How To Make Baby Bath Time Fun

Since our baby was born it has been my joy to give him a bath every time he needs one. I nearly said “it has been my responsibility” but that wouldn’t be doing it justice and makes it sound like a chore. It absolutely is not, “joy” is the right word.

But I know that many parents struggle with bathing a baby. I’ll share my tips for a great bath time but I’ll say here and now that every baby is different so some of these tips may work and some may not. I’m talking based on my experience with one baby so take that into account. Overall, they’re probably worth a go as they may make your baby happier and therefore make you happier.

What Do I Know?

Good question (if I do say so myself!).

I’ll admit, as I said earlier, I’m talking about my experience with one baby. That one baby though absolutely loves his baths. My neighbour has recently said to me that when our bathroom window is open and they’re in their garden they can often hear him laughing, giggling and chatting away in the bath. This is so accurate each and every day.

Also, our baby could be in a big grump before his bath, usually due to tiredness, but as soon as he gets in the bath he is all smiles, and I mean all smiles. Other than when he is concentrating on something, like a toy he is playing with, he constantly has a smile on his face.

As another example, his swimming instructor suggested that we should get him used to water on his face by getting a cup of water and saying “1,2,3” and taking a loud intake of breath, and then pouring the water over his head and down his face. I’m sure many babies wouldn’t like it, and maybe you’re thinking “our baby would never accept that!” However, N just laughs. He’s a bit shocked at first of course, but when you stop pouring the water he smiles and laughs!

I wrote a post a while ago called Five Tips For Giving A Newborn A Bath which I think has given us a great foundation to work from. Take a read and see if that helps.

Tips For A Fun Bath Time

Start Young

For me setting up a good routine from a young age is important. My tips on how to give a newborn a bath seems to have set us up well for current and future bath times. I’d really try and follow these tips for any subsequent babies and I’d suggest you give them some thought. Starting early and setting them up for the future will massively help. Ultimately you don’t know for certain when they will pick up routines but if you start early then whenever they are ready you’ll already be doing it.

It Begins Before They’re In The Bath

Bath time isn’t just the time they’re actually in the bath. It’s the time before and some time after too. Them learning the routine and learning to enjoy it can start right from the time you pick them up to take them to the bath. N now knows our bath time routine as we do it so regularly. As part of getting the bath ready I’m sitting him in a bouncer and talking to him, clapping, singing and smiling, all before he is in the bath. This seems to get him in a great mood to start with.

Smile, Laugh and Talk

That’s right, simple as that.

I’ve found with N, and many other babies, that simply smiling at them elicits a smile back. How amazing is that! Do that in the bath and you’re on to a winner straight away.

Also, related to this, I barely shut up when giving him a bath. Usually I’m either telling him what I’m doing in a slightly high pitched voice (to sound excited) or actually singing to him (if you can call it that – my neighbour said I need more practice!). I’m often found completely making up songs and singing them to N, largely about what I’m doing at the time. Well, either that or singing Tottenham songs!

I just find it’s more fun for me when I’m chatting to him and it’s clear to see he is engaged with me talking or singing to him as he looks at me and smiles (so he can’t mind my singing too much!). Making up songs also keeps my mind engaged with what I’m doing so that I’m in the moment, not thinking about work, the house, what I need to do tonight or anything else.

Splash!

That’s right, fairly simple one again but splashing a lot helps you have fun and in time, if not straight away, helps your baby have fun. I’m not suggesting you splash your baby. Splash away from your baby and try to make sure not much water hits them if they don’t like it. Due to the ground work I’ve put in I splash away from N quite a bit but can still chuck water on to N and he will smile away.

It’s a slow process so take your time and have fun.

Toys

Of course there’s always a place for toys in the bath, even when your baby is very young. N has a few rubber ducks for example that he enjoys grabbing (and shoving in his mouth of course), so I do things like peekaboo with the duck, or make the duck splash.

We also have this penguin toy that’s attached to the side of the bath and the penguins are skiing, being hoisted up a slope and then they ski down another slope to splash in the water. He’s fascinated by it but I’m not sure if he quite gets what’s happening. He loves trying to grab them though!

Summary

So there are my tips for making bath time with your baby fun. You don’t need expensive items, just you alone can make it fun. Smile, giggle, laugh, sing. It all helps your baby relax and have fun, and when they’re having fun so will you!

Do you have any tips for making bath time fun? I’d love to hear your ideas…