Bathtime - a splashin' good time or a chore

 Okay, parents, here's a question for you! Is bath time a fun, happy time or is it more like a chore? I think the majority is split 50-50.  For me, I think to when my girls were young, I looked forward to that nightly ritual of bubbles and puddles on the floor and laughter and warm towels fresh out of the dryer.  Those two little slippery bodies were happy and playing and getting clean.  I felt like I was the best mom in those moments.

 But there are parents that groan at the mere mention of baths.  (That's okay!)  It is seen more like a chore than anything else.  That water on the floor has to be mopped up.  I have more water on my than the kiddos.  I get it.  I have definitely had those moments.

I looked forward to it, because we would bring toys into the tub and create sea-worthy stories of elephants sailing across the ocean to discover new lands and new friends and even new foes! Sharks or alligators inevitably crashed our boats and created drama and new story lines.

Pretend play in the bath tub has the same benefits as dry land pretend play :) Children use their imaginations to tell a story, build vocabulary, role play.  In the bathtub, there is the added layer of water play or sensory.  And the kiddos get clean at the same time! 

Embrace this fleeting time called childhood.  It will soon be over and they will become smelly teenagers! I jest but as a mom of two college-aged daughters, I can tell you that I look back on those nightly bathtub tsunamis with great delight.

Have a fun and playful day!

Mel

(photo credit @stephanimcnally on instagram)