Tips for Making Bath Time Fun for Kids

Teaching children about personal hygiene can be tricky sometimes. Among the many tasks that parents have to face is their kid’s bath time, as sometimes kids don’t like to be bathed. Some love the activity; they giggle and splash water all around while having a bath. But some may find it too structured, or get scared of the water if their eyes get burned from the shampoo or soap. But that’s okay, because there are some tips and activities to make bath time more fun for the kids!

Kids Bath Time with Mommy

Your kid needs quality time and to feel like they are loved. You can nurture your child and make them feel loved in many ways. One is to spend time with your kid during bath time. As mothers, this could be a great time without any distractions that you can spend with your kid. Bath time is more than just keeping your kid clean. It is an excellent opportunity to bond with your child, as well as boost their development.

Especially for moms who work during the day, bathing their kids can become a bonding moment, where the child will feel loved and cared for, and the mom will be able to show their affection in a distraction-free environment. Your actions like making sure and being careful about avoiding their eyes while you are pouring water over their head will make the child understand how cared for they are.

Kids Bath Time Songs

There are many benefits of songs for kids, and this has been established over and over. However, sometimes you may not be able to squeeze music and singing into your busy day-to-day routine, and that is totally normal. You may feel like there is just not enough time, or not the right time. Well, bath time is the perfect time to squeeze some songs into this activity!

Singing is so beneficial for young children’s development. During bath time, listening to songs and singing may relax the kid and can turn bath time into a little fun concert! In addition, studies showed that listening to music during bath time will stimulate parts of the brain that are responsible for memory. This means that all the nice smells of the bath and the connection established with the parents along with music and songs can create lasting pleasant memories for the child to remember.

On youtube, there is an endless list of bath time songs you can try out. You can even play your kid’s favorite songs at that particular time and encourage them to sing along.

Bath Time Games

Bath time is more than just a hygiene activity. It can be fun and engaging, too! Here is a list of games and activities to turn bath times from struggles into entertaining and teaching time.

Hair Salon

Make stories up about how your kid is a character in a story and sculpt their shampooed hair into funny shapes. Your kid can be a scientist with messy hair, or a politician with neatly shaped hair. The floor is yours. Don’t forget to bring a handheld mirror so that they can see what they look like!

Bring in a doll

Bringing a doll into the bathtub could be a great game to play to teach your child the steps of taking a bath. You can wash your kid’s hair while they wash the doll’s hair, teaching them how this time works and what goes on.

Turn kids’ songs into bath time songs

Another way to turn bath time into a fun game is to turn some familiar songs into bath time songs. For instance, the “If you’re happy…” song is perfect for this activity. You can go, “If you’re happy and you know it, wash your face!” and so on.

Bath Time Toys For Toddlers

There is an abundance of toys out there that you can use to spruce up your bath time for your toddler. When choosing one, the essential things are to make sure that the toys are appropriate for your kid’s age, sensory-stimulating enough to support healthy development, and easy to clean and dry since water can cause mold and mildew. Here are some examples of toys you can try out.

Floating Alphabet

Foam letters and numbers will serve as both entertainment and a teaching tool. You can do loads: have your kid spell their name, do simple math, or play other letter and number games. Some floating letters and numbers can also be stuck to the wall of the tub.

Stacking and Straining Cups

Sometimes simple stuff can generate the most fun. Children love filling up cups and pouring water. A set of these stacking and straining cups will entertain them for the entirety of their bath time. This toy that is perfect for babies and toddlers will teach your kid hand-eye coordination. If you get one that is colorful and contains more than five or so cups, you can even play counting games to practice numbers. Another benefit is that you can use them outside the tub as well!

Bathtub Basketball

This toy is another simple way that generates loads of fun during bath time. When you get the hoop and the balls, make sure that the balls can float on the water and the hoop can be secured on a wet surface. Once your kid starts to play with it, they will have so much fun that they will not want to leave the tub.

Bath Time Activities

Make the most of your bath time through activities that are both entertaining and teaching. According to a Johnson & Johnson infographic , bath time improves babies’ hand-eye coordination, and routine touch, massage, and close contact, like the time you spend during bath time, will improve cognitive performance and calm the baby down. This will be a great time to connect and bond with your kid, while also boosting their development in many aspects.

Bubbles everywhere

You can never go wrong with bubbles. They are amazingly delightful. In addition to being extremely fun, they also contribute to your child’s development of hand-eye coordination when they try to catch the bubbles.

Use what you have at home

We all keep containers and lids around in the hopes that we can use them in some projects. A plastic food container and its lid is perfect for bringing into the tub. You can punch holes into them or shape them in a way that they can hold water. That way, your kid can use that plastic container as a cloud and make it rain!

Save the toys

If you have toys that you can use in the tub that will also sink, this activity is perfect for you. Especially if you are using bubbles, your kid will have a lot of fun looking for the toys in the tub and “saving” them. Since they can’t be seen through the bubbles, your kid will have to rely on their senses, teaching them to use their touch sense.

Splashy splash

Try not to be restrictive when your kid wants to splash water around. It is the perfect opportunity for them to learn what hitting on the water will feel like, and they will learn what happens when they do this action, teaching them cause and effect.