# My 16 month old son loved baths, now hates them?



## ericisbacchus (Sep 18, 2005)

Hi everyone,
I am the father of a 16 1/2 month old boy.

The last two days, he's started doing something different. When we put him in the bath at night, he freaks out! He used to love taking baths. Now all of a sudden the last two nights...like I said, he freaks out.
Why might this be? I know the water is a fine temperature. One other thing he has started doing, though I don't know if this is at all related, is pulling back his belly and looking at his penis. It appears to frighten him a little. But, we let him run around naked and in his pool yesterday, and he seemed fine then.

Not sure...


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## Caneel (Jun 13, 2007)

We experienced the same thing. Loved the bath (and showers) one day, screamed the next. I don't know why but it passed after about two weeks.

I did purchase a plastic step stool and placed it in the tub, which allowed him to sit down without sitting in the water. I doubt this had much to due with the turnaround but it did distract him.


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## LittleLlama (Feb 27, 2006)

Dh is in charge of baths here too. He used to give night time baths, but found that if DS was at all over-tired that the bath was impossible. He switched to morning baths and all has been well. There have beenmany times where morning isn't doable, so he just makes sure to get the bath in before DS gets too tired.


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## lava mama (Jan 2, 2007)

DS was the EXACT same way, only it took at least 3 months to get him to tolerate a bath. Meaning, that was 3 months of shrieking, blood curdling screams and I'm sure our neighbors thought we were torturing him (which we probably were, in DS's eyes).

It used to be so nice...he would play on the shower floor while I showered, and then I would fill the bath and watch him as I finished getting ready. Ahhh...those were the days!

He'll let us give him a bath now with hardly a fuss, but only on one condition: he will not sit down. He also doesn't like his face to get wet anymore, so we try to limit the hair washings until absolutely necessary.


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## yogachick79 (Apr 4, 2006)

DS is the same way and has been since about 18 months. No warning, just one day went from loving bath time to hating it. We now have to bathe in the sink, with him sitting on a towel on the end with just his feet in the water. Sigh, makes getting clean a LOT harder. But go figure, he freaking LOVES the pool?!


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## sunflowers (Sep 24, 2006)

Happened here, too. Right about the same age as your ds. If I let dd stand in the tub she was fine but couldn't be asked or cajoled to sit her bottom down without a huge tantrum.

It passed within a few weeks and in the meantime I either held her and basically rinsed her off with the shower or used the sink for the infant style sponge bath. She started sitting and loving the bath again as quickly as she started fighting it









I did consider things like ear infections and UTIs but since she never showed any signs of them, I just let it run it's course. Toddlers can be so fickle


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## Carley (Aug 16, 2005)

Lately I've been using bubbles to coerce my bath-hater into cleaning up in the tub.


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## Mom2CommonCents (Mar 23, 2007)

I have heard of some mamma's using these "Crayola Color Changing tablets", i've heard it works pretty well for some bath time tantrums. basically they can swim in green, blue, yellow, and red water? or various other colors if you combine 2?

I'd be interested to find out. maybe it might work for you.


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## Qestia (Sep 26, 2005)

DS went on a bath strike recently, it lasted about a month, then I started putting LOTS of bubbles in the tub. Actually, at first some nights I still have to fill the tub, then bring some bubbles to him (in a different room), he gets interested and follows me to the tub. Works great!


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## Abylite (Jan 3, 2003)

I needed this thread! My almost 2 year old is the same way! LOVED the bath...couldn't get her out...now she says "I don't want to!!!" I keep it quick! But....I'm thinking of some bath crayons...new toys??? I don't want anything toxic in her water. The bubbles may be a good idea. Bath time WAS fun!!!


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## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

Yep. Happened with both of mine. It will pass just as quickly as it started.


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## AppleCrisp (Aug 19, 2005)

Too funny...this happened to us too at exactly 16 months. One week he loved the pool and the tub, and presto, the next day, he absolutely, postively hated it. Cried, screamed, kicked, and otherwise would not tolerate it at all. Its passing. I tried to distract with tub toys, or I just climbed in there with him.


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## ericisbacchus (Sep 18, 2005)

Funny thing - we bought new bath toys, and took out all the old ones. Everything was A-OK tonight.








I guess distraction was the way to go...like so many other things.


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