June 14th 2018 is International Bath Day!

On June 14th each year we celebrate International Bath Day. Why June 14th? Legend has it that on the 14th June, the mathematician and scientist Archimedes was taking a bath when he was struck by the sudden realisation that it was possible to accurately measure the volume of an irregularly shaped object by submerging it in water. He was so excited by the discovery that he jumped out of the bath and yelled 'Eureka!' ('I have found it!) while running through the streets.

International Bath Day is a day to remember that bath time can be fun, but can also promote amazing discoveries. It's a great day to celebrate bath time with children! Mine have always particularly enjoyed being in the bath. I remember when they were little reading a quote somewhere about how if your children were grumpy you should put them in water and it's so true. It calms them down and relaxes them, and as well as being fun it's a great way for them to learn about the world around them.

Photo credit Lubomirkin via Unsplash

You don't need fancy bath toys to help children learn and discover. A recent survery conducted in the US for International Bath Day revealed that 84.3% of parents use plastic cups, bowls and other items around the house during bath time with their child and this is definitely me - they've always loved making 'soup' and pouring water from one container to another, and I save interesting plastic bottles and containers to add to their bath toy collection. It's a great way to teach cause and effect, help them to learn about the properties of water and how it can be used and manipulated. In fact 73% of the respondents in the survey believed that it's important to use bath time with children as a time to explore and discover.

92.6% of the parents surveyed said that bath time is a time to bond with your child and I definitely agree with that. Because you can't leave a child unsupervised in the bath it means that they have your full attention which is great for you both, and gives you the opportunity to interact with them without any distractions.

I don't always save bath time for bed time either. 89.3% of parents said that they look forward to seeing their child relaxed and happy after bath time and that's very true for me. Sometimes if we don't have anywhere to go during the day and the children are starting to get a bit bored and crotchety they always lighten up at the thought of a bath because it calms them down and gives them something new to focus on.

I'll definitely be making a special effort to celebrate International Bath Day today with my children and making the most of this time we have together before they get too old to want me in the bathroom with them!

Do you enjoy bath time with your children?

Photo credit Andrew Wulf via Unsplash

This is a collaborative post. You can see more information about the bathtime survey and view results here - American parents weigh in on the importance of bath time.