Caring for baby - bathing and nurturing
Toddlers, Preschoolers
| Engagement level:
Give your child a calming sensory experience and nurture their caring heart, as they learn what it means to care and look after someone else.
Skills and benefits:
- Turn-taking
- Curiosity
- Sensory experience
- Empathy and emotional intelligence
- Language development
What you'll need:
- A toy doll (avoid fabric dolls so they can be wiped dry after getting wet)
- A baby bath, large mixing bowl or ice cream container
- Face washer or hand towel
- Muslin wrap, scarf or small blanket
- Doll or small baby clothes (scarves or scraps of fabric will also make good clothes)
- Water
What to do:
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Fill the vessel you are using with a small amount of water, approximately 2cm and have all the other supplies beside the bath.
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Speak to your child about what is going to happen - you might like to say “oh look, the baby is dirty! Let’s give them a bath.”
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Invite your child to put the baby in the bath and make suggestions about what they can do to bathe them, e.g. “can you put the washer in the water? Can you wipe the baby’s legs?”.
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Talk about what the water feels like and so on. Pretend the doll is real – don’t let the doll’s head go under water, or get too cold, and hold them gently like you would a real baby.
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Once the doll is washed, follow through by wiping dry with a towel and wrapping or dressing.
