I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this but, I don't do bath time. FTD does. It's always been this way. When Ollie's umbilical cord fell off, and the time came to bathe him, I was terrified. At only a few weeks old, all I could imagine was a slippery little slug. From that bath on, FTD has been in charge.
During the first year, bath time was mostly me dangling toys while FTD did the business. We found that distracting him from the bathing part was key. Once Ollie was able to sit up safely on his own, we introduced toys he could play with on is own. This was huge for helping him enjoy all that soap and water business.
Parent Tip: A boring bathtub full of water is a recipe for disaster. ALWAYS have fun bright toys floating in the water before plopping your toddler down.
Parent Tip: A boring bathtub full of water is a recipe for disaster. ALWAYS have fun bright toys floating in the water before plopping your toddler down.
There are several bath toys out there that you can buy for this very purpose, some of the popular ones are; classic bath ducks, wind-up turtles, and floaty frog sets. As with all toys, stick to the age recommendation. One of our favorite bath toys were antimicrobial foam letters, numbers, and squares with photos. It's a double win for the learning boost too. Here's Ollie in action:
Another important factor in how bathtime goes is your attitude. If it's all about getting in and getting clean and getting out, your child will see bathtime as much of a crappy chore as you. Look at that 5-10 minutes as a chance to bond, learn, play... whatever it takes. Baths are an essential part of life, show your child they can also be fun too!
Bottom line: If bath time sucks, turn your frown upside down, grab a few of your child's favorite (bath friendly) toys and turn Bathtime into fun time!
Bottom line: If bath time sucks, turn your frown upside down, grab a few of your child's favorite (bath friendly) toys and turn Bathtime into fun time!