My daughter has stopped liking her bath – what’s changed?
For eleven months now I have been doing exactly the same routine for bathtime, which immediately precedes bedtime:
1. Sing my own version of Bobby Darin’s “Splish Splash”. While bouncing my daughter up and down in front of a mirror, I sing an abridged version of “Splish Splash” incorporating her name as well. No matter how tired she is she always loves it.
2. Another song while preparing the bath water. This time my own concoction, I think it’s somehow loosely based on an obscure French Eurovision entry from a few years back.
3. Say hello to “ducky” and all bath toys as bath fills. Drop them into the bath and my daughter is usually wriggling to get in after them.
4. Changed and into the bath! Step four is failing miserably this last week – she freaks out! She goes as far as letting her feet hit the tub and then stands stubbornly in the bath, shouting in protest.
The funny thing is she still stretches down to slap her palm on the water and splash, which she loves to do – she just won’t sit down and enjoy it.
This new development has made washing a bit of a nightmare. Has anyone else had a similar experience at the 11/12 month mark – any suggestions or ideas?
All help greatly appreciated!
