Playing at Bath Time

Materials You Need: Bath toys or a few plastic cups or dishes.   

What You Can Do Together: Use bath time to encourage thinking and cognitive development. Take a few plastic cups and explore the cause and effect together. Fill the cup with water and when the glass is full, show your child that it sinks. Hold the cup high in the air and show them how the water spills out when you tip the cup.  

Describe what is happening as you do this activity by saying, “Oh, look at the cup! It's going down, down in the water. There it goes!" With your help, bathing gives her/him the opportunity to understand how things work, while also having a lot of fun. Encourage various types of movement and encourage your child to join in by smiling and praising them when you see them experiment with something new. Bath time also gives your child a chance to show many different emotions—excitement, curiosity, or sadness when realizing bath time is finished. Notice and enjoy your child's growing ability to express all kinds of emotions. 

You can do this activity at bath time, or to support your baby's exploration with various materials, you can also complete this activity with sand, gravel or dry rice. Always be cautious, as your baby might want to put these materials in their mouth. 

What Your Child is Learning: With this activity your child can slowly understand how things are interconnected and develop understanding and logic. This activity will also aid your child’s motor development.