15 Best DIY Bath Toys for Toddlers
Bath time isn’t simply a chance to get clean, but can be a place to play, unwind, change the mood, and even learn. Looking to mix up bath time? Here are our top DIY bath toys and games for toddlers. No generic plastic toys, just some ingenious ways to have some bubbly fun.
1. Get Clean at the Car Wash
If you’re struggling to shoehorn your car-loving kid into the bath, then grab some plastic cars and let them come too. Give them some soap and a sponge and let them create their own car wash. Whilst they create a conveyor belt of car customers, you can get on with the scrubbing.
2. Bubble Beard
Childhood wouldn’t be complete without running enough bubbles in the bath to go crazy creating bubble beards and bubble hairdos. Just make sure you use a bubble bath that’s kind on little one’s eyes, and let them giggle away as you transform them into someone new. Don’t forget to have a mirror handy so they can admire themselves.
3. Paper Boats
A perfect activity for unwinding in the evening before bath time: make some origami paper boats. Pop little one in the bath along with your creations and let them have some fun. Give them a straw and watch them learn the basics of wind power. If you’ve never made them before, don’t worry. They are super simple and you can follow a simple video tutorial here.
4. Kitchen Bath Time
Nothing is quite as much fun as playing with something that’s not actually a toy. Let your toddler have use of colanders, funnels, a wooden spoon and a whisk, and let them get busy cooking up a bubbly storm in the tub.
5. Pompom Bath
If your little one needs a helping hand with their dexterity and fine motor skills then it’s time to run a pompom bath. Simply add a bunch of fluffy pompoms to their usual bath and watch they try to catch the sneaky balls. To make it more challenging, equip your toddler with some plastic child tweezers or the kitchen tongs and see if they can separate them by colour.
6. Shaving Foam Painting
If your kids love painting and they love mess, but you’re not so keen on the clean-up job, then this one is for you. Use some cheap “sensitive” shaving foam to squeeze fluffy clouds into a muffin tray. Add a tiny bit of food colouring to each and then arm your toddler, in the tub, with a paintbrush. They can paint the tiles and paint themselves and the clean-up job is just a case of switching on the shower.
7. Bath Time Diving
Make bath time into a new adventure by kitting your youngster out in goggles and even a snorkelling mask and let them explore the depths below the bubbles. This activity is great for little ones who are fearful of water on their face in order to build up their confidence for swimming. Be sure to pop a few items in the bath that sink so that there is ‘treasure’ to discover.
8. Bath Noodle Creations
Grab yourself some cheap swimming noodles and cut them into short sections. These homemade bath toys can create plenty of fun from balancing to sorting. To have the most fun use several and different colours – it’ll be like their very own foam pit with the benefit of getting them clean as well.
9. Water Wall
Get some basic STEM learning underway by using pipes, bottles and tubing to create a toddler-friendly bath time water wall. Kids are mesmerised watching cause and effect and this is a great way to kick-start their logical thinking.
10. Playdough Soap
No matter how hard you try, you’ve got a bath refuser, right? Just introduce them to the concept of playdough soap and they’ll be begging for more time in the tub. The benefit is that as they play they get clean. You can’t ask for more than that! Go here for the tutorial on how to make it.
11. Dolly Bath Time
If it’s bath time for one then it’s bath time for the other. Let them bring along their plastic dolls to bath time and take charge of getting them clean. Whilst they are distracted with their own ‘baby’ you can be sure they are learning skills of self-care and getting lost in the world of make-believe.
12. Bath Time I-Spy
Who says I-Spy is just for those who can spell?! Bath time I-Spy is a great way for keeping your little one still and focused as you get them clean. Instead of using the phrase ‘I-Spy something beginning with…’ you use colours, shapes or other descriptions to get their guesses coming.
13. Bath Tub Fishing
Fantastic for hand-eye coordination and brilliant fun as well, you can make your own bathtub fishing game relatively easily. Make your fish in rainbow colours and you’ll also be able to create a fun colour learning game.
14. Foam Bath Shapes
You can buy an expensive foam alphabet, or simply get busy with some scissors and foam sheets to create a myriad of foam bath shapes. You can make numbers, shapes, or anything you fancy from cars and tracks, to rockets and stars. Let their imaginations run wild as they come up with their very own stories and creations.
15. Hatching Dinos
For your budding palaeontologist, whizz up these fabulous hatching dino eggs with a few basic ingredients, and let the kids have a blast in the bath by waiting for them to hatch. Their wonder as a new baby dinosaur comes to join the family will turn to bubbly smiles, and it’ll be another happy bath time.
Bath time is one of the most magical moments in the day with young children. It can get you through the ‘witching hour’ and creates feelings of happiness and safety. Have fun making your own bath time activities and make bath time a real highlight of every day.
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