My Kid Is Scared Of A Bath

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When Nick was a newborn he hated bath time.  In fact we used to give him a bath every night because he’d scream and cry and wear himself out which resulted in him exhausting himself causing him to sleep well.  Alright, so maybe that wasn’t so nice of us, but in our defense he was clean and getting good sleep.

After a few months Nick started to love his bath.  It became part of his daily routine.  In fact for a few months it was one of his favorite parts of the day.  It was especially exciting for him when he was big enough to move from his baby tub into the kitchen sink.  Over the Summer he has mostly enjoyed his baths, even if some nights he just wasn’t into it.  Still his behavior was nothing like it’s been lately.

Bath time used to be Jason’s thing.  That was a special Nick and Daddy time.  Of course when Jason started his new job that meant that I had to do bath time since Jason was no longer home for it on work nights.  The first week or two things went pretty well.  Nick wasn’t happy when I washed his hair, but that really wasn’t new for him and he really didn’t get that fussy.  Then things started to change.  He became deathly afraid of having his hair washed.  Even on nights when I wasn’t going to wash his hair he’d become hysterical when I turned the faucet on to rinse out his cleaning sponge because he thought I was going to wash his hair.  Then he started screaming when it was time to get ready for bath.  One night I had mom stay when I got home from work to help with Nick’s bath because I knew I had to wash his hair, and I wasn’t up for doing it alone.  Nick was a bit overtired that night, and he screamed bloody murder from the moment he realized he was getting a bath until the moment I put him in his stroller for his evening walk after bath.

Since that awful night we’ve been trying to get him to calm down.  We wash his hair far less, and some nights we do nothing but let him play in the water.  He seems to have gotten used to it again some, but even last night he screamed and fought me as I tried to get him undressed.  He had needed a bath though since we had skipped it on Saturday.  I took it easy on him in the tub and washed him very gently and I kept telling him that we wouldn’t wash his hair.  Once he was settled in the tub he was happy and he did have a good time.

Honestly I’m at a loss for where this new fear has come from.  I don’t really do anything differently then Jason did.  Plus Nick screams the same amount when my grandmother gives him his bath, and he even screams for Jason when he gives him a bath on the nights that he’s home.  If it’s just an odd stage than I hope he gets over it soon.

Any thoughts on this new fear and how I can help get Nick past it?