Baby Bath Toy Buying Tips

Do your children enjoy taking baths or despise them? Many children have a love-hate relationship with bath experience, so the best approach to maintain their interest is to make bath time enjoyable. But as a parent, there’s only so much you can do, so it’s time to call in the bath toys. However, bath toys come in varying colors, sizes, shapes, designs, and additional features. Therefore, before you start shopping for ideal bath toys, it is important to consider several important factors.

What to Consider Before Buying a Bath Toy?

• Safety
  Safety is crucial both in and around the water. As with any toy, avoid giving babies toys with little pieces that they could choke on. Moreover, unless the toy is expressly designed for bath use, never submerge battery-operated toys in water since this might cause the batteries to corrode. Additionally, this will go without saying, never use electrical toys in the water. Likewise, wash and air dry the toys between uses to prevent mold and mildew growth. You may want to avoid squeezable bath toys, as they are notoriously difficult to clean.
• Age-appropriateness
  Each child develops at their own pace. However, certain principles for age-appropriate play are widely accepted. Check the package of any toys you’re considering, ensuring they’re appropriate for your child’s age range.
• Sensory experience
  Children, particularly toddlers, acquire knowledge about their world through their senses. Consider bath toys that promote this function, such as ones with squishy or squeaky characteristics, those that promote cause-and-effect of water play, or those that incorporate water-safe sounds and lights.
• Cleaning efficacy
  While baths are all about cleanliness, toys routinely used without being thoroughly cleaned can grow and retain hazardous germs and bacteria. Select toys that are easy to clean, like those that you can throw in the dishwasher or brush down easily. The bottom of a bath toy organizer should have numerous small holes to allow water to drain quickly and freely. The holes allow water to drain, but they also allow air to circulate freely around the bath toys, enabling them to dry fast.

What Are the Different Types of Bath Toys?

• Squeeze toys
  Toys that can squeeze water into a stream assist your child in learning about how objects can function and teach very basic lessons in cause and effect. There are numerous small squeezy characters, ranging from fish to turtles, that your kid can use to squeeze water from the bath and then refill.
• Motion toys
  There are numerous colorful toys with moving elements that you can attach to the side of the bathtub or the tiles above it; pouring water into them causes water wheels to whirl, shoot out of holes, or cause small characters to move about inside.
• Floating toys
  Toys that float are particularly excellent since your baby may push or float them around the bathtub, inventing stories to stimulate their imagination.
• Classic bath toys
  You cannot beat traditional bath toys, and one of the most popular is the rubber toy. They also brighten up the bathroom, as they are now available in a variety of sizes

The Benefits of Using Bath Toys

• Assist in attention diversion
  While children’s minds are entirely focused on play, it is difficult for them to be bothered by the bathing experience. They will perceive everything as a game and go to any length to obtain their shampoos or even nail clippers. Bath toys help divert their attention away from you so that you can get on with your business.
• Make bathing fun
  Having bath toys in the bathtub can assist make the entire process more enjoyable for the children and help them forget about “bathing,” which is especially beneficial when it can be difficult to get them into the bathtub in the first place. Toys create a friendly and relaxed atmosphere inside the bathroom, perfect for keeping them occupied.
• Great bonding experience
  Bath time is an excellent opportunity for children to bond with their parents, and the experience gets improved even further with the addition of bath toys.
• Learn the importance of cleaning up
  Bath time with toys can assist your kid in understanding the benefit of cleaning up and organization before bed. Since bath time can get messy, parents like to clean up the bath space once the kids finish playing. Once your children learn to do that with you and get used to cleaning up the toys and emptying the water after shower time, they can take these organizational abilities as they grow. Setting a period for bath play right before bed will also assist them in understanding that once shower time is finished, it is time to go to sleep. This can make progress simpler, rather than sleep time coming off as a surprise to a child.

Facilitates developmental skills

• Sensory skills: The five senses—sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch—assist an infant in gathering and processing information about his environment.
• Gross motor skills: The coordination of the main muscle groups in the legs, arms, back, head, neck, and abdomen enables the infant to control his body and navigate his environment.
• Fine motor skills: Hand-eye coordination gets developed by developing minor muscle groups such as the fingers, hands, mouth, and eyes.
• Cognitive skills: This essential stage of development gets concerned with a child’s capacity to think, process information, learn and solve issues.
• Social skills: The ability of a child to engage with others, especially the ability to express feelings and wishes, enables him to communicate with his parents and other adults effectively.