Thanks to The Motherhood/JOHNSON’S® for sponsoring this post about Using Bath Time to Connect with Baby.
Most babies love bath time – and why shouldn’t they? Bath time is a multi-sensorial playground and gives babies another way to bond with their parents and use their senses to discover the world around them. For parents, bath time can sometimes be a chore. Another thing to check off that never ending to-do list. But by adding a few simple sensory components, bath time is more fun for baby and parent. Read on to discover how you can use Bath Time to Connect with Baby.
No one knows more about baby skin than JOHNSON’S®, who has been in the baby skin care business for more than 120 years. In that time, they have set the global standard for baby skin care. Their new research reveals the importance that multi-sensorial experiences have on healthy baby development. The JOHNSON’S® SO MUCH MORE™ campaign (#SoMuchMore) was created to help enhance rituals, such as bath time, to stimulate baby’s senses and give parents a chance to nurture their growing baby.
When we brought our infant twins home from the hospital, we were quick to establish a routine for them. A big part of that routine was giving them a bath each day. In addition to serving a practical purpose (keeping the girls clean), these bath times helped us to bond with our babies while facilitating their development.
One of our favorite ways to do this was to add bubbles to the bath. According to the findings of the JOHNSON’S® Global Baby Bath Report, playing with bubbles can help babies to develop hand-eye coordination and discover that objects exist even when they can’t be seen. This is a big lesson for little ones! The bubbles also stimulate baby senses through touch and smell, which are both closely tied to memory development. Besides all the research, bubbles are just fun! My daughter enjoyed having them on her body and watching them on her hands.
Since we had two babies at once, bath time was always a family affair. My husband and I worked together to make sure the girls were bathed. He would typically handle the washing and splashing, while I handled drying and massaging. He loved using a wash cloth to play peek a boo with the babies.In addition to being a necessity, baths also provided a wonderful bonding time for Dad and his girls. It turns out, many Dads are involved in bath time. Globally, Dads are playing a key role in bath time. According to JOHNSON’S® Global Baby Bath Report, 54% of dads are the primary bathers in their households. In a quarter of households (26%), bath time is a two-parent job. Does your husband ever bathe the baby? If not, see if he will take it on for a few nights in a row. To encourage bonding and developing the senses, have him add a baby massage, bubble play and song singing to the bath experience.
One of my favorite parts of the bath time routine was giving a massage to my babies after their baths. This was such a wonderful way for me to connect with my kids and research shows that infants who experienced routine touch and massage were 50% more likely to make eye contact and 3 times more likely to have an overall positive expression. Before I started a baby massage I would make sure my hands were warm. Running them under warm water for a minutes helped. I would use a lightly scented lotion to incorporate the sense of smell into the massage.
Some massage tips from JOHNSON’S®:
- Use slow and positive strokes
- Begin with a resting hand
- Begin on the legs
What makes bath time fun for your baby? Do you have any special pre or post bath rituals that you use? I’d love to hear about them, so please leave a comment below.
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