Bath time can be a stressful time of day for parents- we are trying to wind down, get the kiddos clean, and create a relaxing environment for them to transition to bedtime. Most parents think that bath time is just a time to clean the kids rush through it to bedtime but there can be so many wonderful benefits to this soapy & sudsy time if day!
Founders of Frankie Dean® Dream Blankets™ and healthcare professionals, Brian and Jenavie Noggle pride themselves in knowing a lot about this time of the day since their whole motto is to ease this transition from the bath, to reading to your little one, to bedtime, resulting in a proper night's sleep.
Here are some benefits you can experience by embracing the bubble bath:
Allow your child to take a deep breath and unwind - Studies have shown for both adults and children a routine like bath time will notify the brain that it's time to soothe, relax, and prepare for slumber. We like to dim the lights a bit, throw some bubbles in the bath, add scents like lavender to the water, and turn on some spa like relaxing music to chill. You can even make it fun; for Halloween you can put a small strand of orange lights on the bathroom wall and at Christmas a strand of red & green lights. We tell them it's time for a Halloween bath and our kiddos love this time and actually look forward to it.
Creates bonding time with you and your littles - When you are spending time with your children washing them, caring for them, and giving them one on one attention they love this. All kids want is 100% of parents' attention 100% of the time, but this isn’t realistic especially for parents working from home post Covid. Most of the day as parents we are multitasking things like: phone calls, emails, texts, schedules, meals, diapers, activities, naps, etc. Shutting it all down during bath time tells your kids that they are the center of attention and this helps create feelings of closeness and bonding.
Learning can be part of bath time - We like to play games during bath time like pretending the kids are chefs and we are patrons at their shop and they are making things for us like lemonade (of course we don't drink it, lol), smoothies, and juice at the juice bar. We get them little plastic cups and teach them about measuring, pouring, colors, mixing, and last but not least bubbles. We also tell them they are scientists in their lab and they are mixing solutions for use with plastic test tubes and plastic graduated cylinders. We even find child safe color tabs to add to the water to make it interesting for them. We call different colors elements like calcium, magnesium, and potassium and make them mix them together for us. Without them even knowing they are learning about chemistry.
Color up the tub - You can use this time to tap into the right side of their brain having them draw and color with washable crayons. We let our little guys draw all over the tub and wall then wash it off after. We have them draw their favorite foods, their favorite dinosaurs, the planets, the sun, etc. They love this and get excited to show us the work they have completed, which gives them ownership in their work.
Good time for conversation - Once your toddlers begin to speak, bath time is a great time to have end of the day conversations recapping all of the things they learned throughout the day. You can recount things you did together that day or in the past. This helps create fun memories and teaches kids to reminisce about positive things while tapping into their long term memory. This is a fun time to indulge and see the world through your little ones eyes which can create a lot of laughter.
- Why is bath time such an important part of the day for kids (and grown-ups)?
- Time for kids to start the wind down process before bedtime
- Just because everyone is tired doesn't mean it can't be fun- make it interesting with fun learning toys. We recently got our kiddos some plastic beakers and graduated cylinders and they pretend to do "science experiments" in the bathtub
- The child or children will be in a confined space so it's a good time to bond and check in with them
- Try to stay off the phone and engage with them- kids see everything we are doing
- We can help promote relaxation the same way we do for ourselves- use lavender bubbles, dim the lights, soft music, etc
- Gives us time to nurture and bond with our children
- How can parents make bedtime a soothing part of the day?
- Get them excited about going to bed with their Dream Blanket- give it a name or use the names we've attached to them with our characters and bedtime books
- Listen to your child- some kids like to listen when you read, others want to watch and get involved.
- Use Aurora Borealis lights, sound machines, and white nose fans to help foster relaxation
- Keep a similar routine- kids thrive in routine whether its time routine, location routine, or sounds/ smells routine.
- Read to them in a soft voice- we designed our Dream Blankets to be paired with our bedtime board books to keep the attachment there with the blanket, plus the blanket gives them the tangible character to identify with that they are reading about in the book
- What benefits do blankies/loveys have for kids?
- Ease separation anxiety
- Brings security and comfort to the child
- Gets the child excited about nap time and bedtime
- Fosters independence
- Stimulates and encourages imagination
- Our black and white patterns stimulate cognitive development for age 0-8 months (babies love high contrast black and white)
- Teaches them about responsibility and caring for something that is theirs
- A overall better sense of wellbeing
- Promotes a better nights sleep
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