As soon as possible, transfer your baby from his usual baby bath to the family bathtub. Fill the bath about three inches deep so that when the baby lies flat on his back the water just comes past his ears. Gently splash some water over his face so he can get used to being wet all over.
If the phone rings don’t answer it. If somebody is at the door ignore it. We constantly hear of tragic accidents because of negligence. Remember, it only takes a few seconds for some disaster to occur, so never leave your baby alone in the bathtub. Try to organize your life so that you can spend a comfortable twenty minutes or more in the bathroom.
Make sure he has plenty of toys to play with, especially empty plastic bottles. He can fill them up with water and pour the water out, or just splash around with them.
When your baby is little he feels most comfortable lying on his back. Put your hands under his head to support him and gently move him backward and forward in the bath. As a baby grows he does more adventurous things in the bathtub. Teach him to kick his legs by first moving his legs for him to show how it is done. Your can also put your face in the water and show how to blow bubbles—but always come up smiling.
When letting the water out of the bath, don’t have the baby there with you, as it often makes a loud noise that can frighten him.
Once babies master the art of sitting up, they seldom like to lie down again so this is a good time to introduce him to the shower. At first, alternate between having a shower and a bath. The water pressure in the shower should not be too strong, and he should have plenty of his favorite toys to play with, especially the empty plastic bottles.
Throughout the years, whenever I’ve run into a child in my class who is terrified of getting his face wet, I always hear the same story from the parent: “Oh no! … he never has a shower, he always has a tub bath and his face is washed with a cloth.” If your child belongs in this category, my suggestion is, from this day on, switch to having showers and simply tell the child (wink, wink) the bathtub is broken.
