I think its the rare toddler who doesn’t enjoy splashing in the water and playing with their toys in the bathtub. But, I have some ideas that will make the time even more fun and perhaps draw in the ones that do not love bath time. Almost all supplies can be found around the house or picked up at Dollar Tree, making for some seriously frugal fun.
Body and Tub Paint– Pick up a muffin tin , paintbrushes, sensitive shave cream, and food coloring- all available at the Dollar Tree. Squirt 2-3 Tbsp. of shaving cream into each muffin cup, add a few drops of food coloring and stir. Set the muffin tin on the side of the tub or hold onto it for your toddler, hand them a paintbrush and watch them go! Your little one will quickly turn your walls and their bodies into unique works of art.
Glow In The Dark Sticks– I don’ t know what it is about these things, but kids just love them. Break 3 – 4 to activate and throw them in the tub, turn out the lights and let the bathtub disco begin! Monitor your child with glow sticks as they can bite into them and release the liquid inside.
Foam Stickers– Super fun!!! Splash the walls to make them wet, provide your child with foam that you have cut into shapes, or letters. They will stick to the wet walls and remove easily. I have made snowman pieces for them to put together, an Easter basket and eggs, and different shapes for them to match. Toss into bleach water for a few minutes to keep clean air dry and store in a plastic bag, they last a long time.
Squirt Guns– paint a target on the wall farthest from the open side of your tub using kids washable paint (or see shaving cream paint recipe above) give your child a squirt gun and tell them to shoot the target until its gone (go ahead and lay towels on the floor, it will get wet, but trust me its sooooo worth the giggles)
Bathtub Fishin’– Toss those inexpensive ABC magnets into the tub. Attach a magnet to a string, and tie it to a stick. Let your little one fish for the letters of their name, or random letters.
Get Dirty Before You Get Clean– Before you fill the tub with bubble bath, let your child get in the tub with a couple boxes of prepared jello, pudding, or shaving cream. Fingerpaint play in a contained environment that is easy to clean- how perfect is that?
Rotate Toys- Playing with the same toys night after night can probably get pretty boring. Once a week remove half the toys (this is a great time to sanitize in bleach water) bag them up and put them away until the next rotation- keep them fresh and interesting without constantly buying new toys to amuse your little ones.
Ocean Tub- Cook a box of spaghetti, rinse, and cool. Return to pot, with a little water and stir several drops of blue and green food coloring into pasta, stir to color pasta- making it resemble seaweed. Dump into bath water that has been dyed blue and toss in some plastic sea life creatures. Before you pull the plug gather up all the spaghetti and throw it out, Drain tub partially refill for a quick bath to wash away pasta residue.