A baby bath station will keep your little ones entertained and cool for hours this summer!
I picked up a couple of plastic dolls at a thrift shop a couple of months ago with this activity in mind.
This is a snap to set up. I used our dollar store kitty-litter basin for the baby-bath, and set up a tray with everything the Hooligans would need to bathe their babies: sponges, a few baby wash cloths and hand towels, a couple of toothbrushes, various spray bottles, a soap pump (filled with soapy water) and a couple of travel shampoo containers filled with watered down shampoo and contitioner. I also added a stainless-steel “bar of soap” (it’s actually for removeing garlic odours from your hands when cooking).
I filled the basin with warm, soapy water and sprinkled it with a few drops of food colouring just to make it a little more interesting.
What fun!
Squeezing the bottles and sprayers and sponges is a great way to develop motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination. It took a lot of strength to squeeze the shampoo out, and to get the conditioner (they decided all on their own that it was toothpaste) onto the toothbrushes, and to get those sprayers spraying in the right direction. 
It was challenging to hold the baby WHILE aiming/pumping the spray bottle so this little one enlisted some help from a friend.
And our youngest Hooligan was fascinated by the dripping water.
It was sweet to see them caring for their babies like they were real little mommies and daddies.
Washing:
Scrubbing:
Shampooing:
Rinsing:
Drying:
All of this led to assorted other water play as well:
A big bowl of soapy water on the ground for splashing in,
and I made a bubble patch in the grass for the kids to squish their feet in.
What a simple idea for play on a hot, summer day! We’re going to be doing it all over again today. 
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This is so great. Lately my 5 year old daughter naturally plays in our dish bubbles and I let her play in the bathroom sink washing her small dolls. I don’t know if most parents would appreciate the mess, but I don’t mind. I definitely see the value in this or I wouldn’t let my own daughter do this.
You are such a fabulous caretaker/teacher….I wish there were more like you.
What great fun! I was reading this post and my 3.5 year old came and asked me for a bucket of water to wash his dirty trucks! He didn’t see this post, he just had the idea at the same time. So I rounded up much of the same materials you had here, only subbing dirty trucks for babies! He’s out back having a blast with his little sister. I have a feeling this will be repeated many times in the months to come. I can’t wait to try it with dolls too.
Great minds think alike! We did a car/truck was today (with lots of real mud). I’ll be posting it soon. You really can’t go wrong when you hand your child a bucket of water and a scrub brush can you? Have fun when you try it with the dolls!
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Oh, I used to spend my summers doing this as a kid – love your more elaborate set up! We spend lots of time here washing the zoo animal figures and such, but I have have kept their baby bath just for this purpose. Think I’ll go set it up right now as I hear tears in the next room – time for some water play!
Ah, lucky you, Jane. I don’t think I ever did this as a kid! I’ll bet the tears dried up quickly when you put it all together!
I love the words “super easy”. They look like they had a ball. Love your pics too. So glad you shared this at the Weekly Kids’ Co-op.
Really super blog.Thanks for sharingBaby Bath
Love, love, love this!
What a great play activity! The babies even got their teeth brushed.
Oh my gosh! We are having a “heat wave” in the Bay Area and this would be perfect! What a great way to entertain and have fun! Thanks for posting!
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