Bringing in Toys or Games
Let them bring a doll into the tub. Waterproof dolls are an easy way to give your child a new bath companion. They can even practice washing different parts of the doll to build good bathing habits!
Host races. Have the children choose their favorite toy boats or wind up toys. Place the toys at one end of the bath and count down. They're only allowed to make small waves to move the boats to the other end. The first one there is the winner.
Bring in a squirt toy. Stock up on a few. If you’re bathing more than one child at a time, make sure it doesn’t turn into a battle between the two. Try adding a target circle at one end of the bath for target practice so they’ll aim for that instead of each other.
Wash with animal washcloths. No kid gets excited about being washed by a plain, boring washcloth. A lion- or elephant-themed cloth can easily make your kids enjoy bath time. Try having the animals talk using fun voices for extra effect!
Blow some bubbles. Kids can have fun blowing bubbles in a regular bath, but adding some dish soap can really get things going. This doubles as an excellent way to calm your child down during a temper tantrum. Squirt a small amount of dish soap into a bowl Give your child a straw and show them how to blow You can hide small toys in the bubbles for an added surprise! Just place a small toy in the bowl and blow bubbles on top of it. You can also form a “bubble tower” over the toy and have them pop them for a surprise.
Add some colored ice cubes. Just add a tiny bit of food coloring and some water to an ice tray and drop the cubes in. Have your kid chase them around as they melt. They’ll eventually dye the bath a fun color as well!
Add some water balloons. Fill the balloons with water and add a drop of different food coloring to each one. Let your child pop them to find out what colors are inside. This can also turn into a fun guessing game.
Have fun with the bar of soap. A fun pastime is to drop the soap into a bath filled with bubbles and have your kid try to find it without using their hands. You can also rub the soap into a huge lather and let your kid make a beard or moustache from it. Or you can pretend you're at the beach and the soap is a ship. Another thing you can try is letting your kid carve their initials into the soap. This can be their soap for the week.
Fueling Their Creative Side
Let them put on a puppet show. Bring in some bathing puppets and let your child’s imagination run wild. They’ll have a blast putting on a creative puppet show for you. Plus, these puppets usually double as washcloths!
Decorate the tub to reflect their interests. Pay attention to what piques their interest and let bath time reflect what they’re into. If it’s outer space, try using glow in the dark star stickers, green food coloring in the water, and some cosmic watercolor designs on the walls. If they’re into the ocean, dye the water blue, add some aquatic bath toys, and play some sounds of the ocean over a speaker. This one might take a little creativity on your end!
Make the bathtub into a blank canvas. Let your kids have free reign of the tub with art supplies. Since the mess doesn’t leave the tub, it makes for a simple cleanup. Some easy supplies are: Watercolors Crayons Craft foam
Change the color of the bath. Use food coloring to make the bath blue, orange, green, pink, or whatever your child’s favorite color is. Commercial colored fizzy bath tablets made just for kids' baths are also fun. Doing a quick Google search can bring up some good results.
Making Sure They Stay Comfortable
Give them a heads up about what you’re doing. Many kids loathe bath time so much because it can be a scary or unnerving process. Make sure to always communicate with them before doing the following: Pouring water over their heads Washing tender parts of their bodies Picking them up
Buy a nonskid mat. These can go a long way for making sure your child feels safe and secure. No one likes to slip and slide, especially those who are just learning to walk!
Don’t always use soap and shampoo. Odds are your child doesn’t need to be washed with soap and shampoo every time they bathe. Sometimes filling up a tub just around their feet and having them splash around a bit can really tamper their negative feelings about the bath. Bath time won’t always seem like such an intimidating task!
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