How to make the bathtime routine more fun

July 25, 2013

How do you make the whole bath time routine lots more fun and less of a chore – for children and parents?

How do you make the bath time routine more fun and less of a chore for toddlers - and mothers?

 

Eliza’s always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the bath. The first time we put her in it she screamed the house down, which was slightly alarming to our first-time parent selves. Since then she’s also been through phases of screaming when she has to come out, and her most recent one is refusing to sit down.

Bathtime is part of our regular bedtime routine though, so we’re always keen to make it as fun as possible for her. So here’s some tips on how to do that:

  • Bath toys are always a big hit. Our bathroom is home to a variety of ducks, we have a waterproof bubble machine, and we were sent a Fisher Price Splash & Surprise Molly Bath Doll to review. The doll isn’t the most subtle of toys, I have to say; it reminds me of Katy Perry crossed with Phoebe from Friends’ doll paintings. It has movable arms and flipper, and a lot of pink hair that changes colour with cold water (it comes with a microphone-shaped brush and a starfish water container to help with hairdressing). It’s suitable for 18months+, but I think Eliza’s on the young side to really get the benefit of it, so it’s probably one to come back to when she’s older – I can imagine I would have loved this when I was younger though
  • Anything that can create maximum water-splashage and create a massive mess is always a hit too, and we were also sent the Fisher-Price Bubble Guppies Bath Squirter Assortment (top left photo) which fits the bill perfectly. The set consists of three squirters in the shape of Bubble Guppies characters – there’s a ginger child, dog and whale. We’ve had other bath squirters before that usually end up being retired from duty as they don’t do the job very well, but these are colourful, sturdy and get lots of use
  • We’ve found that washing her is less of a challenge if we use something colourful, currently a Winnie the Pooh bath mitt
  • Bath books are also great (our Cowshed one is still going strong) and we also have special bath songs; basically nonsense songs we like to sing with made-up words
  • The after-bath routine is also a really key part of the routine, although we gave up on the idea of massage a long time ago when she became mobile. But her after-bath skin tended towards dryness in the winter, and even the hardcore Aveeno lotion wasn’t working. We were sent the Organic Babies Dry Skin Lotion to review.This is magic stuff – her skin was noticeably better after the first time we used it, and the dryness then nearly all went. I’m so picky about what goes on her skin; it has to be natural and organic, so this is perfect. There’s no horrible synthetic scent either. I even use it myself now, that’s how much we liked it.

Those are our bathtime tips; what are yours?

We were sent the Fisher Price Bubble Guppies toys, Organic Babies Dry Skin Lotion and Fairy dishwasher tablets for the purposes of this review. Here’s my disclosure policy.

2 Comments

  • Carol

    December 20, 2013 at 11:19 pm

    I agree with the splashing and anything that squirts water. I also think that anything that gets the baby laughing will help make bath time fun.

  • Five mum and baby beauty products: a review |

    May 17, 2014 at 3:19 pm

    […] and any delicate or sensitive skin. Organic Babies is a familiar brand; we’ve used the dry skin lotion before, and regularly buy the bath wash, usually in turn with […]

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