What to do if the child is afraid to bathe in the bathroom

The situation when a newborn (infant) baby is afraid to bathe in the bathroom is more likely an exception to the rule than the norm. Newborn children are not afraid of water. For nine long months the baby “swam” in the amniotic fluid. Therefore, plunging into warm water after birth, the baby enters a familiar environment and enjoys swimming. The child calms down, freely moves his legs and arms, smiles. If the newborn shows, as it seems to you, signs of fear of water, then this is not so, the newborn can just be capricious. Do not confuse stach and vagaries. Fear of water can form in older children, who begin to consciously understand everything and the causes of fear lie on the surface.

Reasons children are afraid to swim

If a child experiences “fear” of bathing from birth, the reasons for this phenomenon lie, most likely, in an incorrectly organized first bath. Perhaps the water temperature was not comfortable for the baby (too cold or hot. Imagine the condition of a child who was dipped in boiling water, naturally the second time the baby will experience fear ... see about the right water temperature for the first swim) Or the child could go headlong under the water and swallow water, could experience discomfort if the shampoo got into his eyes. The newborn could be afraid of even the loud sound of water pouring from the tap and now associates unpleasant memories with bathing. Also, in order not to frighten the baby, from the first days try to create a calm atmosphere before swimming.

Read in detail – how to bathe a newborn

Another situation, when the baby at first was happy to take water procedures, and suddenly he began to arrange tantrums with one kind of bathroom. If the child began to be afraid to swim a few weeks or months after the first bath, then you have to figure out the situation, analyze the latest events, carefully observe the baby and try to understand why the child began to be afraid of this.

The reasons can be both those listed above, and others:

• ordinary fright;
• not comfortable water temperature (fear of getting burned);
• the child drank water (fear of drowning again);
• the baby does not like to wash his hair (fear of feeling shampoo getting into his eyes);
• uncomfortable bath: the child always slides and slides into the water (choose the bath correctly);
• the child slipped, fell and hit the bathroom (fear of falling again);
• the baby had diaper rash, and bathing hurt him;
• nervous situation (the reason, as you understand, is in the parents).

Safety regulations

In order to avoid the child’s fear of bathing in the future, follow the safety rules from the very first bath:

• Water temperature should be 36-37^aboutFROM;
• Get for bathing a special hill (chair) or a bathtub with a fabric hammock. This device is necessary until the baby begins sit confidently. It fixes the baby well and allows mom to cope with bathing without assistance;
• For bathing in a large bathroom, purchase a special rubber mat at the bottom of the bathroom to avoid slipping, falling and bruising;
• Wash your hair with special baby shampoos "without tears"They do not cause eye irritation. It is enough to wash your hair with shampoos several times a week. We are reading a useful article on how to wash your child’s hair with pleasure: 7 sure ways to persuade your baby to wash his hair without tears;
• Do not pour hot water into the bath;
• For a minute, do not leave the baby in the bathroom unattended or together with older children, the baby needs a few seconds to choke even in a small amount of water;
• Do not bathe the baby for too long so as not to overload the body. It is enough 5-10 minutes;

We also read: in which water to bathe a child (boil water, add potassium permanganate)

What to do?

There are various ways to overcome the fear of swimming. You may need to try more than one or two until one of these methods works on your little one.

Method 1

In early childhood, kids very quickly forget their impressions (pleasant or negative), so the easiest way, which can sometimes help, will be a break in bathing for several days. Unpleasant memories will be forgotten, and the baby will again happily accept water procedures.

Method 2

Also, in early childhood, a child often associates a room (bathroom) with further unpleasant actions for him. Sometimes a change of scenery (transfer of bathing to another room) gives an unexpected result: the child in a new environment behaves calmly and adequately.

Method 3

Choose a moment for swimming when the baby is in a good mood. Take it in your hands and, gently talking, bring it to the water. Lower the baby in the bath, bending with him, so that the little one seems that you are swimming together. You can put a bright toy for distraction in the child’s pen. It may take you a few days to overcome the fear. Do not be nervous. Act calmly. Soon, the baby will relax and begin to enjoy the procedure.

Method 4

Another good method for overcoming the fear of water is the joint bath of the baby with mom or dad. An adult must first take a hygienic shower. Being in close contact with an adult, the baby feels completely safe and calms down.

DETAILS: Is it possible to bathe in the same bathtub with a newborn? The opinion of doctors and mothers -https://kid.htgetrid.com/en/eto-polezno-znat/mozhno-li-kupatsya-v-odnoy-vanne-vmeste-s-novorozhdennyim-mnenie-vrachey-i-mamochek.html

Method 5

This option is suitable for children who are already confidently sit. Pour a small amount of water into the basin and put various toys (rubber animals, plastic fish, boats, watering cans). Play with the baby, show him how it “rains” from the watering can, how the fish, ducks and frogs joyfully splash. Children at this age enjoy playing similar games. After some time, the game needs to be moved to a large bath. DETAILS:Bathing toys for children up to a year

Method 6

For older children. There are times when a child enters the bathtub, stands in the water, but is afraid to sit down and plunge into the water. Ask while playing with the baby: “Pour some water to the knees or a little more?”. No need to rush, stop at the achievement that you have achieved today and, step by step, overcome the child’s fear of water. Another option is to try blowing bubbles. The kid will be distracted from his fear and, perhaps, after playing with bubbles, he will sit in the water.

READ ALSO:swimming for babies: how and when to start classes with newborns at home in the bath. Lots of quality video instructionshttps://kid.htgetrid.com/en/zdorove-rebenka/zakalivanie-i-massazh/plavanie-grudnichkov-v-vanne.html

How to wash a child’s head without tears and vagaries: 11 tips + video tutorials

Nursery Rhymes

To create a joyful mood both for you and your baby will help nursery rhymes and little rhymes that have long been used when bathing newborns.

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