Help! My toddler won't let me wash her hair.

[ariel]

My 18 mths old suddenly hates to have her hair washed. I used to put her on my nap (with her facing the ceiling) to wash her hair, though she is not a big fan of it, sometimes a teether will help me finish the job.

Few days ago, she refuses to lie down. So I tried put her in the bath and try wash her hair with her sitting there. Oh no!!! She screams when water run down her face. And she just stood up and wants to get out of the bath immediately.

What should I do now? I'm worried that she might hate to take a bath as a consequence.

Any tips from anyone?

[loupou]

W/ my eldest, I persuaded her to lie down by herself in the tub and make "mermaid hair". Letting the child be a little in control of the situation helped.

W/ my son, almost nothing helped: lying down by self, special washing cap to keep soap out of eyes, etc.

Bribery helped a bit ("You can put in the Tub Tints (TM) color AFTER hair washing")

When they get a bit older, you can let her put the shampoo in herself (squeeze it out onto your hand first & then put it on their hands).

Mostly, I tried not to wash his hair more than 2 times a week (luckilly he does not sweat heavily) and would just run a damp washcloth over his head the rest of the time.

Then, the days we washed hair, I would just grit my teeth and do it quickly while he screamed. It didn't seem to turn him off bathing, because he got pleasure from playing w/ the toys and colors.

The screaming hair washing lasted from about the time he was 18 months until he was about 3, 3.5? It's mostly OK now (5.5 yrs old.)

[scr]

My 20 mth old has never enjoyed his hair being washed. Mainly it's because he doesn't like water getting into his eyes. He starts screaming..nothing has worked for me. I just keep talking to him while I quickly get it done. I tell him it's almost over, it's only water again and again. sometimes he says it with me too :) but he's never hated bathing because of it because he looks forward to playing with water, putting soap on his hands, imitating what he's seen me do like gargling and spitting. So once he's able to open his eyes again he continues to enjoy his bath like nothing's happened. I have to wash his hair almost daily cause he sweats a LOT and his head stinks !

[eennyy]

Hi,

Maybe you could try to attract your kid with a good smell shampoo. I start let my daughter take shower by sitting in a chair since 18moths and use hair cap to avoid the water running down her face (you can buy it at baby R us). 2 months ago I bought a baby shampoo at Park N Shop that have Strawberry smell (by Loreal). My daughter LOVE it very much. And each time I mention taking shower and wash hair with strawberry shampoo, she was so happy that she run first to the bathroom without me forcing her to go in. YOu could try also try to put more toys (eg. rubber duck) in the bathroom so that the bath time is fun to your kid.

[carang]

1) this thread is almost 6 years old...i'm sure as a7.5 year old, she is ok having her hair washed.

2) we just always washed our kids' hair like we wash ours...no fuss. we've never had any problems.

[eennyy]

Ups, sorry I didn't notice the date. I just join geobaby and the first time I check on the topic forum, I notice this subject. My daughter is 2 yrs old now. And I am just so happy that she loves washing her hair now so I thought that I want to share the tips. Well, then hopefully it work for other parent that have this problem but I am sure it should not be a problem anymore for Ariel now ^_^.

[carang]

no problem!
welcome!