3 tips for a better bath time

Bath time can be fun, safe and productive if you take the necessary precautions. We all know the important ones, namely to never look away, but there are other tips and tricks that can make bath time safer, cleaner and more fun, too.

Plastic bath toys, such as a child's floating rubber duck, often have small holes that allow water to seep inside. Contaminated by sloughed-off skin cells and waste matter in the bath, this trapped water can breed unhealthy bacteria, so clean after each use. Here's how:

1. Squeeze the toy to remove as much bath water as possible.
2. Then, submerge it in a mild bleach solution (one part household bleach to 15 parts water) and squeeze it to suck in the bleach solution.
3. Shake the toy and then let it sit for 10 minutes before squeezing out the cleaning solution.
4. In a separate container filled with clean water, rinse the toy using the same procedure before drying the now-safe toy for the next bath.

Raid your kitchen drawers and storage cabinets for plain kitchen and utility sponges of all sizes and colours. Cut them into different shapes and your little one can play stacking games with floating circles, triangles, stars, crescent moons, leaves, keyholes and whatever else you can come up with. Before turning the playthings over to your child for the first time, disinfect used sponges by either soaking them in a mild chlorine bleach solution and rinsing well or wetting them and microwaving on high for one to two minutes.

Turn a large plastic mesh produce bag from the supermarket into a storage bag for bath toys. Be sure to remove any metal staples or plastic tags. After your child's bath, put bath toys into the bag and rinse them under running water. Then hang the bag from a faucet handle or shower head so the toys can drip-dry.

Tips:

• Avoid string bags made of natural materials, which can become mouldy and harbour germs.
• If a plastic mesh bag has a paper label, soak it off in warm water.
• If the bag's drawstring isn't strong, replace it; a length of plastic-coated clothesline, knotted tightly, works well.

Your baby or toddler will be all smiles in the bath with these fun ideas!