Getting so frustrating with bath time!

They have decided to start standing up in the tub the whole time. They are going to smash their heads against the side of the tub - one of them almost did this yesterday. The standing also makes it difficult to actually bathe them, especially their hair. I continue to tell them to sit down and move them back to a seated position. Yesterday, this turned into a major cryfest. They get back up, I sit them down, they get up, I sit them down, pretty much the entire time, all the while crying their eyes out because they want to stand up.

It's getting so bad that I hate to give them a bath. This makes me sad because this used to be our "favorite" thing to do. They loved baths, I loved giving them. But now this standing up thing has turned bath time into a nightmare for all of us.

What do you do? Should I put the tub seats back in? Just let them stand up and hope they don't fall? Keep sitting them back down every second and make them and me miserable the whole time? Any ideas that have worked for you would be great.

 

Wash them as fast as possible, then tell them if they stand up again, they are getting out. Then do it. It makes them REALLY mad (at least it does with ours), but it mostly works -- it only took a couple of times for them to stay on their bottoms (or knees). Also, standing up will probably become less fascinating with time.

You could also try giving them a couple of new bath toys. Our favorites are still the stacking cups -- and it's pretty hard to play with water toys while standing up.

Don't stress about it too much -- this is a stage. Bathtime will be fun again! :hug99:

 

My girls went through a phase of wanting to stand up in the tub, and still do sometimes. I fear that they will fall and hurt themselves so it was important for me to keep enforcing that they need to sit down. I kept telling them to sit down and physically helped them sit back down if they didn't do it when I told them. A couple of times I just had to keep holding one of them down while washing them, etc. They got mad and it wasn't any fun, but for me after a week or so they got the message that they have to sit in the tub. When one of them stands up now all I have to do is say "sit down" and they pretty much do.

 

I am sorry to hear that this is turning into a frustrating experience.

Do you have the bath rings (is that what you mean by tub seats)? Yes, you could try those again. Or make it very clear -- you stand up, you have to get out of the tub. Mine caught on really quickly!

 

I hate bath time, too. It turns into a cryfest regardless as either one is hitting/biting the other or Im rinsing their hair or I tell them to sit down, etc. It's always something. lol. Good luck. They are just trying something new and I would think repetition and consistency is best (although it clearly hasn't worked for mine). My mom used to tell me that one day they'll fall and not do it again. Well, that didn't happen with us when Matt fell and cut his eye. boy, are they stubborn!

 

For us, if they stand up, that is the signal that we wash and get out. We wash them standing up because it just seems to work better for us. So if they want to stay and play in the tub, which they mostly do, they sit.

 

I put one of those no-slip bath mats in the tub, the kind that suction-cupped to the bottom of the tub. You can get them at target or anyother place like that. I asked them to sit and then put them back down, repeatedly....at least the bath mats gave a little more traction to the tub so they did not slipp.

 

We still use the bath rings. I figured until they grow out of them, we'd use them as long as possible.

 

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I put one of those no-slip bath mats in the tub,


That is what we use as well, works GREAT.

We did have an accident a few months back, they were standing up, and Jack slid into Zack and he hit his ear on the side of the tub, it bruised and looked awful! There have been no incidents since though.

 

I am the bad one here who lets her kids stand (lol). My tub has a nonslip bottom, and I put one of those rubber ducky covers over the faucet, so there are no sharp edges. I figure, if they slip, they slip. They'll learn. They used to slip a lot more and now they are pretty good about knowing how to stand and not slip. They used to try to climb the sides of the tub and they don't try to do that anymore because they have learned that they will slip and it will hurt. I would rather they not stand, but I figure, I have to choose my battles. If I say no, I have to stick to it and be consisent so they learn, and that is a battle I am too tired to fight at the end of the day.