Bathtime Fun for Your Young Toddler

If your young, approximately 12 to 15-month-old toddler has tired of the same toys and bathtime activities that have been provided, here are some ideas to spice up that bathtime and make it fun once again.

Paint.
What better time to do some paint playing than in the bathtub? You can place a little amount of thick paint on the walls of the tub and allow your child to play in it, either with their hands, or introducing a paintbrush. And clean-up couldn't be easier!

Shaving cream.
Stores such as Walmart offer actual foam soap that you are able to squirt onto the bathtub walls for your child to play with. I have found that shaving cream works just as well, and is a cheaper substitute. Just be sure that your child doesn't put it in their mouth, otherwise the foam soap is a non-toxic, colorful choice. You can squirt the shaving cream onto the walls of the bathtub and on your child's body, too. My 12-month-old son absolutely loves to swish around in the cream on the walls and he loves to bang on his stomach. He'll also scoop some shaving cream off the walls or his body and drop it into the water, where it disappears. He is always amazed at the sound the canister makes and loves to watch when the shaving cream actually comes out.

Squirt toys.
Squirt toys can be a great deal of fun for young toddlers. They can watch as you squirt the water onto the walls, up in the air, or onto their bellies. If you decide that you'd like to try the above ideas of paint and shaving cream, you can squirt the water onto the paint or cream on the walls or place some paint or cream on your child's stomach and squirt it off. Even if you don't have paint or shaving cream on your child's stomach, they may absolutely love it when you squirt water on it! You can also show your child how to squeeze the toy and allow them a turn to try it for themselves. I've gotten wet many times by allowing my son to squirt his toys, and by my squealing and making funny faces and arm gestures, he gives me a great big belly laugh.

Net and cups.
Around this age, many children like to take objects out of containers and place them back in again. That's where a net or a large plastic cup may come in handy. With the squirt toys, my son and I go "fishing." I "catch" the toys in the net and then he has a blast taking them out and putting them back in again. When I place the net back in the water, he'll look at me and sign for "more."

Markers and crayons.
There are bathtub markers and crayons that you can buy at places such as Walmart. Your child can have fun scribbling on the bathtub walls and clean up is incredibly simple for you!

A cup with juice.
You can allow your child to attempt drinking juice or some other liquid out of an open-top cup. Drinking from an open-top cup can be a very tough thing to figure out at this young age, but what better time to introduce the idea than in the tub? They will undoubtedly spill and make a mess, but the liquid goes right into the bathtub, so there are no worries. Your child will probably love to attempt to drink their juice in this manner, too. Plus, if it's something that you've never tried before, then it's novel and may grasp your child's attention.

Bubbles and more bubbles.
A bubble bath can be a great deal of fun. Your child can splash in the bubble water, you can place bubbles on their belly or on their nose, you can place the bubbles in the palm of your hand and blow them off, or you can color the walls of the bathtub with the bubbles. On top of that, this may be a great opportunity for you to get those blowing bubbles out and blow some bubbles into the tub for your child to pop.

If you try one or two of these suggestions on any given day, then it will leave you with the other ideas to rotate with throughout the week. This may keep your child happy, content, and active during bathtime.