We have a little system going at our house. After dinner, I take K upstairs for her bath and bedtime prep and L cleans up downstairs (a.k.a. watches Silicon Valley with a Swiffer Duster in his hands). I have picked up a few habits that I think have helped bath time go rather smoothly, and I thought I would share them! 

1) Bubble Bath: There was a time when K would scream and run away from the bath. Then there were those other times when K wouldn’t let anyone but me bathe her. That was fun! Ever since I introduced bubble bath, we have very few bath protests. Bath time bubbles are these magical things that somehow make everything better. Our favorite is Tubby Todd bubble bath, but I recently discovered that I can use their Hair & Body Wash as bubble bath too meaning it now serves THREE purposes!

2) Play Music: I am a big proponent of listening to music in the shower. I even remember having one of those radios that hung from my shower caddy and required D batteries. Anyway, I usually play some sort of music during bath time (preferably my own mix on my phone). If I’m feeling ambitious, I look up kids songs playlists on Apple Music, too. We have a bath time dance party and it makes us all a little happier!

3) Use Household Items as Bath Toys: K loves playing with kitchen items such as bowls to pour and dump water while she’s in the bath. While we were on vacation, I used an empty water bottle as a water toy, because we didn’t bring all of her bath toys along with us. She loved it! And it actually doubled as a way to rinse to her hair without getting soap and water in her eyes. 

4) Stick to a Routine: Having honed this routine over the past year or so, we always start the water, dump out bath toys, do bubble bath, wash body, wash hair, brush teeth, clean up bath toys, and then drain the water. Bath time always concludes with wrapping K in a towel and singing to her. After bath is diaper time, lotion, brush hair, and PJs. This routine has really helped us stay on track and check everything off our bedtime prep list! It has also freed up some time after bath to just relax, read books, and wind down for bed. 

5) Switch Up Responsibilities: If you have a willing and able partner, switch roles on occasion. As much as I love spending time with my daughter, sometimes I really need a break from K. So I let L take over bath time, and I do the dishes or whatever. It gives L time to bond with K, and more times than not, I find myself refreshed and ready to resume bath time responsibilities the following day.