Nearly 2yo screaming at bath time

My DD2 who will be 2 next month has been having meltdowns about the bath for a few weeks now and it is wearing me down. I tried to ignore it and hope that it was a phase that would pass - but it hasn't!

She screams like she is being tortured when we put her in there and cries for her "towel" to get out before she has even gotten in! She does the same with the shower, in other people's baths and even the sink. She is fine with the pool and loves swimming and will go into the shower at the pool but screams if the water touches more than her arm or leg.

She isn't tricked by songs, new bath toys, mummy/daddy being in the bath with her or any of the other tactics I've tried. There doesn't seem to have been anything that triggered this so I am at a loss now with how to deal with it.

HELP!!!!

maybe she's scared of the bath, rather than water.

is she able to talk, to explain what's wrong?

my DS has started to explain things to me, so when he chucks a tantrum. I give him a hug and ask what's wrong? And he tries his best to tell me ;)

otherwise, I'd just let her swim in the pool everyday, if it's a little one, add bubbles etc, like the bath and see if that helps....

Could it be the plug hole? Can you maybe get one of those fancy plugs with a floating duck/fish etc...? Make it more fun? I know the noise of the plug used to freak out ds1 when he was around that age, then my fabulous (NOT) bil told him to watch out or he'd get sucked down the plug hole!!!! It took a while and we ended up going into the bathroom at a different time of day and getting him to stand in the bath, over the plughole to show him he just wouldn't fit and that it was safe! :)

Does she wear goggles in the pool? Can she have goggles in the bath and some things that sink so she can make a game of looking down into the water with them? We also ditched the bath toys idea and ds1 chose a couple of his plastic toys to take into the bath to play with. He's now 5 and still loves his bath with batman, an old mini m&m's container, a plastic label from a container (this is currently a treasure map), and an old bubble bath bottle as a squirter.

Good luck! If it comes to it and you can't get her in I like mum2romones suggestion and bath her in a paddling pool! :)

Unfortunately the big pool that she likes is chlorinated so she needs a bath/shower afterwards and she has the same reaction to our little paddling pool as she does to the bath and won't go in it! I don't think it's the plug as she is up the other end and DD1 is at then plug end, plus she has the same reaction to the shower and the paddling pool. She never hears the bath water go out as DD1 is in the bath after her and she lets it out. She doesn't wear goggles at all and refuses to have them anywhere near her face.

She tells me she likes her bath and she says it's fun when I ask her :wall: and when I ask "so why do you cry?" she just says "cry, out, towel"

Bugger! Maybe give her a hand towell to take into the bath????

Hope someone else has some other ideas for you! :)

Subbing Nai, cos fair dinkum I have exactly the same problem.
Even down to the sitting up the other end and DD getting out and letting the water out after him.

I had the same problem with M and I just endured it for a few months till he realised it wasn't so bad. Sorry maybe not the advice you were looking for but I am sympathetic to your issue :hug:

DD2 did the same a few months back, she was ok in the shower for a while then realised the bath was ok again :dunno: maybe just do a wash down with a face washer and bowl of water for a while and see how she goes

Thanks everyone!! I'm glad M grew out of it eventually Raven! Kim, maybe we just have to endure it :cry: