Bath time and toddlers

Aww, Shell, don't spank her! She's afraid and you're making it worse! And if she's not afraid, SHE'S THREE!! Get her some new tubbie toys. Make it a special thing, take her to the store, let her pick out a new and special toy and tell her it's only for the tub. Don't let her open it, play with it, or anything - unless she's in the tub. Get her some bath finger paints. Get some Bubbles. Change the shower curtain to something childish, colorful, fun and educational. Buy her a new bathrobe. Buy her new bath towels that are only for her. GET IN THE TUB WITH HER. Make the entire process fun and exciting for her. Get her to tell you why she doesn't want to bathe. Try to talk to her. If she still refuses, give her a sink wash. My son treats the process like an adventure because I've always made it fun for him. We start with the term "Make it Naked!" This sets off a race to the bathroom to strip off his clothes - the best part is taking of his diaper. Then we stand in front of the bub and he picks 2/3 toys to play with before we "make it clean," then we make it clean and in doing so we sing "My armbone is connected to my..." Then we let out some water and refill with warm and he gets to have more toys. He gets to pick his towel and his PJ's. Then he gets a snack, that he gets to pick. I understand your frustration, but please try, try, try other methods to help her get over this. Good luck.

Something has obviously disturbed her confidence in water recently. It sounds as if you need to ask her WHY she doesn't want to take a bath or a shower and work through that fear with her. Maybe she has developed an irrational fear of going down the plughole with the water; maybe she caught something on TV which unsettled her ... it is very hard to say what might have sparked it. I know that force (spanking and so on) sometimes seems the only way if you are going to get anything done in the day but what she needs is your love and understanding to help her round understanding something that has suddenly (to the adult way of thinking) become scary or undesirable. She will be much more likely to do something if she knows that mommy loves her and really cares about things that are scary to her and will help them not to be scary.

It is common at this age for kids to develop odd fears, she may be afraid of the drain and of going down the drain, (a common fear for small children) or she could just be being a brat.. Try to make it fun for her, add bubbles, let her take a bath in your room or a different bathroom if that is a common occurance.