How to Make Bath Times Fun
If your kid is one of those types that has a slight to extreme aversion to water and all things shower-related, here are some tips and tricks for your little one to get a little bit more comfortable with bath time.
1. Have a cue for them to know that it’s bath time. Routines and knowing what to predict next plays a huge role in preventing those hit here to tantrums and meltdowns for basically anything. It doesn’t always work mind you, but it helps decrease the tenacity or length of it. So for my kid, we bathe him always after dinner, or anytime when he’s messy with his hands. We bring him to the bathroom, and also have a cue to say when taking out his clothes such as “Hands up”, “pants down” and the like. Verbal cues are beneficial as well, to signal to them that oh, it’s changing time, etc.
2. Make sure to have the right bath water temperature. Sometimes one reason why they fight life and death against bath time is because either it’s too cold or too hot for them. And for newborns especially, when they don’t have the necessary body temperature regulating skills just yet, this is a recipe for a scream fest to happen. So make that water nice and warm, and test it with your elbow. It should be warm to the touch, not hot. And if you want to get all technical about it, you can use a thermometer and it should be just above 100°F.
3. Bath toys are lifesavers. You can actually make bath time a fun and time-consuming activity. Once they’ve reached the age where they can sit up, throw in some bath toys that they can touch and chew on for engagement/distraction. Even a standard rubber ducky might just be the trick to prevent them from screaming and running away from the water. Alternatively, even something simple such as a cup they can use to splash along and dump water can be considered as a bath toy. Sometimes the best toys are the things just lying around in the house. Warning: you might end up getting wet but what else is new?
4. Sing a fun song while showering. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to stress this enough, but all kids love singing. Especially when their parents are the ones singing. Cause we are their favorite people in the world, what’s there not to love? Yes, even if we are off-key or off-beat. Sing slowly and have them watch your mouth while singing. One fun activity is also to point at their body parts while showering and singing. That way you’re keeping them entertained, cleaned up, and learning all the same time. Head shoulders knees and toes choir team? Let’s go.
5. Have their after bath essentials ready. So maybe it’s not the bath time they hate so much but the ‘after bath’ time instead. You might be spending too much time deciding what jammies for them to wear or keeping them wrapped up in the towel and the need to let loose is consuming them. So have all the after bath essentials ready to go for them before bringing them to the bath. I recommend putting a calming baby oil(or coconut/olive/what have you) to massage them, get all moisturized and warmed up so that they won’t feel as cold as they normally would after a bath. Plus it helps kick in some warm sleepy cues if it’s in your bedtime routine.
There you have it! My five simple steps to help reduce those bath time battles. Hope they were able to help and comment below if you have any more tips up your sleeves cause us parents definitely need them. All the best for our bathtime shenanigans!
