Toddlers afraid of bath time

Filed in archive Health on February 3, 2006

Feed the Fish bath toy pictured on the left is available at Genius Babies.There was a time when my son loved playing in the tub. We successfully enticed him with the colorful bath toys floating with the bubbles. Oh yea, he loved the bubbles, too.

For the past month, however, he has been running straight to the bedroom and he has been burying himself under the blanket whenever he hears that it's bath time. Whenever we'd come near, he'd say with his soulful eyes that he is "Afraid, Mama. Water."

That was my fault, you see. Seeing that he enjoyed his baths, I -- without the same care I used to give -- poured water over his head, one time. After that, he didn't like taking baths anymore. It's not the shampoo in his eyes but the water that he didn't (still doesn't) like.

It has been like that since. We are, somewhat, successful in getting him to the tub albeit, with much prodding and a few screams. Slowly, we are enticing him with the same methods: bubbles and bath toys.

But, this time, I will not become too confident and will be extra careful with the 'water in the eyes' situation.

Should you encounter the same with your child, read Baby Tips Online for some tips (I got my solution from this site). And while you are at it, go get some ideas on how to make bath time fun for your child.