SHELLEY HEAPHY for The Parent’s voice
January is National Bath Tub Safety month and it has me reliving my troubles and happy moments with bathtime. Read on for some bath time activities you may or not have heard about.
During the newborn stage, bath time usually stressed me out. A squirmy, crying, wet baby did not have me excited. Of course, this definitely depends on your baby’s temperament. One of mine in particular screamed bloody . . .
murder from the moment we undressed her until the moment she was in new cozy pjs. She was our winter baby so maybe she was just colder, we never really could find any way to make her enjoy the process. We definitely followed the tips we found for newborn bath time, and it didn’t seem to matter:
— Have all you need prepared and at your reach (towels, washcloth, soap, diaper, pjs)
— Have the water prepared so that once baby is undressed they go right into warm water
— Choose a warm, draft-free room for bath time, with babies and portable tubs you can choose the location that best suits this recommendation
— Use a warm cloth to wash the baby
— Make bath time quick
— Never ever leave your child unattended in the bath
For her, these didn’t work or matter. She simply hated it until she was old enough to sit up!
Once children are able to sit up, bath time gets a bit more exciting for them. They can reach for squishy toys, splash the water and move around. Depending on the child, it may be safer to have a bath time chair that your child sits up in, in the tub to avoid them falling over. For our third child, who loved bathing with his older siblings we sat him in a laundry basket and it worked perfectly. His toys were always within reach and he couldn’t escape. Of course, constant supervision and vigilance is necessary during all stages of bath time.
Toys become increasingly fun for kids in the bath as they get older and the possibilities are endless. Kids can set up a bath time for their dolls and wash their dolls as they wash themselves. Kids may want to wash cars/trucks/tractors and other toys as they wash themselves in the bath. There are endless fun things to buy for tub play. There are water colour changers, which are basically little tablets to drop into the water that changes the water to a different colour. There are bath bombs that will change the scent and colour of the water, there are bath markers and foamies for them to write in the tub with! All of which can make bath time very exciting. In our experience though, a few toys was really all they needed. Bath time was our way to wind down, relax, sometimes chat and get ready for story time. A friend showed me a super cool recipe for bath time that I’d love to share with you all. I think my big kids would even love this idea. Enjoy this recipe for bath paints, it takes minutes to prepare and can last hours of fun, simply give them a paintbrush and the bath tub can become their canvas. Ingredients: One cup of clear baby soap or shampoo, three tbs. cornstarch and food colouring. Recipe: In a bowl mix together soap and cornstarch. Pour into ice cube trays (or muffin trays) and add one to two drops of colour per cube.
Voila – hand it off to your child in the tub with a paintbrush and play time for hours!
Now that our girls are bigger they choose to read in the bathtub. I can’t believe how quick they outgrow the play time stage (well our little dude still loves his boats). Enjoy the little kid, bath time fun. Make some splashes with them before they won’t let you in the bathroom at all.
