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Home » Uncategorized » Kids' Corner » Fun with the Little Ones » Messy Play in the Bath

Messy Play in the Bath

Fun with the Little Ones, Kids' Corner

I have said it before: I am not a fan of messy play. I still want my children to grow up having fun and getting opportunities to get dirty just for fun.

My mum bought them finger paints and stamps in the summer. I was dreading the time they would ask to play with them to be honest. As they asked paint the bath on Thursday night, I thought those paints would be perfect! I let them paint the bath before and they loved it!

Messy Play in the Bath - Finger Paints

I gave them the paints, the stamps and three paintbrushes.

Messy Play in the Bath - Stamps

After they got undressed, they went in the empty bathtub, with instructions to paint the bath only, not the whole bathroom!

Messy Play in the Bath - Painting the Bath

As they were washable finger paints, I was not worried about them getting paint all over themselves.

Messy Play in the Bath - Messy

 

They had the time of their life, and even painted each other!

 

Once they had had enough, I have them soap to clean themselves as well as the bath and I rinsed them quickly.

We then filled the bath, adding lots of bubble bath to end on a fun not and make sure there was no paint left anywhere. Apart from a bit of soap in their eyes, it was all giggles and smiles!

Messy Play in the Bath - Bubbles

It was simple, improvised fun and even though it was a particularly messy activity, it did not leave anything for me to tidy; just a shiny bath and three clean kids!


 

06/10/2014 · 46 Comments

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Comments

  1. adeline says

    06/10/2014 at 8:42 am

    Là MOI JE PEUX PAS, MËME DANS LA BAIGNOIRE!!!, je te jure rien que de le voir j’ai envie de nettoyer!!!!! voilà qquns de mes tocs. Quand Léa était malade la psy avait dit:” laisser la jouer avec la nourriture, ça doit redevenir un jeu, un plaisir” mais je peux pas, même dehors, faut que je débarbouille!!!!

    Reply
    • Mel says

      06/10/2014 at 11:20 am

      Oui mais bon, jouer avec la nourriture, c’est autre chose. Je ne pourrais pas les laisser faire (faut pas pousser!), et puis dans le bain, tu ne peux pas, il n’y a pas de baignoire chez toi! Il faut que tu essaies dans la douche, Léa adorerait (et puis elle te la nettoiera avant que tu la laves!). xxxx

      Reply
  2. Louise (perry) fairweather says

    06/10/2014 at 9:15 am

    I can just about cope with messy stuff in the bath…..just x

    Reply
    • Mel says

      06/10/2014 at 10:25 pm

      Same here. They did have a lot of fun and there was no mess in sight afterwards!

      Reply
  3. Karen Bell says

    06/10/2014 at 11:16 am

    Wow, I bet they enjoyed that! It looks like so much fun. We’ve not tried painting in the bath before, but is a great idea. #MagicMoments

    Reply
    • Mel says

      06/10/2014 at 10:28 pm

      They loved it! We had done it before and they kept asking me to do it again. It was a nice treat for them!

      Reply
  4. Sara (@mumturnedmom) says

    06/10/2014 at 2:22 pm

    Fabulous! We haven’t done this for awhile, and the last time was with shaving foam paint 🙂 I have some bath paints which I keep forgetting about, must find them x #MagicMoments

    Reply
    • Mel says

      06/10/2014 at 10:39 pm

      Go on, look for them, Sara! The kids will love it.

      Reply
  5. seychellesmama says

    06/10/2014 at 3:34 pm

    What a great idea Mel! You know about my bad experience with messy play haha so this might well be the future!!!

    Reply
    • Mel says

      06/10/2014 at 10:42 pm

      It is as messy as messy gets, but as easy as it can be to clean: they do it themselves happily!

      Reply
  6. thenthefunbegan says

    06/10/2014 at 3:44 pm

    Brilliant idea Mel! I wish I’d thought of that. My kids also love washing things down too so that’s win win! 🙂 X

    Reply
    • Mel says

      06/10/2014 at 10:44 pm

      It is, isn’t it?

      Reply
  7. lystramaisey says

    07/10/2014 at 4:28 pm

    Hello there, I understand what you mean about messy play but I think this looks pretty good-especially painting each other! Maybe this could be something from Father Christmas-perfect for the gloomy winter months! x #magicmoments

    Reply
    • Mel says

      22/10/2014 at 11:10 am

      Last year, I had this as one of their advent calendar activities and they really loved it, especially the first time as they did not expect me to allow them to paint the bath… or themselves!

      Reply
      • lystramaisey says

        22/10/2014 at 9:28 pm

        Brilliant!

        Reply
  8. liquoriceuk says

    07/10/2014 at 8:27 pm

    That’s a brilliant idea – never thought about doing something like that in the bath. We did footprint painting in the garden in the summer and used the paddling pool to clean off in afterwards which made it so much less stressful for me! Will have to try getting out the finger paints in the bath – Jessica would love it! 🙂

    Reply
    • Mel says

      08/10/2014 at 6:39 am

      I love your idea of footprint painting in the garden. We will be doing that next Summer! X

      Reply
  9. The Free From Fairy says

    08/10/2014 at 11:15 am

    OK! Brilliant idea! I hate mess too…it is very hard when you have kids though isn’t it? I try my hardest not to let it stop them doing things but there are a few things that I have to put a stop to!!! This is great though…I could cope with mess in the bath…although knowing my two they would have the whole bathroom covered!!

    Reply
    • Mel says

      09/10/2014 at 8:46 pm

      I know, it is incredibly difficult to keep things under control! You think you have a room sorted to realise they have smeared chocolate all over the walls next door, and written on their arms and legs with permanent markers…

      Reply
  10. Viv'Maman_Bas says

    08/10/2014 at 1:00 pm

    Ah ça me tente bien ça… Sachant que c’est pas trop mon truc non plus le messy play avec ma moquette beige partout (qui morfle tous les jours…). C’est de la peinture spéciale ? Les enfants adoreraient !

    Reply
    • Mel says

      08/10/2014 at 1:19 pm

      C’est juste des ‘finger paints’, que tu peux trouver au £ shop, Hobbycraft ou faire toi-même (recette : https://lecoindemel.com/edible-gluten-free-finger-paint/). xxx

      Reply
      • Viv'Maman_Bas says

        08/10/2014 at 1:35 pm

        ok, je vais me pencher sur la question 🙂 – Merci !

        Reply
        • Mel says

          08/10/2014 at 3:10 pm

          De rien ma belle!

          Reply
  11. ToInfinityAndIVF says

    08/10/2014 at 1:27 pm

    Fantastic idea!!! I haven’;t been brave with paints yet with Z but I love how you’ve done it in the bath. I might steal it 😉

    Reply
    • Mel says

      09/10/2014 at 10:15 pm

      Please do! Homemade finger paints are also really easy to clean (my recipe is on the blog). x

      Reply
  12. Caroline (Becoming a SAHM) says

    08/10/2014 at 3:02 pm

    The bath is the best place for messy play as it is so easy to clean up! Looks like they had loads of fun, just fabulous! Xx #sharewithme

    Reply
    • Mel says

      09/10/2014 at 10:17 pm

      They had a good hour and a half of laughter and squealing That is a successful activity in my books!

      Reply
  13. ebabeelikes says

    08/10/2014 at 8:20 pm

    Great idea. I’m with you – not keen on messy play but can just about tolerate it in the bathroom and outdoors.

    Reply
    • Mel says

      09/10/2014 at 8:43 pm

      Playgroups are pretty good for that as well. The girls get their weekly fix of painting and playing with sand there. They generally stick with trains, puzzles, small world play, dens & dressing up at home.

      Reply
  14. Coombe Mill (Fiona) (@coombemill) says

    09/10/2014 at 11:41 am

    What a great idea, messy play can always be a bit of a drag when you have to clean up afterwards, doing it in the bath is such a great idea. Dropping in from Magic Moments.

    Reply
    • Mel says

      09/10/2014 at 7:20 pm

      I like ‘easy’ messy play when it happens indoors. I am a lot more relaxed outdoors, but we only have a tiny garden.

      Reply
  15. Jenny says

    09/10/2014 at 9:22 pm

    I hate messy play too! I feel like I am robbing my kids because I don’t let them do it at home. This is such a great idea. I would have never thought to be messy in the bath and then easy to clean up. Thanks such a great idea and linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme

    Reply
    • Mel says

      09/10/2014 at 9:53 pm

      Always a pleasure to link up! I like thinking of ways to enable them to get messy whilst not stressing about it. I definitely do not want them to become too obsessed with cleanliness. x

      Reply
  16. Franglais Mummy says

    10/10/2014 at 2:11 pm

    What an absolutely brilliant idea! I hate messy play too, but I definitely should try this one out 🙂

    Reply
    • Mel says

      19/10/2014 at 8:22 pm

      Do try! I am sure the girls would love it.

      Reply
  17. mirari says

    15/10/2014 at 8:10 pm

    votre blog est fantastique!

    Reply
    • Mel says

      15/10/2014 at 10:42 pm

      Merci, c’est adorable!

      Reply
  18. Shannon says

    15/10/2014 at 11:05 pm

    Great idea! Sounds like your bath might have actually been cleaner by the time they were finished. 🙂

    Reply
    • Mel says

      15/10/2014 at 11:12 pm

      I think it was! x

      Reply

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