Thomas, who is 2yrs 7mths won’t let me wash his hair.
Since our son Thomas was about 18 months old, it has been a real struggle to wash his hair. He has always moaned, but now it has developed into a battle where he will kick and scream, especially during the rinsing stage. I have bought different types of halos, but after a few sessions he still protests. He is now 2 years 7 months, but shows no sign of getting any better. Have you any ideas on how to make this time of the week less stressful?
Toddlers and small children often find having their hair washed an uncomfortable experience, despite it having been part of their washing ritual for a long time. Most struggles over hair washing come from the feeling of water running down their faces, especially into their eyes. This is why the special halos often have no lasting effect; as soon as the child puts his head forward, some water will find its way down their face and the struggle begins again. Getting Thomas to keep his head back during rinsing would help, but this is not always easy, especially if he is already struggling.
Rather than giving Thomas too much advance warning about tonight “being hair washing night”, tell him only once he is in the bath. Have a small plastic bucket or mug ready and two dry flannels close at hand. When you are ready to start, ask him to look up to the ceiling. Make a game of it by asking him if he can see any spiders. You should look too and pretend to see a real spider that is very small and moving fast. Keep up a running commentary while wetting his hair, using water scooped up in the bucket. Some protest may occur, but providing his head stays back there should be no real problem. If he senses some water, or you see some, use one of the flannels to wipe it away.
Again make a game of putting on the shampoo. If you have a mirrored splash back, let him see how funny his hair looks when you have styled it, or show him in a small hand mirror. Rinsing can involve the spider game again, or offer him one of the flannels to hold across his eyes while you rinse him off, leaning him back as much as he will let you.
Don’t worry too much. Generally, once children get used to water in their eyes at the swimming pool, something which seems to bother them a lot less than in the bath, hair washing tends to become less stressful.