Making Bath Time Fun for Kids

Disclosure: So happy to share this blog post I created as a Suave Kids partner. The Disney, Frozen and Star Wars trademarks are used by Unilever pursuant to a license agreement with The Walt Disney Company. All rights reserved.

When my kids were babies they loved bath time.  They happily splashed around in the warm water for what felt like forever, squealing with delight as they played with toys and popped soap bubbles.  Bath time wasn’t just a part of their day, it was the center of their day.  They looked forward to it, reveled in it, and were sad when it was over.

But now that my kids are a little older, it seems harder and harder to get my kids into the bath.  I often feel like I spend more time wrangling them than they actually spend bathing.  As a result, I’ve been working hard to bring the fun back to bath time in this house.  After all, bath time should be a time to be playful and imaginative, while washing away the day and getting ready for a fresh start.

Here are the ways that I’m bringing the fun back to bath time in our house:

Allow time to play.  I recently realized that this was one of the biggest problems in our house.  With dance, scouts, gymnastics, sports, and all the other activities that can run late into the evening, we often end up pressed for time at night.  The result was kids rushed through their bath with no time to play and very little interest in getting into the bath in the first place.

Although there are nights where this can’t be avoided, on days where it can, I try to allow at least 30 minutes for bath time and give the kids warnings both before bath time and when bath time is coming to an end.  Simply setting time aside and letting the kids know when bath time is that day, has made a huge change in my house.

Rotate bath toys frequently.  Contrary to what you might think, older kids like bath toys too!  Cups, pitchers, fun sponges, and wash cloth puppets can add lots of fun to bath time.  And instead of leaving all your bath toys out all the time, try rotating them so there’s always something new for them to play with.  This will allow you time to soak and clean the various toys.

Incorporate their favorite characters.  Everything is more magical with Disney, and bath time is no exception.  So needless to say, I was pretty excited to hear that Suave Kids® now had a collection of products inspired by the popular characters of Disney Frozen –  Disney Frozen Elsa 2-in-1 Shampoo + Conditioner in Berry Flurry, Disney Frozen Olaf 2-in-1 Shampoo + Body Wash in Icy Grape, and Disney Frozen Anna Detangler Spray in Sparkle Berry.  Available at Target and Walmart, along with mass, grocery, drug and value retailers nationwide, these products bring their favorite characters off the screen and into their daily routine…and they love it.  These gentle products bring fruity fun to Frozen fans like the ones at my house, while leaving them clean from head to toe.  For Star Wars fans, Suave Kids® has created a similar line staring characters from that series.

Use tear-free products.  Nothing brings bath time fun to a screeching halt like soap or shampoo getting in your child’s eye.  To avoid this, be sure to use tear-free products like Suave Kids®, which offers gentle head-to-toe products that are specially formulated to be tear-free for kids.   These dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested products that are safe for daily use and will keep bath time on track, with no breaks in the fun.

Simplify bath time.  Since I want my kids to enjoy their bath more, I try to simplify the actual bathing process as much as possible.  One way to do this is the easy to use use pump bottle and squeezable tubes on the new Suave Kids® Frozen and Star Wars products.The pump bottles both reduce spills and limit the amount of shampoo or body wash the child can take during bath time.  Tell your child how much they should take and there isn’t any confusion.  Another way is to use Disney Frozen Olaf 2-in-1 Shampoo + Body Wash in Icy Grape which is shampoo and soap, all in the same convenient bottle.  When my kids spend less time on the shampoo and soap part of their bath, they have much more time to play.

How do you keep bath time fun for your kids?   Have you tried the new Disney Frozen or Star Wars inspired Suave Kids® products?