Annie the Nanny
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My son hates his bath
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Hello Annie
My two year old son has suddenly decided he hates being in the bath tub. He used to like it, but now he screams whenever I try and give him a bath. I've taken to giving him showers, but he doesn't like those much either. Should I just give up on baths for the time being? What else can I do?
Cathy (Calgary)
Hi Cathy
Sometimes children develop fears like this. My son decided he was terrified of haircuts, so it happens quite routinely. I wonder if anything has happened in your family recently that has disrupted his routine. Has a new sibling arrived ? Perhaps you've moved or your family has undergone some other change? Perhaps your son had a bad experience near water? You may never find out the reason, so my advice would be to wash him with a washcloth for the time being. When you have to shower and wash his hair, use a shower that attaches to the taps and delivers a much softer volume of water. Give him as much practical control of the nozzle as you can, taking in to account that you don't want to be drenched each time either. Offer fun chances to be around water, but don't push it. You could put the sprinkler on if his friends come over and watching them may help him put his fears aside. As for bathing, you might want to let him sit in the bath and play with no water. When he's used to that, put a baby bath inside the big bath and let him enjoy a minimal amount of water. The bottom line is, that this is most likely something that he will grow out of with time. Best of luck.
Date Entered: 2006-05-23 15:07:17.0
Date Last Modified: 2006-06-06 22:28:16.0
Status: archive
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