Freaking out over getting his hair washed

Let me start by saying that both boys have never really liked having their hair washed but somehow we have gotten it done. My most recent tactic to keep them happy throughout the process was to involve them in picking out the type of shampoo they want use which seemed to make them happy for awhile. But last night my one son was almost hysterical over getting his hair washed. And not just being defiant but actually seemed frightened. I am the only one who does their baths or washes their hair so I know nothing traumatic has happened. He just kept screaming "I want to get out" despite all my best efforts to try to calm him down.

Has this happened to anyone else? Any tips on making this less traumatic for all? Because, unfortunately you have to wash your hair...but how to make a 2 1/2 year old understand this!

Thanks for your help!

 

Can you try talking to him (when he's not in the bath) and asking what it is he doesn't like? For a lot of kids the problem is they're worried about shampoo/water going in their eyes. If you think that might be the case you could try something like this or this or what worked for my kids was to let them hold a folded washcloth over their eyes. I also worked on getting them to lie right back in the water (so they were flat out) when I rinsed their hair because that way I could keep the water flow going back over their heads much easier.

Also I don't know how often you wash their hair, but I would cut it down to the bare minimum for a while.

Good luck!

 

My ds doesn't really like water over his head either EXCEPT that I found that he loves to play in the water dripping from the faucet and I taught him to rinse his hair under that and he just laughs and laughs! I also found a book about bathtime and bubbles and getting clean and we read that and now we talk about bubbles in their hair and getting all the bubbles out and that seems to distract him! Good luck - it's really crazy how they can just suddenly become dead set against something - my ds decided that he didn't want to sit in the tub anymore and it about drove me crazy until I discovered saying "show me your feet" made him sit down and then he enjoys getting his feet and toes scrubbed!

 

My one son has starting to freak out when I rinse his hair. He's ok when I first pour water over his head to get his hair wet. My guess at one point he got soap in his eyes and he thinks it will happen every time.

I try to tell him to tilt his head back and that does seem to help, but he still cries. Once I rinse his hair he goes right back to playing in the tub.

I thought about buying the 2nd item from Twin Nanny or might try the wash cloth and see if that helps.

 

Mine went through this stage. We tried several things. Both things that TwinNanny showed...the visor and rinse cup. PLUS...for awhile I would shampoo their hair first by laying them on the kitchen counter and using the hose to the sink and then we would put them in the bath. They have gotten past this stage for the most part. DD freaks out every now and then, but I can usually just talk them through it and get them to lean back their head. I have also heard of people using swim goggles in the bath. They just got a pair for Easter. I might try it just for the fun of it.

 

I use the rinse cup and tell Alice to look up.

Royce rinses his own hair (thankfully not a lot of hair, we shave his head). Another thing to do is to water down the shampoo(1 part shampoo to 2 parts water) so it's easier to rinse.

 

We have the same issue with one. He hates to get his hair wet in the tub. But he is fine in the swimming pool-go figure. I just try to do it as fast as I can and talk to him the entire time. Plus I have a dry towel ready for as soon as I am done so I can wipe his face.

 

We started making it like their swim lesson where my DH asks them if they want to use the bucket or do "starfish" where they lay on their back to rinse. They both prefer starfish... Makes it a fun game like in the swimming pool. Make sure the water isn't too deep and that you're really careful not to splash thier eyes, but it worked for us.

Good luck!