Sensory Bath Play: 6 Easy Water Play Ideas for Kids

Sensory play doesn't need a sensory table or a big clean-up. Your bath already has the water, the space and the drain. Here are six easy ways to turn bath time into sensory water play for kids aged 3 and up.

What is sensory play?

Sensory play is play that uses the senses: feeling, seeing, hearing and smelling. Water play is one of the easiest kinds. Kids pour, splash, squeeze and watch things change.

1. Colour pop experiments

Drop a Colour Bath Pop into the water and watch it burst into fizzy colour. Add a second colour and see what happens: red and yellow make orange, blue and yellow make green.

2. Hold the fizz

Give your child a kids bath bomb to hold under the water. They'll feel it bubble and tickle as the colour swirls out. Our colours don't stain hands, so it's messy play without the mess, with a sponge toy to find at the end.

3. Rainbow potions

Shake in some Bath Sprinkles colour bath powder and watch three layers of colour spiral up and blend. Add cups for pouring and stirring, and the bath becomes a potion lab.

4. Grow your own toys

Pop a Bath Bean into warm water and wait for the sponge toys to unfold and grow. Guessing which animal appears first is half the fun.

5. Sponge squeeze and stamp

After the bath, collect the sponge toys. Squeeze them, line them up, sort them by colour, or dip them in paint for a stamping session.

6. Take it outside

On a warm day, fill a tub in the garden and add Bath Sprinkles or a Colour Bath Pop for colourful outdoor water play.

Safe sensory play

Our bath bombs, Bath Beans and Bath Sprinkles are suitable for ages 3 and up, due to the size of the sponge toys. They carry the CE mark and are tested to EN71, ISO 8124 and ASTM F963-23. Our bath bombs, Bath Sprinkles and Colour Bath Pops use food-grade colours, are dermatologically tested and won't stain. Always supervise children in and around water.

Quick answers

What is sensory play?
Play that engages the senses. Water play in the bath is one of the easiest kinds.

What are good sensory bath toys?
Fizzing colour tablets, bath bombs, colour bath powder and sponge toys that grow.

Is it messy?
No. The colours only change the water and rinse away.

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