{"id":2340,"date":"2016-08-18T13:46:09","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T17:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/?page_id=2340"},"modified":"2025-04-19T20:51:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T00:51:20","slug":"7-bath-time-ideas","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/7-bath-time-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Games For Bath Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bath time is a great time to work on the words for body parts as well as the concepts of wet and dry and action words like splash, jump, pour, wash and rinse. There are other concepts too, like full and empty, or sticks and doesn\u2019t stick. Here are some ideas for how to work on these things while giving your child a bath.<\/p>\n

1. REPETITIVE BATH TIME PHRASES TO TEACH THE WORDS WET, DRY, AND BODY PART WORDS<\/b><\/h3>\n

When you first put the baby in the bath, most of her body will be dry. Again, use simple, repetitive phrases to teach these concepts. For example, point to your child\u2019s tummy and say, \u201cNow Baby\u2019s\u00a0tummy is dry<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d Then pour some water onto her tummy and say, \u201cNow, Baby\u2019s tummy is wet<\/em><\/strong>!\u201d Then point to, or touch, your child\u2019s arm and say, \u201cNow Baby\u2019s arm is dry<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d Then pour water on her arm and say, \u201cNow Baby\u2019s arm is wet<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d \u201cNow Baby\u2019s shoulder is dry<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d \u201cNow Baby\u2019s shoulder is wet<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d and so on. After you have done this routine several times, try using the CLOZE (filling in) procedure to see if your child will fill in the words. Having the warm water wash over her body should feel nice to her. If so, pouring the water may be a great natural reinforcer for saying the words wet and dry. You can use the same phrasing to demonstrate wet and dry with your washcloths and sponges too. Let your child touch the dry washcloth and say, \u201cNow the washcloth is dry<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d Then dunk it under the water and say, \u201cNow the washcloth is _____.\u201d Wait for your child to fill in the word \u201cwet.” If she doesn\u2019t, prompt her or just fill it in for her.<\/p>\n

You can change it to focus more on body part words instead of wet and dry. You could point to her arm and hold the cup of water over it while saying, \u201cI\u2019m going to pour water on your arm<\/em><\/strong>!\u201d Then do the same for the tummy saying, \u201cI\u2019m going to pour water on your tummy<\/em><\/strong>!\u201d and so on. Once she learns the routine, you can pause before pouring the water to see if she will try to say the word, especially once she figures out that the next pour of water will be the reward.<\/p>\n

2. USING BATH FOAM AND BUBBLES TO TEACH BODY PARTS<\/b><\/h3>\n

Using bubble bath or bath foam, which has the consistency of shaving cream, place bubbles or foam on different parts of your face and your child\u2019s face, labeling \u201cMommy\u2019s nose, Baby\u2019s nose,\u201d or \u201cMommy\u2019s cheek, Baby\u2019s cheek.\u201d\u00a0You can also offer choices for where to put the bath foam next. For example, you could ask, \u201cShould I put it on your\u00a0hand or your belly?\u201d while pointing to each in turn. Once you have put it on, then wipe it off and say, \u201cAll gone!\u201d<\/p>\n

With a slightly older child, you can also use this game to work on the concept of possession and the pronouns, \u201cmy\u201d \u201cyour\u201d \u201cmine\u201d and \u201cyours.\u201d Just change the key words. Instead of saying \u201con and off,\u201d say, \u201cmy nose\u201d and \u201cyour nose.\u201d<\/p>\n