What is bathtime like in your house?

• Busy?
• Stressful?
• Fun?
• Action packed?

Bathtime has always been lots of fun in our house. It is busy of course but it has always been one of the children’s favourite parts of the day.

Bathtime creates so many opportunities to share special moments with your children, as well as creating great learning opportunities. Bathtime should never be just about getting clean, it’s so much more than you might think.

This year, as part of JOHNSON’S® campaign SO MUCH MORE™, the UK’s number one baby skincare brand is helping parents to better understand that bath time is so much more than cleansing; it’s a ritual that allows parents to unlock the full power of baby’s senses and provide parents an opportunity to nurture baby’s ability to learn, think, love and grow.

1)      Splashing:

Research shows that splashing during bath time can help a baby to learn cause and effect by understanding that their hands hitting the water will have an impact – we are not short of this at home, the children all try to out do each other, who will make the biggest splash?

2)      Singing:

Studies show that singing and speaking to your baby will help them to develop a larger vocabulary by the age of two. By the age of three, the number of words a child hears and can recognise is also linked to their academic success – with four children it is never quiet for long and everyone gets excited on a daily basis when the little ones say new words.

3)      Popping Bubbles:

Playing with bubbles in the bath can help babies to develop better hand-eye coordination skills by encouraging them to link up what the eyes and hands are doing in order to pop the bubbles – we love bubbles and foam and the children have a lot of fun with these.

4)      Bath time toys:

Parents should encourage their baby to play with bath time toys like rubber ducks. By holding the toys under the water, it teaches a baby about object permanence by helping them discover that objects exist even when they cannot be seen – bath toys are great but they do have a shelf life so don’t spend a fortune on them. Some of the best we have had have been the cheapest, although we do love our Tomy Ice Cream Maker which all the children enjoy playing with in the bath. The children also love things like bath crayons and we sometimes even use glow sticks and have a sensory bath.

5)      Bath time fragrances:

Studies have shown that after bathing with fragranced bath products:

• 30% of babies displayed more engagement cues with their parent
• Spent nearly 25% less time crying

SO MUCH MORE™ can help parents understand the role bath time can play. The campaign highlights that bath time is so much more than cleansing; it’s a ritual that allows parents to unlock the full power of baby’s senses and provide parents an opportunity to nurture baby’s ability to learn, think, love and grow. Through the campaign, JOHNSON’S® is advancing research that reveals the importance of multi-sensorial experiences that can lead to happy, healthy baby development.

To explore the power of bath time further visit:  www.johnsonsbaby.co.uk/So-Much-More