8 Bath Time Must Haves For Toddlers

A couple years ago, I heard a mom on social media say “When your kids are struggling, get them outside or in water.” Have you heard this before? After hearing it, I immediately started implementing that with my kids. It really works! Especially with my middle child. I started getting my kids in the bath tub at all times of the day. Getting them in the water seemed to calm them down, and felt like a reset button when we were having a hard day.

But I also have a couple kids that don’t always love baths. Are your kids the same? Mine seem to go through phases of loving baths, then hating baths. And I have one child who loves baths, but HATES having his hair washed, so anything I can do to distract him, and keep him calm really makes hair wash day easier. I love getting fun toys and add ins for them to keep the bath enjoyable for them all. I try to rotate through the toys pretty regularly to avoid any mold growing especially since moving to a very humid climate. Today I’m sharing some of our favorite bath toys and add ins that our family has loved over the years.

Fishing Toy | Baby Bathtub | Bubble Bath | Robe | Faucet Cover | Epsom Salt | Suction Toys | Boat Toy

Suction Toys

My kids love these so much! My youngest got these for Christmas in his stocking and my kids have been playing with them basically nonstop all over the house. My kids throw them at the walls and the ceilings trying to get them to stick. In the tub they stick them on the walls, the edge of the tub, the bottom of the tub, everywhere. One of my kids even stuck all of them together and made a necklace out of them. They really have been a huge hit in and out of the tub! They sell a small pack of 10 and a larger pack of 44 pieces. We got the smaller set, but the big set probably would have been a better option with how much my kids use them. They also come with a bag that you can use to store them.

Epsom Salts

We add in epsom salts to our kids baths a couple times a week. There are a whole list of benefits of epsom salt baths. We really love that it can help them sleep better and help support their bodies when they are fighting a cold. There are a bunch of other benefits of magnesium too. You can even add in a small amount of baking soda for a detox bath. I try to do a detox bath for the kids every couple weeks now that I have one kid in kindergarten, and one in preschool (aka germ central). Just make sure you are buying a good, high quality epsom salt for the best benefits.

Fishing Hook

My cousin got us this toy as a baby shower present and my kids loved it! I rotated it out a few years ago, but I’m thinking of getting it for them again soon. It’s so cute and fun. And my kids always had so much fun fishing in the bathtub. Ours came with a fishing pole and a net. They have a few different versions that all look super fun! The one we had didn’t wind up, and sometimes the hook was hard for my little ones to use to “catch” the fish toys. But I found so many others on Amazon that wind up and are magnetic so that would be a little easier for your kids to fish. They also have some with 2 fishing poles if you have multiple kids that will both want their own fishing pole. If your family loves fishing, then this is the perfect toy for your kids bath!

Bubble Bath

I don’t know many kids who don’t like bubble baths! We prefer certain brands over others when it comes to bubble bath because 2 of our kids have eczema. And unfortunately, the cheap bubble bath or the heavily fragranced ones bother their skin. We’ve liked Tubby Todd and Dr Teals for our kids. And we usually buy the Dr Teals Sleep Bath because I can pick it up at the grocery store whenever I run out. But if you have any others that you like (especially if you have kids with sensitive skin) let me know in the comments.

Boat Pouring Toy

We were sent this boat as a gift from a family member a while back and my kids loved it! It got misplaced when we moved, but I will definitely have to add this to my cart soon. It is just a toy boat that fills with water, so it doesn’t sound that exciting, I know. But it is a huge hit! My kids loved filling and dumping the water from the boat. And I would sometimes use this to rinse when washing the kids hair. They have a few different styles of boats too. I think this would also be so fun to pack with your water toys when you go to the beach or pool.

Small Baby Tub

We have this baby bath tub that we have used for all our kids. When my babies were newborns, we used it with the sling attachment. Once my babies were a bit bigger, but not quite big enough to be in the big tub with their older siblings, I used this to contain them and keep them safer in the tub with siblings. I would fill this little tub inside the bathtub. Then I moved the little tub to the side and filled the bathtub. My baby would sit in the little tub, and my toddlers would sit in the bathtub. (I still sit right next to the tub, with a hand on the baby while I do this to keep them safe). The toddlers loved getting to be in the tub with the baby and always kept the baby laughing while I was washing hair and what not. And I was able to bath everyone all at once!

Faucet Cover

I think having some sort of faucet cover is a must. Maybe it’s more for my peace of mind than anything. But I’d much rather pay a couple dollars for one of these covers than have my kids ever hit their head in the bathtub. This is the one we have. We leave it on the faucet almost all the time, but it is easy to put on and take off. And it can go in the dishwasher to clean super easily.

Robes

And lastly, robes! My kids are obsessed with robes. I think it is actually their favorite part of the bath. My daughter got one for her birthday 2 years ago. And after a lot of fighting because my son kept taking her robe, we got my son his own robe a few months later. This robe comes in lots of colors and patterns. And this is the robe we have for my boys, and it is so cute!

What items are must haves for your kids baths? Anything you can’t go without? Please share in the comments!

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