troubles... I would have that checked out first before you start on anything else. My son is six and still does not like his hair washed by me but it is what it is. He refuses to wash his face and his neck too (or behind his ears - YUCK) but I wash them anyway toward the end of his shower. He complains and pitches a fit but again, it is what it is. Have to get clean and so it goes...

Good luck!

N.,

All welcome to the woes of a 2 year old! lol My youngest of 4 is 3 and we have the same problem with him. All 3 older ones have gone through it too. The only bright spot here is that they grow out of it. That is about the only cure for it. Hang in there!!!!! this too shall pass. (my older ones 10, 9 & 5 are shocked by the screaming, they don't remember doing it!) So no damage there!

My daughter at the same age just out of the blue started screaming the minute I put her in the bath. I couldn't understand what happened and why all of a sudden she was for freightened by water. Anyway, I made a swimming game out of bathtime. I'd wait until she was comfortable with lying down in the water and that is when I'd wet her hair then I'd let her play a bit and lather her hair they I'd have her lay back down and then I'd rinse her hair without her even noticing what I was doing.

I feel your pain. My almost 3 year old son is the same way! Thanks for asking the question and I look forward to hearing what the other Moms have to say.

could it be her ears too. My kids all ahd ear porblems and tubes etc and taht is what hurt but we too used a doll and she washed the dolls hair and then we did ehrs trick s like that helped. Love the star idea cool!
good luck and chekc the ear thing first and then find what she is into to make it work
good lcuk
J.

Mom, take a bath with her and wsh your hair in front of her. Make it a game with you laughing as you pour the water over your head. Make sure you have her tip her head back and no bubbles can burn her eyes. Just kind of rinse the soap thru until she's use to washing all the time (daily). Good luck

Maybe the shampoo is burning her scalp. Try a different VERY gentle formula shampoo.

Unfortunately, I don't have any suggestions. I'm just writing to tell you that my almost (Oct. 18) two year old also hates most of her bath experience right now too. I figure that it's just a phase and we just make the bath very quick and then we're done. Oddly, she loves the beach and the pool and never wants to get out. What can you do???

My daughter is the same age.... we've been using a kid's watering can because the water flow is slower and easier to control, plus it's fun for her--we're watering her like a flower to help her grow. :) Then she gets to use the watering can in the tub, too. Good luck!

Ooohhhh, I feel for you! My child was the SAME way, and still is to some extent. Major freak-out any time we mentioned bath and/or washing of hair. The only thing that has started to ease the problem (now age 4) was letting her have more control over the hair washing. We let her pick out a Kandoo pump foamy shampoo at the store. We tell her that it is time to wash now, and SHE pumps the soap and puts in on her hair. Then we make her hair into shapes, kitty ears, mowhawk, etc... and I show her in a hand mirror. When it is time to rinse, I try to scoop all of the suds off (from forehead to back of head) with my hand with NO water, then we give her a cup to rinse the back herself. When it is time to rinse the front, we have her hold a dry washcloth over her eyes, and make sure to have another dry spare towel on hand. Some kids just don't like it, LOL... GOOD LUCK!

Our son (three and a half) has had the same issues for quite some time now. We found that hair washing went much easier when started taking showers around age 3 (mostly just sitting down), and using a handheld sprayer. He does so much better when he gets his own hair wet with the sprayer, and I check to see his progress. If he gets slow about wetting his hair, I tell him either he can do it or I will, and he usually picks that he will get his hair wet. I do have a towel handy and when he gets too much water in his eyes, he will ask me to blot his face. I pour the shampoo in his hands, he rubs it in his hair and rinses too.