Raising Children Network: the Australian parenting website
  • Suitable for 1-3Years

Fear of the bath

By Dr Benjamin Spock updated by Dr Robert Needlman
 
 

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You can make bath time more fun for older babies if you provide some attractive and engaging bath toys.

 

Between ages one and two, your child may become frightened of the bath. She may fret about slipping underwater or getting soap in her eyes or even seeing and hearing the water go down the drain.

She has to have a bath, so you need to figure out how to make it a less traumatic experience and allow her to come to terms with it.

To avoid soap in the eyes, soap her face with a washcloth that is not too wet and rinse several times with a damp but not dripping washcloth. Use baby shampoo that won't sting her eyes.

Babies who are afraid to get into the bathtub shouldn't be forced to. You can try using a basin, but if she is afraid of that too, give her sponge baths for several months until her courage returns. Then try the bath again, starting with just a few centimetres of water. Be sure to remove the baby before you pull the plug.