How to deal with Bathtime terror? And how long did it last?

Our son(almost18months) has started to be terrified of the bath. He doesnt even need to be in it as soon as i start running it he starts screeching and tearing around the apartment so i cant catch him. Nothing happened in the bath to scare him it was literally one night all good the next was like we put him into lava and its been like that since...We tried bubbles, playing in it first, getting in with him, koolaid to make the water a diff color....EVERYTHING!!!....Our oldest went thru this but the koolaid worked with her to get over it and she was older so she was more open to listening to reason whereas he just screams and hes got a SUPER set of lungs on him....anyone have any tips to deal with this? And if your child went thru it how long did it take for them to come back around? He really loved the bath before this started.....How to deal with Bathtime terror? And how long did it last?
Yep, my son did the same thing, probably around age 2. No reason and he had also loved baths prior.





What worked was my oldest daughter, age 9 (bless her heart) of her own free will, put on her bathing suit and came in to the bathroom once and said, You want to get in with me? Sure enough, he nodded and got in and that was the end of the terrors.How to deal with Bathtime terror? And how long did it last?
The tub is your friend,


The bath is your pal,


YOU WON'T get sucked down the DRAIN


Honestly, it is fear of getting sucked down the drain. Try a kiddie pool or small baby bath tub and just fill it in the sink first, then dump it in the sink when you are done.
I was afraid of the drain when I was a little kid. I thought I could go down it! Did one of his toys go down? My nephew got scared because one of his toys went down and it freaked him out. I would explain to him that it is safe, that you wouldn't let anything happen to him and try to really excited and be like ';Guess what? You get to take bath now with mommy! How fun! Let's go!'; and try to be upbeat and calm about it.





I would say get in the bath with him for a while and let him bring a toy into the tub as well. There are crayons that you can get for in the tub. Also, if he had favorite songs, or songs about taking a bath that would be good so you guys can listen to those songs and learn about how taking a bath is fun. Squirt guns are fun too! I call them ';rocket ships'; so it's not like a ';gun'; in his mind. He will grow out of it, just don't make a big deal, and go with the flow and act like everything is ok and he will too eventually. Don't bargin with him, but remain calm. He probably is just starting to not want to go to bed and this is how he's showing it!





Ahh ... what I wouldn't give for a long bath .... man. Good luck!
I've only experienced fear of having the hair/head washed, never fear of the bath altogether. What works best for me when dealing with the head wash phobia is just to get it over as quickly as possible. The longer and more dramatic the build-up, the worse. I've spent several minutes trying to reassure a child, and it has only increased the anxiety. In general, I find that anxiety increases any time a toddler is allowed to engage in a debate over a contentious issue. The longer you let him scream, the more he gets upset. Just finish the bath as quickly as possible. You can speak to him in a reassuring tone as you go along, but move quickly.





One thing to keep in mind is that the bath doesn't need to be filled to the top to get him clean. I only fill it that much because children enjoy playing in it. To get him clean, all you really need is a source for wetting and rinsing. This can be a bucket full of warm water, a shallow bath, or a shower head.
my little sister is 2yo and she used to LOVE bathes, she could not get enough of them. Then one day soap got in her eyes (not a big deal) and now she is terrified.....so we just dunk her in wash her hair and take her out. I'm sure she will get over this soon.

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