Do Your Toddlers Be Scared of Bath Time

As defined in Wikipedia, a toddler is a child 12 to 36 months old. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development.

The word is derived from "to toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, like a child of this age.

So kids in this period are afraid of something just like their unsteadily walking experience.

In my parenting period, bath time was just a struggle for my toddler girl from 24 months old. Yes, she was afraid of or even hated bath time at this special age.

However, she fights us tooth and nail not to take a bath and then weirdly she refuses to get out of the bath! Strange or surprise with such problem?

I also get the same complaint from other parents, thus this isn’t really that big of a surprise. Many kids don’t do well with transitions.

Also, once your children are having fun in a warm, soapy oasis – who can blame them for not wanting to get out!

So I faced these two big problems during my little girl’s toddlerhood, refused to take a bath, and then refused to get out of the bath.

I search lots of such information online, and try to find the reason and solution.

I just wonder whether a special creative bath toy for toddlers can help to attract her attention into the bathtub and also get out of it.

What Are The Common Reasons Make Toddlers Hate Bath Time?

Many toddlers love splashing about at bath time, since bath time is relaxing for them.

However, there are many kids who go running in the opposite direction when they hear the word “bath”.

Do your little ones have to be chased down for their bath?

Just like those kids’ behavior showed in the Super Nanny, running to front door, screaming hysterically, yelling no no no no to refuse when their parents attempt to bath them. As the same to me, bath time for my toddler just a struggle.

However, kids fight bath time for many different reasons, for example:

1. I am doing something or playing fun and I don’t want to take a bath.
2. I am fear of getting soap in my eyes; I don’t like water splash on my face; I don’t want to wash my hair.
3. I am fear of slipping in the bathtub.
4. I am fear of getting sucked into the drain.
5. The water is too hot, I don’t like it.
6. I don’t want to go to bed (because bed time often occurs right after bath time).
7. I don't like the cold feeling after exiting the bath (hard time with transition/ change of activity).

...

For my little one, the most important reason is that she is afraid of the smell of the soap or shampoo, which will make her feel vomit.

She refuses shampoo, but I still wash her hair and body with shampoo just want to make her clear enough, so that make her uncomfortable time by time, then she protest bath time.

For the other reason is that she tends to feel like she is missing out on something fun during bath time.

Interrupting play time to make a child take a bath can make them dislike bathing.

Above is not an exhaustive list, but it addresses the most common reasons why kids may want to avoid bath time.

So what shall we do to get our little ones from being scared to loving their bath?

How to Help Your Kids Love to Take A Bath According to Their Special Fear?

1, Always Test The Water Temperature Before Bathing

Most kids just feel the bath water is too hot, while their parents just feel the water is a little cold. Since kids are more sensitive about temperature than adults.

Use your elbow rather than your hand to test it, as your elbow will be more sensitive. If you’re still unsure, use a bath thermometer.

The ideal temperature for your baby's bath is between 37 degrees C and 38 degrees C, which is around body temperature. 

2, Try A Different Bath Time

If bath time normally takes place in the evening, before bed, your child might be more receptive to a daytime bath.

Try a morning or afternoon splash, now I just ask my little girl to take a bath after a mess or just after she coming back from kindergarten. 

Make bath time less about the routine, more about fun.

3, Reduce Shampoo Times or Avoid Soapy Eye Disasters

If your kids are sensitive about the smell of shampoo just like my little girl, I suggest you to reduce shampoo times, just twice a week, kids are not as dirty as we think.

The most common bath time issue is the fear of getting soap in one’s eyes.

Kids have a good memory for pain and it only takes one soapy, teary experience for them to want to avoid bath time all together.

So be careful when you wash their hairs with shampoo.

Also, keeping a dry wash cloth right next to the bath, this instills confidence in your children that if they were to get their face wet or soapy, you got it covered.

4, Adding Bath Toys to Help Associate Bath Time with Fun Time

Adding bath toys, bath paint or other fun can turn your bath time into a fun play time. This point may be obvious - but if your children are having fun, they are less likely to focus on their worries.

For me, I also sing bath songs for my girl to learn how to bath herself.

For example, a song like “Can you wash your feet? I can wash my feet. Can you wash your knees? I can wash my knees. Can you wash your nose... this is the way we take a bath”...

Another popular bath time song is "Baby Shark", you can try this lovely sone with your little ones, maybe add a similar cute Baby Shark Bath Toy will be perfect.

For bath toys, I choose a hatching duck egg for her, which makes her from being scared to loving her bath time again.

As we all know, all babies enjoy peekaboo game, they are surprised when things come back after being out of sight. 

This hatching duck egg just acts like a peekaboo game for toddlers.

The eggs can be completely immersed in water for 10 seconds sinking and can be sprinkled. Press the head and squeeze water to play as a water gun. 

As the water fills the egg up, the hatchling and top portion of the shell become buoyant which is how it slowly hatches.

When you lift the egg out of the water and the water rains out, the hatchling will slowly go back in his shell as water level falls.

Just toss the egg into the tub, submerge him, and watch him hatch as he fills up with water - peek a boo! Your little one will want to soak for hours playing with this little hatchling.

Want to have a bit of cheeky fun with this hatchling? When the egg is full of water hold the duck and press down on his top shell - he'll squirt a bit of water out of his beak!

This hatchling is not only adsorb, it can also make bath time easier by serving as a rinser to wash all that soap away gently.

Rinsing is always the hardest part of bath time, especially when the little one isn't old enough to lean their head back to rinse their hair.

With this little ducky you can make rinsing more fun for them and less guilt-ridden for you.

The bottom of the egg features a number of small holes that lets the water from inside the egg rain out of gently. As the water rains out the top of the egg slowly closes again.

There are several animal patterns for your little one to choose: ducky, penguin, dinosaur and giraffe. All of them are cute and funny.

Now, my little girl will ask me to help take a bath everyday and also require to bring her cute hatching ducky egg.

5, Give Plenty of Warnings About When Bath Time Will Start and Finish

Since your kids refuse to take a bath and also refuse to get out from the bath, so you have to give them plenty of warning both when start and finish the bath time.

Before bath time is going to begin, give your children a ten minute warning. For younger kids, anchor your warning around an activity not a time.

I always tell my kid something like, “After you are done drawing that picture it will be bath time.”or “After you finish this game/ cartoon we will take a bath.”

The point is that - let your children know what is coming before it comes. So when bath time is going to be ended, I also give her a ten seconds warning.

I will ask her to wash the bath toys and dry them first, after that, it is time for her to get out and dry herself.

I will prepare a fuzzy towel ready for my little one so I can wrap her up as soon as she hits that cool air.

What is more, I also get her another cool bath toy which can spray & splash during bath time and can also attract her attention to get out the bathtub to play fun on the floor. We named it “UFO” Bath Toy.

This is an electric bath toy just combined with a ball and a base. Install batteries in the ball and place it on water, the ball will automatically start flashing and spraying water. That will make your children have lot of fun during bath time.

Install batteries in the base, and put the ball on the base, this UFO bath toy will continue play even after bathing.

The base is equipped with a universal wheel device for automatic driving on the floor, so it will attract your kids’ attention to get out of the bathtub and then have fun on the floor.

Conclusion

Does your child be scared of bath time or hate bath? What has been your experience? Leave a comment below.

If you know some parents whose kids struggle with bath time, share this article & bath toys to help them out!