Switching from baby tub to shower

I have been taking my 18mth old to swimming and he is all happy until I take him into the showers. What can I do to teach him that is it ok to have a shower. I hold him in the shower but he is still screaming. Even when I turn on the shower at home while he is in his baby tub he still gets really frightened with just the noise. He has seen me and my husband have showers so I really don't know what to do. Should I just force him and hope he will get used to it or are there any other better transition methods? Thx!

at your kid's swim class, what do they teach in order to encourage the toddlers to get used to have water over their heads? then you can try the same at home. my child has been attending swim classes since 6 months old. and when the instructor places him underwater or pours water over his head with a watering can, we have a cue of ready 1,2, 3 go so after awhile the child knows what to expect. so when we are at home and he has a shampoo in the shower, we also use the same cue in order to stay consistent.


so try to repeat what you do in class when you are at home.


hope this helps!

I have just been taking him to the pools and beach myself so there is no cue or routine we can use. Currently my LO is even screaming when we wash his hair at home. My helper and I bathe him at home so we normally wash his hair first under a gentle shower without water getting on his face and then we sit him in the tub. Wheelymate where is your little one having his swimming lessons?

s1,


i'm in singapore so i guess where we have lessons might not be so relevant since you're in hk! :)


ok, before we started lessons, he was screaming too and the 1st few lessons didn't go so well either, let alone showers at home. but we didn't give up and slowly he got the hang of it. what helped for us is that we gave him a little ikea cup which we filled up with water and poured some over his head.


so maybe you want to try buying those watering cans (think toy shops should have them) or little cups and then try that out? at least the water flow will be gentler than a shower. and before you pour the water over his head, go ready, 1, 2, 3 go! with time and practice, he should get more comfortable with the whole idea of getting his hair and face wet.


now my kid 16 months and he's so used to showers we don't even do the cues at home anymore. he just sits on his slip-proof rubber mat in the shower and plays with his toys while i wash his hair.

Our son is now 18 months and until recently preferred the shower to the bath.


But the other week we were in a hotel with a bath and a separate shower stall. So my hubby took him into the shower, and sat on the floor playing with the shower... our son started to say 'hold' and wanted to hold the shower, and started to love playing with it and didn't want to get out.


Now, even in the bath at home (which is combined with the shower) he wants to play with the shower head and in the bath he says 'shower hold' and if the water is not on he says 'on' and wants it to be on.... okay, terrible for the environment and our water bill... but he loves it and we assume this phase shall too pass...


But it was a total flip from the week before when he really didn't like the shower at all!


Prior to this we have played with hoses, watering cans, taken him into showers with us, etc... but this was the major turning point. Now even when I am taking a shower, he wants to not just watch but to climb in and play!

Do not force baby into a situation that is frightening for him. With time and maturity this phase will pass. If he is happy in the baby bath, then wait until you get home to wash off the pool chlorine.



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