Eight baby and toddler bathtime ideas to boost water confidence
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Is your baby or toddler not a fan of water? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. While swimming lessons are a great way to help their confidence in the water, don’t forget about bathtime too, as this can also play an important role. When paired together, they make the ultimate team for helping your child feel more comfortable around water.
Today is the start of Water Babies’ National Baby Swimming Week, so we’ve teamed up with them to share eight baby and toddler bathtime ideas that will help to improve their water confidence at home.
What is National Baby Swimming Week?
Every September Water Babies, the world's largest baby swimming school, hosts National Baby Swimming Week. The aim is to raise awareness around the importance of baby and toddler swimming lessons. Not only is swimming a life skill, but it's also a chance to have bond with parents or carers, improve physical development and have some fun.
Swimming expert, Aine Halton-Hanley, reveals the common bathtime mistake parents make
"At Water Babies, we pride ourselves on creating positive, predictable, and enjoyable experiences in the water. We know that babies and toddlers learn how to feel about the water environment through repeated experiences, which is why building positive associations from an early age is so important.
One of the biggest bath-time mistakes parents can make is unexpectedly pouring water over their little one's face. For some children, this can create a negative association with water, leading to distress and impacting their confidence with splashing, hair washing, being in the swimming pool environment, blowing bubbles, and eventually going underwater.
Instead, make water experiences predictable and playful. Using a clear and consistent cue, such as our 'Name, are you ready? Go!' word association technique, helps children understand what is about to happen and gives them time to prepare. Combined with a fun, relaxed approach, this helps little ones build trust, confidence, and enjoyment in the water, allowing positive experiences to form the foundation of their aquatic journey."
Aine Halton-Hanley, Director of Aquatics at Water Babies
Eight baby and toddler bathtime ideas to boost water confidence
1. Practice getting their face wet in the bath
Is your baby or toddler not a fan of getting their face wet at the swimming pool? Why not practice at home first? Try giving them their very own watering can in the bath and let them fill it up and pour it over themselves. This gives them both confidence and independence as they’re controlling the water.
2. Make play a regular part of bathtime
Bedtime is a big event and sometimes it can be tempting to rush bathtime if you've had a busy day. Making sure you set aside some time each evening for water play with bath toys can do wonders for your baby or toddler’s water confidence.
3. Use the same words every time water touches their face
Pick a word or phrase to say every time before water touches your baby or toddler's face, this could simply be their name and water. Use this phrase in the bath at home and at the swimming pool so that they know what’s coming next and have a chance to prepare. Doing this will make them less shocked when the water hits their face.
4. Practice blowing bubbles in the bath
Make a game of seeing who can blow the biggest or most bubbles in the water. To your baby or toddler, this is just a fun game, but there are lots of hidden benefits of blowing bubbles in the water. It helps your baby or toddler get used to having water around their face and mouth and allows them to practice their breathing in the water.
5. Encourage them to reach for toys in the bath
Placing bath toys at arm’s length from your baby or toddler in the bath is a great way to get them to reach across the water and practice how to move their arms when they swim.
6. Practice floating in the bath
Floating is something that is practised in swimming lessons, but you can also practise it in the bath. Place your hands under them and have them practice lying back and relaxing. This makes them feel like they’re floating but your hands are supporting them.
7. Sing songs with water actions in the bath
Babies and toddlers love nursery rhymes, so why not sing them in the bath too? Create actions that involve splashing, tapping and kicking the water. This will help take their mind off any nerves they might have about bathtime and instead they will start to look forward to singing their favourite songs in the bath.
8. Try role play games in the bath
Children love to play pretend and this can be done in the bath too. Try bath toys like our Ice Cream Machine Bubble Bath Toy and let them pretend to be the ice cream server and make you ice cream with bubbles. This will help your child create positive associations with being in the water.
Safety first
It goes without saying that bathtime must always be supervised by an adult. Never leave your child alone in the bath or look away, even for a moment. When trying things like pouring water over your child’s face, make sure they are comfortable and well supported. Avoid doing this if they have a cough, cold or are generally unwell, and stop immediately if they show any signs of distress.
Hayley Weatherhead
Hayley is our PR Manager at Nuby, with 10 years of experience working with brands to help turn their expertise into invaluable advice for their customers.
Having recently had her first child (if we don’t include her fur baby), Hayley is discovering what it’s like to become a mum for the first time. She’s now experiencing what it’s like to have a toddler, so her tips really are based on real life experience.