Washing hair...?

Question

how do you wash your toddler's hair?

my daughter is almost 2, and she freaks out whenever it comes time for hair washing. she loves the tub, loves water, but loses it when water gets in her face. she's starting to be ok with me washing her face with a face cloth, but the hair issue is just getting worse and worse. I soap it up, and let her help..which made a difference with that part. then we will rinse in one of 3 ways: with a very drippy face cloth, dumping a cup of water over her head, or me leaning in the tub to support her head, and tipping her back for a hair 'dunking'. we tried it with one of those 'special' hair cups that has an edge to supposedly block the water from going in their faces, but it didn't work at all. none of these work well because she thrashes and tries to stand up. and i know we're leaving a lot of soap behind. help! :) thanks

Answer 1

I had the same EXACT problem, I tried the special cups too. I would just make sure the shampoo is baby safe and just dump it on her head. She'll scream but it's not hurting her and it will go by fast.

Answer 2

Try getting one of the shower attachments. You can get them at wal-mart that attaches to the shower where the shower head is. This can be used just like when you go to the beauty shop and get your hair washed. This way you can control the water and where it goes.

Answer 3

My 3yo grandson is finally allowing us to wash his hair!  He hates water in his face, but gradually we've gotten him to lean backwards and put a dry facecloth over his eyes, while we put the shower attachment (water pressure turned way down!) up from behind him to rinse out the back first, then the top.  It took a LOT of patience to get to this point.  But knowing that we take showers instead of baths, and us letting him hold the attachment to rinse the soap off his body, has helped.  Now after we quickly get his head damp, he's starting to rub the shampoo on his own head, too.  It's not always as smooth as it sounds, but it's getting better.

When my daughter was tiny, I put like two inches of water in the tub for her bath, and then got her to lie down on her back while I wet her head, sit up to rub the shampoo on, then lie down again to rinse by pouring.  At first she wanted the dry rag for the face, but soon I taught her to blow out air while I poured, so the water didn't go in her mouth, and she was fine.

When I was little, my mom put me lying down on the counter with my head hanging over the sink, kind of like the bowl at the beauty shop.  Worked fine for me.

Answer 4

My daughter used to be the same way i use a washed rag for all of the extra shampoo, sometimes i try to hold her head back also

Answer 5

I think this is a very typical and common reaction to hair washing  with most children this age. For the most part, they grow out of this between 3 and 4. If hearing her screams and protest is unbearable for you, I would suggest trying a swimming class for a two year old. A beginners swimming class does not teach any really swimming but instead teaches water readiness, including; getting water in your face, putting your nose and lips in the water comfortably and without help from mom or dad, and getting your head wet by yourself. This will help some but may not take the fear completely away, it's different for each child.

Answer 6

I tell my daughter to sit, when she does, I just quickly dump a cup of water over her head and try my best to get it all out, I can normally get all shampoo out in about 2 to 3 dumps. It's no fun, my daughterdoesnt like it either. She likes it when she dumps the cup of water on her own head though, I help guide it and she likes it then.