It is hard for most adults to understand why kids – especially little kids – resist bath time. Grown-ups would kill for a chance to soak and unwind in a sudsy tub after a long day. But small kids and babies rarely love bath time. Why is this?
Why do toddlers hate baths? What is it with toddler bathtime? There are a few possibilities:
- Sensory overload from the noises, smells
and feelings of the water can make the whole experience overwhelming. - Soapy eyes are pretty much equivalent to being burnt with acid as far as they are concerned.
- Stubbornness is simply in the toddler nature and they may have other activities they’d rather be engaged in.
- Fear of being sucked down the drain is a very real phobia for many kids. It sounds silly to adults but they may sincerely fear this.
- You hate it. If you hate it and you get stressed out and yell or lose your cool or just
melt down , they will pick up on your cues.
Here are some great ideas for making toddler bathtime a bit less stressful:
1Pool noodle tower
Chop up some pool noodles into various widths and sizes of disks. Get multiple colors, as well. Use them as bath time blocks! Your child will love building and exploring with them.
2Bath color drops
You can buy or DIY these. A simple Google search will get you all on the information that you need. The color drops don’t stain your kid or your tub and turn their bathtub into a rainbow!
3Shaving cream art
This is super-easy and you probably have shaving cream sitting in your bathroom anyway. Let your child make masterpieces on the walls of the shower or the sides of the bath. This will keep them entertained for hours.
4Surprise bath bombs
DIY bath bomb
Sing Down In The Jungle (Helps teach kiddos how to clean their entire body)
Down in the jungle where nobody goes,
There’s a big fat elephant washing his toes,
With a rub-a-dub here, and a rub-a-dub there,
That’s the way he washes his toes!
(Chorus)
Boom, boom, boogie-woogie boogie-woogie,
Boom, boom, boogie-woogie boogie-woogie,
Rub-a-dub here, and a rub-a-dub there,
That’s the way he washes his toes!
Down in the jungle where there’s nobody there,
There’s a great big lion washing his hair,
With a rub-a-dub here, and a rub-a-dub there,
That’s the way he washes his hair!
(Repeat chorus)
Down in the jungle, if you look in the trees,
There’s a cheeky monkey washing his knees,
With a rub-a-dub here, and a rub-a-dub there,
That’s the way he washes his knees!
(Repeat chorus)
Down in the jungle if you care to check,
There’s a very tall giraffe washing his neck,
With a rub-a-dub here, and a rub-a-dub there,
That’s the way he washes his neck!
(Repeat chorus)
Down at the river, if you look underneath,
There’s a great big crocodile brushing his teeth,
With a rub-a-dub here, and a rub-a-dub there,
That’s the way he brushes his teeth!
(Repeat chorus)
5Sing All The Little Ducks Go Upside Down (Helpful for kids who resist getting water on their face or going under)
All the little ducks go upside down,
Upside down, upside down,
All the little ducks go upside down
As they dabble at the bottom of the pond.
All their little beaks go snap, snap, snap,
Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap, snap,
All their little beaks go snap, snap, snap,
As they dabble at the bottom of the pond.
All their little tails go wiggle, waggle, wiggle,
Wiggle, waggle, wiggle, wiggle, waggle, wiggle,
All their little tails go wiggle, waggle, wiggle,
As they dabble at the bottom of the pond.
6Sing One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Once I caught a fish alive (great counting practice too!)
One, Two, Three, Four, Five,
Once I caught a fish alive
Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten,
Then I threw him back again.
Why did you let him go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Which finger did he bite?
This little finger on my right.
7Bubble race
Rather than talk about cleaning, make it all about bubble creation. Get soaps or bath gels that create lots of suds and make a game of seeing how many bubbles they can make in a given period of time.
8Washcloth puppet show
Turn your washcloths into puppets. Maybe the puppets munch on their knees or tell silly stories while they scrub your kid’s back. Whatever they do, make them interactive. They also manufacture puppet washcloths but your hand inside of a wash cloth is just fine.
9Bonding time
Don’t dread bath time. If you do, they will. Make bath time a fun bonding time where you sing songs, play games, talk about your child’s day and learn. Look at it as special one on one time.
What about your family? Does your youngster love or despise baths? Know somebody whose children fight bath time?
Leave a comment. Share your tricks and tips for getting through bath time without losing your cool or just vent about your awful bath time problems!
Also read:
- Baby Checklist For New Moms: The Absolute Essentials
- 5 Practical Tips To Consider When Decorating Your Baby’s Nursery
