Bath Time is Key to Baby’s Development

Back when we first brought Josh home from the hospital, I was a new mom with all of the fears and worries that come along with being responsible for a baby and feeling like you have no idea what you are doing. I have to give credit to our local hospital who did an awesome job teaching me the basics of diaper changing and bath giving.

When we got home and attempted to give him a bath ourselves, it did not go quite as smoothly as I had pictured in my head. In fact, Josh screamed through the entire thing and all of the cute bath time pictures I had planned on snapping quickly turned into photographic evidence of this torture we were inflicting on our poor baby. (I’m pretty sure that how his version of it would have gone!)

 

Luckily, Josh quickly grew to love bath time and the screaming ceased and happy coos and giggles took their place. Most of the time, my husband and I would give Josh his bath together (he was a squirmer and it took a while before I felt comfortable enough to hold him with one hand and wash with the other). We gave him a bath every night and it was a great way to bond as a family and also signal to him that it was time to wind down. While I know that some thought this was a bit odd, studies show that in over 25% of households, bathing is a two parent activity.

Bath time was always an interactive experience. We sang, we played with toys, we talked about the day (when Josh was old enough to talk anyways). Anyone who knows Josh knows that he is always full of questions about everything, so sometimes our bath time conversations would get pretty involved. But it was also one of the few times I could get him to sit still and listen without distractions, so I took full advantage of them!

 

 

I hadn’t done any research on the best things to do during bath time, I just took cues from what Josh enjoyed and he loved singing and playing with bubbles. It turns out that playing with bubbles is actually shown to improve a baby’s hand-eye coordination, so I guess I did okay!

Actually, according to studies referenced in the infographic below, a lot of what we did instinctively helped Josh to develop the skills and reach the milestones that he needed to be successful. And here we thought we were just having fun!

https://staging.wisconsinmommy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Johnsons-Infographic.pdf

This information is brought to you through a compensated partnership with Johnson’s and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.