How can my sister to get her toddler to wash her hair?

Reaching out to help my sister, she has a 2 year old and she won’t let her wash her hair, she will jump out of the tub and scream and cry if you try wash her hair?! Any suggestions??

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my son(4yo) has sensory issues about his head and face being washed. we have to make it fun and playful in order to get him to do it, and usually my husband does a better job. I think actually in more ways my son feels more comfortable with his dad too bc he’s more similar to him.
but we have to make it fun tell him wwee washing the germs away when he washes his head in the tub and his hands at the sink morning and at bedtime when he brushes his teeth.
I notice if he does it and it’s fun he willingly does it better.

Make it a fun time, shower with her, have your sister wash her own hair and get bub to help, then take turns, if you force her without trying every way then you will create a tie between shower/bath time that she dreads and she will become afraid and refuse and that’s so bad for her mental health so young

Visor for hair washing and dry wash cloth over eyes for extra measure worked great for my little boy.

My kids are autistic and have sensory processing disorders. What worked for my son and now works for my daughter is no rinse shampoo. Get their hair a little wet, for me it’s as simple as wetting my hand and running it through their hair, rub the foam into their hair mainly focusing on the scalp if they will let you, and towel dry. It’s saved us from a lot of meltdowns :mending_heart:

I’ve been teaching my child how I remember washing my hair. I loved the feel of my hair under the water so I’d lean my head back myself n lay there n play with it like a mermaid. If u fill it up to just enuf her face can’t go under and it’s just the hair line she won’t have to worry about the freak out feeling when she leans back

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Make it fun, sing her favorite song or let her pick out a cup go rinse her hair out. You could even do bath Crayons to let her focus on that while she washes her hair.

My daughter is 4 and she is only just letting me wash her hair every time. At first I used dry shampoo I didn’t like using it but better than nothing. I used a wash cloth to wet her hair and worked up to a sponge, then eventually I tried real shampoo and used the sponge to rinse, it takes longer but it worked for her. Every time I wet her hair I would tell her to look up (some people put stickers or something on the ceiling so they have something to look at) now I can use a jug to wet her hair and rinse. It can take a long time and if you get water on the face you might have to start over again which I did have to do several times.

I went through the phase like that with my daughter when she was 2yrs old. She would freak out so bad if her hair got wet. Thankfully it was a lot of getting her to trust me not to get water in face, having her look at the ceiling to wash her hair with a towel on my arm there in case any water got on her face at any point. She’s 4 now and I have no issues at all with washing her hair. Now she likes to float in the tub and I sometimes let her rinse her hair like that and then extra rinse afterwards to make sure all the soap is out.

Both my girls have anyways hated it 4 & 6.
I lay towels down and roll one up for under their heads and wash their hair over the kitchen sink using my detachable faucet. It’s a pain and an extra step but it works for now.

Have the toddler wash it while she assists. Put the shampoo in their hand and have them lean back without water getting into their face.

You need something like this. The hat. I have a cheaper version and the water stays out of my sons face. I used it for both my boys (the same type not the exact same one lol)

Don’t hold her down and force her. Jesus. She will end up with issues with water and bathing.

She doesn’t get a choice. I’d do it my self if my sister wouldnt lol

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My mom used to have to lay me on the kitchen counter and wash my hair in the sink

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My Gbaby is autistic. I used a washcloth to rinse his hair. (Takes forever but he doesn’t mind it.) Now he holds the wash cloth while I pour water from a cup onto his hair. Baby steps!!! Don’t force, coax. Find out what she likes…

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Since she’s little you could teacher to lay with her neck at the edge of a sink and do her hair over the sink. But that would only be temporary fix.

Why would you give her a choice?

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I don’t understand why y’all give them a choice. I’m older but bath and hair wash is just a given

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Try get her look at stars and ceiling and stuff but my daughter screams blue murder just turns 3 I get om wot it first thing then she can play x

Just wash it. My kids would scream too but they learned pretty quick that I was getting it done no matter what

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Make it a fun time by letting her wash her dolls hair at the same time
Or even rewarding her with a sticker on a chart
Once she has 7 stickers on the chart
Let her pick something special to do or buy at the shop such as a book that She can draw and colour in
Also there are some great bath time crayons that will keep her amused
Another thing that may work
Is give her a set of swim goggles
So the soap doesn’t get in her eyes

Try letting child lay on kitchen counter with head hanging back into sink

Is she afraid of getting soap and water in her eyes? My mom use to fold up a dry wash cloth and put it on my forehead but not quite over my eyes

One technique I have seeing another therapist used while bathing the child is instead of directly pouring the water into her hair you will use a small towel like a washing cloth or burping cloth and wet it with water and shampoo. It will take longer to wash and rinse her hair but she will be able to tolerate it.

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Use a wet facecloth on the hair instead so the water isn’t pouring on her head.

Never gave a choice. You are the parent, they are the child. Tell her you are washing her hair no ifs ands or butts. You be the boss. Do not let her boss you. She will get bigger and run the house

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Let her cry eventually that won’t bother her. My baby now (2) screamed bloody murder over hair washing now she loves bath time n water. Let her explore in bath water more as well add some toys, glow sticks.

Most kids get scared when the water runs down their face. They panic, feel like they can’t breath. Teach her to keep her head tipped far back, her chin pointed to the ceiling.
Ask her what she doesn’t like about it.

Amazon and other places sell a bunch of similar options like this.

Baby Shower Cap Shampoo Cap Bath Visor Hat Kids Hair Washing Shampoo Shield Adjustable Waterproof Bath Shield Visor for 0-8 Years https://a.co/d/feuIJgN

Buy one of those head bands that keeps the water off her face that might help

Nuby Tear-Free Rinse Pail, Aqua, 5 Inch (Pack of 1) https://a.co/d/dvSdCNW

https://www.amazon.com/Toddler-Shampoo-Washing-Children-Rinser/dp/B0818V5GFZ/ref=mp_s_a_1_18_maf_2?adgrpid=121689910202&hvadid=557323575748&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=1014369&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=10950304774652282482&hvtargid=kwd-1020550537169&hydadcr=11113_13463797&keywords=hair+washing+mat+for+toddlers&qid=1698567424&sr=8-18&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc

Shower Cap for Kids, Baby Bath Shower Head, Kids Hair Washing Shield, Toddler Shower Visor, Stop Water Going in Your Little Ones Face https://a.co/d/ba5Rg0s

I put shaving cream on the shower wall and my daughter smears it and draws in it while I’m washing her hair.

Try taking her to the beauty shop and see if that scares her. If not, maybe she’ll see it’s not so bad. My mom always gave me a dry wash cloth to put over my face.

My 4/5 at the time developed a kind of fear of getting water on her face and in her eyes after her swim lessons had progressed to holding your face under water for a few seconds. We got her this thing, it’s like a silicone visor. She used it for about a year before she felt comfortable enough to bathe without it.

Before I learned that if you lay an infant back in water & sway them from side to side from the time they take their first bath, they’ll have no problem laying back…. I washed their hair in the sink…. Lay out a bath towel on the counter, lay the kiddo on it, roll up a kitchen towel and put it under their neck with their head hanging over the sink & resting in your palm… wash their hair & you can use the spray attachment to rinse the back of their head.

Leather on a wet butt works wonders :rofl:

My foster daughter was traumatized by hair washing. I would lay her on the kitchen counter and cradle her head over the sink. Make sure the water pressure is low. Talk soothing or create a hair washing song. Let her wash her babydoll hair in the sink to show her how it won’t get in her eyes.

Maybe the water gets in her ears and it’s hurts.

I wish my daughter would do some bs like that. Kids know who they can play with

Have you tried letting her wash her hair herself? My 5 year old son is Autistic and used to hate getting his head wet. I put the soap on and let him scrub it himself. Then we use either a pitcher or shower head to rinse the soap out. I try to make it a game with him. Now he laughs when I rinse his hair and body.

Keep the hair short and use a wash cloth until this child can be reasoned with

Mine did the same, so we switched to showers. Problem solved.

Try to lay baby on counter in kitchen, wash hair under facet. She might hate in her eyes or ears.

Maybe she doesn’t like water in her face. Encourage the baby to hold a washcloth over her eyes.

I haven’t washed my kids hair yet 5 1/2, 2 1/2. Why’re we doing this to our kids? Who sold you on products being essential for Haircare?

Swaddle her arms and wash her hair in the sink. U prep ur space and u use gentle products that won’t fk with their eyes. We used a towel and basically pinned my child into it and she’d cry and scream but she was safe from slipping. This made bath time fun and we kept hair washing separate. She’s 7 now and I can wash her hair with out her flipping her shit.