The surprising ways bathtime builds your child’s brain

Watch your child in the bath and you’ll see a curious explorer at work. They discover that bubbles bounce, water splashes, and some toys float while others sink. All this sensory exploration builds essential neural connections that support learning and development.

When it’s just you and your child, face to face, bathtime becomes a natural opportunity to connect, play and develop your baby’s brain. The Bath Set includes thoughtfully designed tools for building language, cognitive and fine motor skills.
You don’t need to make every bath an elaborate learning session—sometimes the most meaningful moments happen when you simply slow down and enjoy being together ♥️ Giving them your focused attention and always staying within arm’s reach is wonderful for bonding and, of course, essential for safety.

Build language skills naturally
It may come as a surprise, but the bath tub is actually one of the best language learning environments in your home. For your child to learn a new word—its sound and meaning—they often need to hear it dozens of times in context. Since bathtime is part of their regular routine, you can practise the same words over and over again.

But the real secret ingredient is you. You’re right there, you can make eye contact and chat back and forth. Research shows joint attention—focusing on the same thing at the same time as your child—is a highly effective way to build vocabulary.

Start with their first sounds. Babies typically begin babbling around 6 to 9 months. Some of the first babbling sounds they’ll probably try—m, b and p—are all a big part of bathtime. Here are some of our speech experts’ favourites: mirror, more, mix, mess; bubble, bath, boat, ball, book; pour, push, pop, puddle. As you interact with your baby, repeat and emphasise words that begin with these early sounds: “Look how the b‑b‑bubble pops!”

Learn body part names
As you help them wash, label and point to body parts they can easily see—arm, leg, belly, toes. Use the I See You Bath Mirror to show them parts of their face, like their nose, eyes and ears. Repeat the names of these parts when you pour water on them, rinse, dry and apply lotion.

Practise positional words
Between 12 and 18 months, most toddlers begin to understand the meaning of positional words like in and out. Invite your toddler to discover all the places the Shake & Splash Bath Ball can go in and come out, like the Peek-A-Boo Boat, the In Then Out Bath Tube, the Fast & Slow Water Wheel, and the back of the I See You Bath Mirror as it floats face-down. Emphasise the positional words as you say, “Put the ball IN!” and “Take the ball OUT!”

Describe the action as it happens
Speech-language experts want parents to incorporate more functional language during play. Simple verbs like fill, scoop, spin, drain and splash are important action words that will help your child communicate more effectively with you. As they collect water in the Scoop & Spin Bath Cup, you can say, “Scoop!” then watch the water make the spinner twirl and say, “Spin!” As their language skills grow, try using more elaborate sentences: “Can you fill the cup? Wow, look at it spin when the water drains out! Splash!”

Play a peek-a-boo game
Place the Shake & Splash Bath Ball on the Peek-A-Boo Boat, and then cover it with the Scoop & Spin Bath Cup. Ask your child: “Where did the ball go?” Connect the question to a gesture by putting your arms out to the side with your palms up.

Encourage exploration, thinking, and discovery
Make the most of your child’s natural curiosity with simple activities that build important cognitive skills:

• Make cause and effect come alive: As your baby holds the handle of the Scoop & Spin Bath Cup, pour water into it so they can see the spinner twirl. Try varying how much you pour and how high you pour from to help them connect a specific action to what happens next. For an older child, show them what happens if they drag the cup on its side through the water at different speeds, then invite them to try.
• Let them discover themselves: Your baby won’t realise it’s their own reflection until around 18 months, but they’ll love looking at the friendly face in the I See You Bath Mirror 🙂 When the mirror is floating, try covering it with bubbles that your child can wipe away or wash away with water to reveal their reflection.
• Help them understand abstract concepts: Use the Big & Little Duck to make concepts like colours and counting more tangible. For example, you can say, “This duck is yellow” or “One yellow duck jumps in the water, then one white duck jumps in the water—now there are two ducks in the water.” As your child gets older, you can use more complex language and ask questions: “Little duck fits in the boat. Can two ducks fit in the boat?” or “Can the two ducks push the red ball back and forth?”
• Do a little experiment: Mount the In Then Out Bath Tube vertically with the cap at the bottom and shut. Put the Shake & Splash Bath Ball or Big & Little Duck in the tube and let your child pour water in to see what happens. Hint: It floats to the top as the water rises in the tube.

Develop dexterity and hand-eye coordination
All that splashing and pouring is actually developing the small muscle control your child will need for everything from using utensils to writing letters.

• Practise pouring and scooping: The Scoop & Spin Bath Cup requires your child to coordinate their grip and wrist movement as they collect and pour water. Learning to use both of their hands together is also an important foundational skill.
• Build hand strength through play: Show your child how to remove the plug at the bottom of the In Then Out Bath Tube and pull apart the bands of the Fast & Slow Water Wheel. These motions help strengthen the small muscles in their hands and fingers.

Support bilateral coordination: To play with the In Then Out Bath Tube, your child will have to hold the tube steady with one hand and pour water with the other—a skill they’ll need for future tasks like cutting with scissors or tying their shoes.

The Bath Set

Make the most of bathtime with a fun set of playthings that support learning through sensory exploration.

Learn more