Daugher Wont Take Baths?

How old is she? Maybe she needs to graduate to showers... My eldest wasn't even 2 when she decided baths were for babies and she wanted to take showers instead.

On one hand it will not hurt her to go without a bath for a couple of days.

On the other hand she may learn from this battle that she has power to effect what she does...too soon maybe?

If you want to just battle it out then put her in the tub and just go right ahead bathing her just like she isn't having a fit. Don't talk to her or interact at all until she is calm and acting normal. If she enjoyed the bath time previously she will eventually forget she is mad, or whatever is going on in her mind, and she'll start playing again.

Be sure to say once that when you are calm and talking in a normal voice I will listen and hear you.

this is an age that they try to assert their will... so, barring a medical problem/illness/injury - i'd put her little rear end in that bathtub and bathe her standing up - she can scream/cry all she wants, but i'd want her to know that some things aren't negotiable, hygiene is one of them. good luck!

It might be something simple, like she got water or soap in her eyes last time she took a bath. Try washing her with a wash cloth for a few days. Then a new bath toys, Put them in the tub with water then ask her, Do you want to take a bath with these toys? Stacking cups are great bath toys! Good Luck!

Funny, two moms are asking the exact same question right now! I just answered hers, but I'll basically retype my answer here too.

My son did this exact thing at about 18 months. One day he was fine, the next day he was a screaming mess about the tub. He never had one issue and LOVED, I mean loved, the bath even when he was a tiny baby. It took about 2 months (I think) for things to get back to normal, because really, there is only so long they can go without a bath.

We hated to do it, but we did force our son in the tub. Mostly it was sort of a stand-up soap and rinse job since he was screaming his head off and we got it done as quickly as possible, but it was hard for my husband and I to deal with, but nothing else seemed to work (and we tried showers too and that was worse!), so I think you may have to do some forcing even if you don't want to.

Eventually my son worked his way back into normal tub time. He would only stand up for a few weeks but that was better than him screaming and eventually he started sitting down again but would want to get out very quickly, but soon enough he was back to hanging out and playing in the tub forever!

As I mentioned on my other post, when I think back about it, I think I may have actually had the water on too hot the last time even though I didn't think it was the case. My son was young and didn't talk at all. He bathed with his sister and she never complained about the water temp or anything, but now that he's communicating effectively I've noticed that she likes it warmer and even if it's warmer than normal she doesn't really complain, but he likes it even cooler than what I think is normal so we've had to do some adjusting. My point is that maybe something "traumatic" happened to her that you have no clue about b/c she's 20 months and things can seem scarier to more dramatic at that age. So think back and if anything seems to pop out at you maybe try and address it...otherwise, just hang in there and hope it ends soon!

I don't know why your mom was so intent on giving her a bath for the last two days but I would guess something there upset her. She had her Saturday when the issue started. Let her stand and give her the wash cloth and let her soap herself and just pour water over her. Let her pour it if she wants to do it. Then she surely can go several days without a bath if not outside playing until she settles down some. Our doctor told us not to bathe our kids everyday since they had dry skin anyhow. Something scared her I would guess.

My daughter started hating baths around 15 months. She would stand and cry and get so upset that she would throw up. (Fun!)

Looking back it seems like it coincided with a few ear infections at which point fluid built up until we finally got her tubes right around when she turned 2. I think the noise of water running and being in the water messed with her equilibrium.

Since the tubes, she is BETTER, but not great. She does better with coming into the shower with me. She likes having more control over how much water she comes in contact with.

I have the same problem with my 20 month old. He is going thru a stage where he doesn't like his head getting wet. If I try to wash his hair he wants out of the tub asap. It's been a struggle trying to get him in the bath as well. I think it's because he doesn't want to be confined to one area.

yeah, my son (he's 4) went through this stage when he was younger. It will pass, might take a while though. What I did was try to make the bath fun, I blew bubbles, put new toys in the tub. Anything that would get him in on his own. IfI tried to force it, it just made it worse for him. Apparently they go through these kind of stages.

I know she's young, but why not try her with a shower and see if she likes that better? My little one started taking showers when she was 3 and a half and I swear, it's like she's at the spray park. :) You can still soap her up and everything, and help her just like you do in the tub. Might be worth a shot...

Good luck!

When my DD utterly refused and I needed to bathe her, I basically sponged her off. Put a thick towel on the floor, and use soapy water from the sink. Rinse the washcloth off, rinse child. Dry. Don't try with long hair, though. That doesn't go well. Sometimes I would tell DD we were going to have a race and DH would set a timer and we'd try to be done before the timer went off. Or do the hokey pokey. Or just wash her while she screamed about it. Sometimes you don't have much choice.

If all else fails, you could take her to the bath section of Toys R Us and have her pick out some new bath toys and maybe one of those animal shower toys that you put on the faucet and it can be used to give her a shower. My boys love those Crayola bubble crayons that you find at Target in the baby section by where they sell the bath stuff. They love to draw in the tub. I hope you find a solution:)