Washing a two-year-olds hair.

Raiser

Hi Folks,

The little-un will be two at the end of July. She loves having a bath, but every time it comes to washing her hair it gets to be more of an ordeal. Today she was working herself up into that escalating crying, roaring rebellion you are all familiar with.....prompting this post.

.......I know that this is common/par for the course etc. - but I've found that theres usually tips/tricks or best procedure here that I then pick up as I go along - Problems include water in eyes despite all efforts to avoid and most cringe-inducing, herself massaging the baby shampoo into her eyes as I frantically try to remedy the situation :eek: so can anyone recommend techniques, changes or bribes that can make this procedure do-able ????

Cheers !!!

Nevyn

Have you tied a shampooing visor or ring >?

http://www.baby.ie/proddetail.asp?products=Bathing+Safety&ID=78

Most chemists will have one.

littlebug

I hear ya! I tried the visor thing but I didn't think it did a great job really. I usually get my little one to hold a dry facecloth over his eyes until I'm done rinsing. I have spare dry cloths to swap when the first one gets wet and I have a towel on hand to dry off his face the instant I'm finished. My 5 year old eventually learned to tilt her head back a bit so the water wouldn't run down over her face.

sonners

If the child is lying almost horizontal in the bath the water will run down the back of her head and not down her face. We found that the best way to do this is to ly her down with one of your arms (usually your 'bad hand' depending on wether your right or left handed) supporting her shoulders and neck and use the other arm to wash. This position means that your pretty close to her (you may get wet/soaked! but practice makes perfect for both of you) and your face should be directly over hers. Keep calling her and getting her to look up at you, she'll learn that when she looks up its not as messy/sore.

A little song or rhyme to say while your washing her hair will keep her interested, make it fun, distract her and will make her more inclined to look up at you.

Anything that will keep the little ones eyes towards the ceiling will help and will stop water/soap running down over eyes and face.

My sister put an old mobile over the side of the bath so that its hanging over my nieces head when she's getting her hair washed. This keeps her occupied and keeps her looking up. Distraction is also very helpful, we ask her to point out the dog, cow, etc on the mobile so she's busy doing something and before she knows it her hair is washed.

Plenty of encouragement when they do manage to look towards the ceiling (you know yourself, make a big song and dance about it) and they'll pick up pretty quick that if they do that its not as sore on them.

Oryx

I cup one hand against little uns forhead while i rinse with the other. (using a scoop not a shower head) And I wash very fast so the ordeal is over quickly.

Raiser

Hi Folks,

Thanks for all the replies

- I actually meant to mention that she has a visor-type device, yesterday she was wearing it as a belt - Under no circumstances could it be placed on her head......

Will work on the whole lying back angle - thinking of painting an extensive mural on the bathroom ceiling - something like the Sistine Chapel, but on a slightly smaller scale.

Cheers !

noby

We went through a short phase of sonners method, with her lying on your lap, wrapped in a towel, and her head over the bath ( a toilet nearby to sit on is handy). If you do this before she goes into the bath, then the bath can be used as a kind of bribe - just a quick wash, then you can go into the bath.

After that, keep emphasising the looking-up. They soon learn that looking up is for their own benefit.

shrapnel222

i've found that using a sponge works best for us. we put the soap in the sponge and wash his head with it then rinse with the sponge with a hand used on his forehead as a visor. The whole ordeal takes 1 minute and by the time he decides he doesn't like it, it's already over

sonners

Raiser wrote:

something like the Sistine Chapel, but on a slightly smaller scale.

If it works, it'll be worth it

mountainyman

First of all the question of whether or not you are too rough arises. Probably not but it may be something to consider.

I don’t know if this is practical but if your little one has an older cousin or sibling could they share a bath a couple of times? This has a powerful effect on all sorts of ‘bad behaviour’[1]. The desire to emulate older children is very strong.

What about bathing together; again it may ‘normalise’ the whole bizarre and upsetting experience of having a bath. LOL

MM


[1]Though 2 year olds can’t be bad in my opinion.

luckat

I was about to lep in and see that mountainyman has got there ahead of me. Probably the best thing is to bathe together, and wash your own hair. You're also doing something the kid feels is invasive, so I'd suggest that you find a way of doing it that's not going to upset the kid.

Has she got shampoo in her eyes before? Does she feel helpless and at your mercy when you do it?

She's probably too young yet to wash her own hair (the solution to most "aghh, don't do it" problems with kids is to let them do it themselves). So you'll have to rely on her baser instincts, talking to her about how beautiful she's going to look with her hair clean and glossy, and the sweet she's going to get after the shampoo's rinsed out and the towel's on.

If she really, really hates it, you can always let her go a few months without washing her hair. If you brush her hair *very well* (but gently) every morning and night with a (softish) bristle brush, and wash the hairbrush each time, her own natural oils will clean the hair.

undecided

Had this problem with my first after dad very sloppily bathed her one eve and the trouble started...

I tried alot of the suggestions already posted and never went peacefully. I ended up wrapping in a towel before the bath and holding her under my arm supporting her with my hip and my arm (very similary to topping and tailing a newborn) and using a container not shower did it over the sink. Distract with somgs etc and lots of praise when done when ttrust is gain gradually work it into the bath.

hths

undecided

luckat wrote:

If she really, really hates it, you can always let her go a few months without washing her hair. If you brush her hair *very well* (but gently) every morning and night with a (softish) bristle brush, and wash the hairbrush each time, her own natural oils will clean the hair.

I wouldnt agree with this my second hated water from day one then developed ezema so was bathed far less more wash downs but then as he got older the fear became worse and ended up had to bath him daily just to get in the habit and to get rid the fear

abi2007

i took my toddler to the hair dresser with me. They pulled a chair over for her and she watched very closely as the lady washed my hair. then she sat beside me as i got my hair blow dried. afterwards we went to the toy shop and we bought a pink barbie hairdryer. we then went home to play hairdressers. she has a choice of shampoo and she tilts her head right back. no water gets in her eyes and i pretend i'm the hair dresser and ask her does she like smell of the shampoo and will i massage your scalp for you miss? she loves it. such a turn around a few months ago she used to scream you'd swear i was hurting her.

pubpub

When my little guy was a baby he hated getting the hair washed.

I would get a slightly wet face cloth (not dripping) and put it on his head and pretend to play peak-a-boo, do this a couple of times and eventually the hair is wet enough for the shampoo. Then I repeated the face cloth, constantly rinsing it in clean water until the hair was rinsed free of suds. This does take a while but avoids the crying and more importantly avoids frightening baby with all the water pouring over them.

Tips: Dont put loads of shampoo on its harder to rinse off, a tiny bit on hand is enough. Dont let loads of water pour on baby's face. Play games to distract baby. Also hair doesn't need to be washed too often, once a week is enough.

di11on

Man, I completely understand yoour plight... our 4 year old is the same.

I found that if using a visor or tilting her back would result in less water in her eyes/ears but that when the inveitible drop did land on her face/eyes/ears she'd scream and yell just as much. Such a nightmare.

In the end we just go for it and just try to get it over with as soon as possible.

It's a real pain.

Deliverance

di11on wrote:

Man, I completely understand yoour plight... our 4 year old is the same.

I found that if using a visor or tilting her back would result in less water in her eyes/ears but that when the inveitible drop did land on her face/eyes/ears she'd scream and yell just as much. Such a nightmare.

In the end we just go for it and just try to get it over with as soon as possible.

It's a real pain.

My little one watched me in the bath pouring water over my head to rinse shampoo off. I gave her the same cups I used to rinse my hair when she was in the bath. She used two cups to pour water from one to the other for awhile then she used one or the other to pour water over her head and it made me laugh, so she did it more. In the meantime I got another plastic cup and rinsed her 'practically', it was fun.
The only pain about this is that halfway through shampooing she tends to rinse, a small price to pay, it avoids the discomfort and screeching, I think it is about control, they do not like to not have it or at least feel they do not have it. She is just under 2 yrs.

zAbbo

If you're concerned about the shampoo getting into eyes, you could try something like Elave Baby (Irish made) , it doesn't have any chemical nasties.

I recommend the Baby Bath as well

di11on

Deliverance wrote:

My little one watched me in the bath pouring water over my head to rinse shampoo off. I gave her the same cups I used to rinse my hair when she was in the bath. She used two cups to pour water from one to the other for awhile then she used one or the other to pour water over her head and it made me laugh, so she did it more. In the meantime I got another plastic cup and rinsed her 'practically', it was fun.
The only pain about this is that halfway through shampooing she tends to rinse, a small price to pay, it avoids the discomfort and screeching, I think it is about control, they do not like to not have it or at least feel they do not have it. She is just under 2 yrs.

Hee hee... that sounds like fun alright! My little girl is 4 and I'm her dad! Might work ok for mum, but probably not appropriate for dad to join in the activities!!! The priciple is good though, trying to make the whole thing fun... I must try to think of something along those lines.