Bubble Baths with Mr. Bubble
February 24, 2007 by Kerri Aldrich
Filed under Baby Things, General Play Library Goodies
If your house is like ours, time seems to come in short supply….certainly, at least, less than what was budgeted for the day. And, if your house is like mine, that means that most routine and everyday tasks are streamlined in an attempt to complete as many tasks as possible. Is this familiar to anyone so far? 
What I began to realize was that activities and routines that were once part of our winding down, relaxing, taking it easy time had began to get rushed along with everything else in the day. This included bath times for the kids. When my oldest was a toddler, every bath time included a tub full of toys and tons of bubbles…maybe that’s an exaggeration. (Can you imagine how many bubbles it would require to make a ton of them!?!) She would sit and splash until she was tired of it, or until the water turned cold and her fingers and toes turned pruney, whichever came first (usually cold and pruney).
As our boys were added to the family, what used to be a fun routine turned into a race you might find in a sporting event (we’ll call it the 3×2 minute relay). Kids are cycled through the shower as quickly as possible to get everyone in bed on time. And, well, it is quite an efficient activity (just ask Bald Man, it’s his job ).
The other day, though, we’d been stuck in the house because of the snow and such, and we were all going a bit nuts right about the middle of the day. I was excited, because I realized that I’d finally remembered to pick up a bottle of Mr. Bubble Original Bubble Bath. I particularly like this one because it gets good and bubbly even though we have hard, city water.
I called the boys upstairs, filled the tub to the brim with a frothy bubbliness, and set them to play. They laughed, squealed, and splashed for a good long while. I hadn’t realized how very few times our youngest has had the joy of just a nice long bath. He couldn’t have had more fun, couldn’t have been more pruney and wrinkled, and we added one more activity to our list of anti-cabin fever activities.
What routine activities do you like to turn into playtime?
Bathtime does seem like a chore sometimes. My kids have a blast though. Our bathroom is very close to our kitchen, so bathtime sometimes enables me to clean up the dinner dishes or a chance to wipe the spaghetti off the floor.
Karen: Always good when you can safely accomplish two tasks at once!
Mr. Bubble. I miss him. Can’t seem to find him around here too much.
I make an extra effort to give my girls at least a 1/2 hour every night to wind down, and that includes a bath with buggles, spashing and toys. It makes such a difference to getting them to bed!
Yep we love the bath as a cure for cabin fever on rainy days. I always opt for one which is sodium laurel sulphate free, is this?
Other fav rainy day activity at the moment is making play dough, adding food colouring, then adding a different colour and see what new colour the mix makes, then adding a few drops of vanilla essence, and THEN adding glitter … the activity lasts for hours!
SNOW! You get snow. My children would freak out if they saw white stuff falling from the sky,as they have never seen it.
Bath time with 2 girls is the best way for us to confine them while we clean up behind them. They have a great time playing in the bath, and I get to pick up without someone pulling out as fast as I can put away.
Shannon: It is important to have that wind down time, isn’t it? They seem to be able to settle into sleeping so much better when they’ve had it. Thanks for commenting!
Rebecca: The one I bought is “Extra Gentle,” but is not free of the ingredient you mentioned. The playdoh making activity sounds perfect for a cabin fever day! We’ve done the different colors, but nothing more. Thanks for the ideas to help us drag out the playdoh a bit more! Thanks for visiting.
Hi Angel! Yes, snow!!! It is fun, though one day the snow was quickly turned into a big sheet of ice. Then I spent the whole day saying, “No, we can’t go out and play.”
The giggly joy of Mr. Bubble baths has now segued nicely into a love of luxurious, silky lavender bubble times for me (which I never get enough of!) My son was fascinated with numbers from a very early age, so helping in the kitchen became part of his playtime as he measured each item for me.
First time visitor from the Carnival of Family Life. Thanks for sharing!
skeet: So glad you stopped by.
I do enjoy a nice bubble bath, but they happen so infrequently! And I’m really enjoying the menu so far this week. Just have to keep it up!
Fantastic post about recognizing the importance of spontaneity and enjoying life. One of the ones we turn into play time is doing dishes family style – I find my attitude can turn anything into fun or misery.
Hugs,
Holly
Holly’s Corner
Here via the Carnival of Family Life
Ah, there’s nothing like a good bubble bath.
Here via the carnival of family life.
Lisa: I agree! Thanks for commenting.
Holly: Thanks.
I completely agree about the attitude. I need to be more fun!
Sometimes I get so caught up in getting my daughter ready for bed that I forget that she’s a child that just wants to have fun. More bubble baths are a great idea!
Here from the Carnival of Family Life
Kailani: We had a day full of baths again today, and they each loved their playtime with the bubbles and the (toy) fish. I hope they don’t outgrow this aspect of childhood!