Bath time for small children is generally fun and relaxing for them, and a time of constant supervision for parents and carers. Most children are bathed before dinnertime to get them clean after a day of mess-making and to wind them down before dinnertime and bedtime.
Bath products have proliferated over the last 20 years, and now there are so many choices of different products. Here are just a few:

Baths
Most children prefer a bath as the sound or sensation of falling water can be disconcerting for them. Most homes have a bath, however if yours doesn’t, there are some good alternatives. Flexi Bath is a fantastic product offering a sizeable fold up bath for infants, toddlers and small children, available in modern colours that can be positioned into shower recesses or outdoors. This product can be folded up completely flat for easy storage or travel. Munchkin sells a cute Ducky Bath for infants and toddlers that also makes bath-time fun.

Bath Seats
There is also another range of bath products on the market involving bath positioning. These products are designed to position a child (who is able to sit upright) in a bath as comfortably as possible, minimising back-bending work by parents and carers. Safety 1st offer a Complete Care 4 Stage Bath Centre, which essentially is a bath set that offers ease of bathing from a newborn to a toddler through a cleverly designed adjustable bath. Mother’s Choice sell a product called Bath Easy which is a sturdy support placed in the bath so parent’s and carer’s hands are free to bath baby. Dreambaby sell two different types of Fold Away Bath Seats, which are great for positioning a baby in a seated position in a big bath.

Bath Safety
There are a number of obvious perils associated with a bath or shower recess, and thankfully Dreambaby has them covered. This company sells a large range of safety products including Non-Slip Bath Mats and Non-Slip Bath Tub Strips. I remember my heavily pregnant sister-in-law was rushed to hospital after falling heavily in the bath, so keep in mind that these are not only for children. The same company also sells Bath Tub Thermometers and innovative Heat Sensing Bath Appliques , that change colour if the bath water is too hot. One of their more popular products is an inflatable Soft Spout Covers – simple in design but saves nasty knocks to soft little heads.Bath toysEvery child loves bath time and especially their bath toys. Tommee Tippee and Jolly Baby sells the usual range of Duckies and Bath Time Friends, but a new company on the market, Boon, sell some really fun bath games like a Floating Ring Toss and floating Water Bugs, that will keep children amused until the water goes cold. To keep everything together, place them in a Dreambaby Bath Toy Bag that suctions to the bathroom wall and drains the wet toys nicely.

Cleaning Baby
Now you have all the necessary equipment, it’s time to clean! There is a huge array of bath products, which can be a bit overwhelming for the average parent. There are shampoos, shampoo and conditioners, soap bars (a dying product line), liquid soaps (on the increase), soap-free skin cleaners, organic cleansers...the list goes on. There are a number of trends regarding cleaning a baby, such as ‘layering’- similar to what happens in the perfume industry, where skin is washed with a particular fragrance, then conditioned with the same fragrance. Another trend is products containing an ingredient to help baby relax and get a good night’s rest (now this is a good thing) and premium organic products are becoming more popular.

But where to start? Let’s start with bath additives, namely bubble baths. Now the vast majority of bubble baths are basically just detergent and often cause skin irritation, especially around the bottom and genital areas of young babies and children. My advice is that if you really want bubbles, go natural. Burts Bees is a great product range that sells a Bubble Bath which is plant-based, over 98% natural, and is kind to baby’s sensitive skin and eyes.

There are a lot of baby washes on the market. Johnson' baby is a market leader with products such as Top-to-Toe , Moisturising Bath , Bedtime Bath , Milk Bath and Baby Bath . They also sell a range called Soothing Naturals Soothing Naturals including Moisture Rich Bath. Aveeno is another popular commercial product range selling Wash & Shampoo and Soothing Relief Creamy Wash. There are a number of companies that also sell a quality range of organic bathing products, which are becoming very popular. Wotnot Organic Babywash is an all natural product, so is Gaia Bath and Body Wash . Remember, when using any baby wash products, use them sparingly, as it is totally unnecessary to work your little one into a soapy lather, unless of course they have been rolling around in mud all day...

Shampoo
Young hair only needs to be cleaned about once a week with a small amount of very mild shampoo. If you want to use commercial brands, Johnson's Baby Shampoo is iconic, as is their Baby Conditioning Shampoo . Gaia also provides a great organic Baby Shampoo. A trend in these types of products is to be multi-functional – that is to wash the body and hair. These are quite convenient as they eliminate the need for two different products, such as Gaia Hair & Body Wash. Johnson's also has a fun, fruity fragrant range for children called Kids Top-to-Toe , which encourages children to be more autonomous in the bath. Burt’s Bees sells a tear-free Shampoo and Wash, made from natural products that smells great.

Talc
Talcum powder is the last thing applied to a baby after bathing to gently absorb excess moisture to keep skin soft and dry. These days, most talcs are based on cornstarch, which is more natural and less astringent than traditional talcum powder, which is slowly being phased out. Curash make an Anti-Rash Baby Powder with Cornstarch, Johnson's make aPure Cornstarch Talc, and both Burt’s Bees and Gaia offer Talc Free products.

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