15 month old DS suddenly hates the bath?

[oolongtea]

DS has loved his bath from day one... Until now. The last two weeks he has refused to get in and will cling to me tightly if I try to put him in. I put him in against his will once, figuring he'd remember that he liked it, but he cried and clung to me even from inside the tub. Eventually he cheered up and played a bit, but still the next day he refused to get in. So right now I am offering the bath, he shakes his head 'no', and then I sponge bathe him. What should I do? Keep offering, or not mention it for awhile? He also refused to get in the shower with me or DH. What should I do?

[MadiMamacita]

same problem here. whats weird is he will go in the pool and loves swimming, but no dice on a shower or bath. we've been sponge bathing him. and it has been a long while like this.

[mckittre]

My 17 month old is a bath hater too. But we tried something new yesterday that seemed to work. We put him in the bath with clothes on for awhile, with his ducks, and talked about how he was going to wash the ducks. Then we took his clothes off, and slowly added water to the tub while he was already in it, still talking about washing ducks. He had a little washcloth to wash the ducks with. It seemed to keep him occupied enough that he didn't mind being washed himself. The only other thing I've had success with is climbing in with him and getting him to wash me. I think a lot of warning, adding the water after the kid, and giving him a task to do is what works better for us. If I add the water before the kid, he just draws up his feet and cries.

[Luke's mama]

just wanted to offer a little hope!

my ds loved his bath until at 19 mos old, I was away for a few nights and grandma and grandpa poured water over his head, which I had never done. He totally freaked out and refused a bath, and this went on from Xmas until mid-March. We did sponge baths until then. I think what changed it was we went to the beach with his 5 yr old cousin, and when he saw his cousin and aunt playing in the pool, he became more receptive to getting in the bath and playing himself. Anyway, I just wanted to point out that it will pass with some time and so you don't have to force the issue--not sure if forcing it would work.

good luck

[Abraisme]

This is totally normal and usually goes away in a short time. My DS did it around 18mo for a month or two. I think it's around the age when they realize that water could be dangerous. I just washed his as fast as I could and didn't push it beyond that. I'm sure you're lo will be bathing again in no time.

[Louisep]

Our DS started disliking baths when he realized they were a pre-cursor to going to bed. Do you have baths at bedtime?

Either I or my husband will get in with him and he seems to like that.

[oolongtea]

I'm thinking it's a newly realized hesitation about the water, since it started after a vacation when he went swimming. Yesterday I tried the suggestion of putting him in dry with the toys and trickling the water in, and it worked! We'll see if he catches on to it when I try it again next time...

Thanks for the tips so far!