Bath time struggles-25 tips and ideas

Recently I saw these questions asked in a mom’s group I belong to.

My little boy gets so bored of baths. Can anyone suggest some fairly simple but different ideas for bath time please~Anon

and

Advice please! My 18 month old daughter has decided she hates bathing! She starts crying as soon as I start running the bath until it’s over. She went from hating it as a newborn to loving it and now hating it again. Any experience or advice? ~ Anon

So I had a think and a chat to some other mothers and this is the list of ideas we came up with.

Here are some tips and ideas:

A lot of these are distraction tactics which make your little one forget that they are actually bathing!

1.  Try some different bath toys, books or games.
2. Get in the bath with her. 
3. A new bath toy, like Mermaid Barbie, sea creature, diver etc.
4. Use bath paint made from shaving cream and food colour; use paint brushes to paint the bath.
5. Prepare him saying that he’s going to love his bath, read a story about bath time or get a bath book that can be read in the water.
6. Blow some bubbles, it keeps his mind of the fact that he’s going to take a bath.
7. Shaving foam; spray it on the bath sides and tiles and let them draw and enjoy the feeling of the foam
8. Try the shower. Some children prefer it.
9. Use bubble bath and a nearby mirror to see the funny hair-dos they can create
10. Try no toys in the bath. Some kids just like space.
11. Make bath time a bit messy using bath crayons. Start drawing on the bath while standing outside it and try to move her into the bath to carry on drawing.
12. Use the colour bath dissolving tablets or sprinkles…there are ones that crackle, fizz or just change the water colour. and they smell nice too.
13. Use dissolving beans: they usually have colourful foam shapes/animals inside for them to discover as the bean dissolves.
14. Foam letters or shapes that can be stuck on the bath/tiles when wet.
15. Little watering cans, empty plastic bottles and containers, bowls, spoons, cups and jugs; your little one will love scooping or pouring water.
16. Give baby a bath- allow your child to take a baby dolly into the bath and to give the doll a wash.
17.  Provide toys that squirt water, just prepare yourself to mop up afterwards.
18. Put glow sticks in the bath and turn out the lights. 
19. Ball pit balls with a net so he fish the balls out
20. Make dyed ice cubes, they can watch the ice cubes melt, feel the cold temperature and see the colour being released into the clear bath water.
21. Fizzing bath bombs-children love watching and feeling them fizz as they dissolve, and they smell good too! Look out for ones for sensitive skins.
22. Bath confetti- these are available in most shops or online. You simply sprinkle it in the water and they dissolve. 
23. A plastic tea set for playing tea parties
24. Dissolving beans, these have foam shapes inside that pop out when the cover is dissolved
25. Drop in some corks- good reason to save all those corks from your wine bottles

Bath time should be fun and not stressful for your child-or you! Don’t sweat it if you miss a bath , the world will not end if your little one skips it every now and again.