My daughter hated bath time from birth up until she was around 3-4mths old. As soon as she was put in the water, the crying began. So bathing her was a very quick job. She got to a point where she’d only cry for about half the time in

Then out of nowhere (not long before we moved her from the baby bath to the big bath), bath time became fun for her. She started appreciating she had bath toys that could be played with and sucked on. I don’t know what clicked in her head to make her like it, but I was so relieved I didn’t question it! Then soon after that I felt she was ready for the big bath and from then on, bathing her wasn’t a problem.

Then about 1-2 months ago, my little girl regained her dislike for the bath! All I had to do was mention the word or start running the water, and she would start balling and run away. I felt like we’d gone back ten steps to the days where bathing her was a struggle. Except this time round my daughter is three times the size and five times the strength, so she can get away from me much easier when I’m trying to wash her.

Fortunately she has just started liking bath time again. Here are a few things I used to get us through this latest phase (and other tips I’ve got from other parents who’ve gone through the same thing):

Let them splash – Would you rather have a laughing child making a mess or one that’s screaming & crying? If they enjoy giving you and rest of the bathroom a bit of a shower, let them do it. So make sure you’ve got your old clothes on for bathtime! Bathrooms are made to get wet and can be dried off easily, and you can change into different clothes afterwards!

Make up a silly song – "A bath time we will go, a bath time we will go, hay ho the deary o, a bath time we will go" is the latest song I’ve made to get Isabella into a good mood before bath time! But it can be any song really. I’ll usually sing one of Isabella’s other favourite songs before bath time just to perk up her mood.

Food in the bath – It got to the point where I was desperate to keep Isabella long enough in the bath to wash her properly. She hadn’t had a decent wash in days! So I grabbed her plastic stool/table, put a couple of tablespoons of yoghurt in a plastic bowel and placed it in the bath. She was so amazed at the idea of eating in the bath, that it turned her around completely! By the time she’d eaten it, she was in such a good mood (yoghurt is her current favourite food) that she didn't want to get out! And the mess she made could be washed straight off her and went down the drain, easy!

Toys & Books – You don’t have to buy expensive bath toys to keep them occupied. Isabella gets the most fun out of tipping the water over herself from the plastic cup I use to rinse her hair with! So grab any of your safe plastics and see if could be something new and fun for bath time. Her other favourite thing to do in the bath is read her $3 bath book I got from Kmart. She’ll sometimes sit there and point at & name the pictures while I wash her.

Radio/CD/music – Grab your portable cd/tape player, wack the kids favourite cd/in there and bring it into the bathroom. Obviously if your child’s a splasher, put an old towel over it so it doesn’t get damaged. Or better yet, use your own voice and sing them a song!

Shower – Have you ever considered seeing if your child is ready for the shower? One of my friends tried this with her daughter who is the same age as Isabella when she was going through this stage. Her daughter hated the shower so much she regained her interest in having a bath again lol! I remember as a kid we had our shower over/in the bath. Try plugging the tub so they have a bath and shower at same time! I remember sneakily doing this when Mum wasn’t in the bathroom. I had a ball but nearly flooded the place! So even if you’re child’s a bit older, probably best to supervise them with this one!

Bubbles – A few times I’ve got out Isabella’s little bottle of bubble solution and wand, and blown a few bubbles around her! I remember the first time I did it, since I think it was such a novelty to blow bubbles in the bathroom (it had always been an outside game til then), she went from balling to cracking up laughing within seconds!

Getting sucked down the train – My daughter is too young too understand this yet and she actually likes hearing the water getting sucked down the drain, so she’s had no problems there! But other Mums I’ve talked to with older kids have said their kids have had this fear. They said always take them out of the bath before the water drains. Then try leaving a few toys in there as the water drains to show them the toys are not getting sucked down, and neither will they.

So if you’re going through this with your child, remember its more than likely just a phase (when aren’t they going through a phase with something?! Lol!) and they will get over it. I hope some of the ideas I’ve listed above can help you and your child get through bath time easier.

It will be interesting to see how many more of you out there with toddlers are going through or have been through the same thing! From chatting to other Mums and my own Mum about, apparently it can be common for some young kids to go through this.

Please if you have any other ideas, add them as comments!