Blueheart
Senior Member
I am hoping some parents here will have some suggestions for us.
My youngest child, Emily, just turned 2 in November. She used to love bath time, turning it into an elaborate ritual, choosing what toys to throw in, ripping off her socks, trying to get in before the rest of her clothes were off and so on. Then just a few weeks ago she developed an absolute fear of her bath. Or perhaps TERROR is a better word. The resulting tears, screaming, and scrambling to get out of the tub has been quite an ordeal for all of us.
We have tried switching bath time, letting her Dad give the bath, sponge baths on the counter near the sink, letting the water run without filling the tub, (great for water conservation, I know, but this was an emergency!) and holding her in the shower. I got huge scratches on my back for that last one.
I have, of course, reassured her that I will not let anything happen to her. I tried to remind her how much she loved her baths, and when it was all over, I asked her if she was OK, and she said she was fine. Her comments have only been that it is “scary,” that she doesn’t like “Mommy’s bath” but this Mommy doesn’t seem to be me, and my personal favorite, “Don’t want baths ANYMORE!”
My youngest child, Emily, just turned 2 in November. She used to love bath time, turning it into an elaborate ritual, choosing what toys to throw in, ripping off her socks, trying to get in before the rest of her clothes were off and so on. Then just a few weeks ago she developed an absolute fear of her bath. Or perhaps TERROR is a better word. The resulting tears, screaming, and scrambling to get out of the tub has been quite an ordeal for all of us.
We have tried switching bath time, letting her Dad give the bath, sponge baths on the counter near the sink, letting the water run without filling the tub, (great for water conservation, I know, but this was an emergency!) and holding her in the shower. I got huge scratches on my back for that last one.
I have, of course, reassured her that I will not let anything happen to her. I tried to remind her how much she loved her baths, and when it was all over, I asked her if she was OK, and she said she was fine. Her comments have only been that it is “scary,” that she doesn’t like “Mommy’s bath” but this Mommy doesn’t seem to be me, and my personal favorite, “Don’t want baths ANYMORE!”