The water’s nice and warm, fluffy towels are waiting by the edge and you’ve even popped a few bath toys in the tub but there’s one thing missing. If you’ve found yourself running a bath for a kid that suddenly goes AWOL, then you’ll understand the frustration when it comes to making sure they get nice and clean. However, there are ways you can distract them so they’ll be in PJ’s quicker than you can say splish splash!
Use A Visor
Kids despise getting anything stingy in their eyes so why not take the anxiety and fear away with a visor? It’s one step up from a face cloth, which parents have used when washing their kid’s hair for countless years. This brightly colored jug-shaped product allows you to pour all the water or lather any amount of shampoo on their hair without you getting any dripping down towards their eyes. These look like cute, fun hats and take the stress out of worrying about soaps and shampoos.
Glow Worms
You can either use waterproof glow sticks or bracelets that’ll emit a lovely colored light under the bubbles either way. Before washing their hair, or using any bath gel challenge your child to find as many glow sticks as they can only using their hands and feet. Make sure that they don’t put their head under the water, as not only does this defeat the purpose of the game but it’s not the safest thing to do. Dim the bathroom lights to make it easier for them and tell them if they manage to collect all the ‘glowwies’ they’ll get a special treat! Your child will be so distracted by picking up things with their feet and wondering what their prize is, that they’ll forget they’re even having a bath!
Create Towel Animals
Make the bathroom as child-friendly as possible by removing anything they might find scary, pop on nonstick bathmat on the floor of the tub and use LED candles instead of overhead lighting. Make towel animals such as swans, lions, bears, or dogs to keep them company as well as using zoo themed stickers. Remember you might think that the water is fine, but children’s skin is much more sensitive than our own. The same goes for any electric heated towel rails you might have installed in the bathroom. Turn the heat down so it’s tepid instead of warm, so that when you remove them towels aren’t too hot for softer skin.
Get Coloring
Kids love to draw so why not let them scribble to their heart’s desire while in the bath? Add in colored bubble bath, purchase water soluble crayons or Crayola bath time tablets and have the water turn their favorite shade of pink. Kids will forget all about their fears or worries while happily drawing on the tiles with fingerprint soap, playing with gooey bath slime or giving their dolls a bath of their own by using miniature, watered down versions of everything you’re using. Explain to children that these ‘art supplies’ are just for bath time so if they want to play with them they need to get in that tub!
