How Bath Time Affects Your Baby's Brain

Make bath time a brain-boosting experience for Baby

From the LifeMinute Team

February 14, 2015

Ever wonder what's going through your baby's mind during bath time (or any other time for that matter!)? Well, Johnson's did. As part of their new So Much More campaign, these pioneers in the science of baby skin care for over 120 years commissioned a study that spoke to 3,000 parents across 9 countries and found that while parents value bath time as a special activity with their baby, more than half didn't know that it's important to a child's brain development. Pregnancy Magazine's Michelle Lee stopped by to talk to us about the results and offer some tips on how to make bath time a better brain-boosting experience for Baby.

Michelle says, "Bath time is more than just a time to cleanse your baby. It is a time when you can unleash the full power of the baby's senses. That includes smell, touch, sight and sound. And because babies are really soaking up so much from their environment at this point, it's also a great time to learn lessons such as developing hand-eye coordination, which can happen just by playing with bubbles. Or splashing is a great lesson in cause and effect. My kids have this mastered; they really love the reaction they get when they get Mommy and Daddy wet, so lots of splashing at our house."

Other bath time tips? Start your kids singing in the shower while they're young. Michelle explains, "We also do a lot of singing in the bathtub; we sing in the shower, so why not start that routine early? And that's great because music has been found to stimulate parts of the brain that are responsible for memory. So any way you can introduce music, either through the radio or through singing is definitely encouraged."

But why is all of this so important? According to scientists, between birth and age 3 is a really critical time in a baby's brain development because a baby's brain is about 85% formed by the time he or she turns 3 years old. Michelle says, "Anything you can do to provide extra stimulation for your child during that time is recommended, and bath time is such a fun time to really bring in lots of stimulation and make that development fun and something that the whole family can bond over."

Michelle also suggests adding elements to your baby's bath time routine that could result in other benefits, like more sleep for the whole family! For instance, introduce a fragrant soap. "We know the power of smell and how it can invoke calmness, it can get us excited, it can invoke many different emotions," explains Michelle. "And the same holds true for [your] baby. So if you can introduce a fragrant soap into the bath time, it's actually been shown that this will help Baby sleep better. It will reduce the amount of crying before sleep, and this is all really good news. Anyone in the family can [tell you] sleep is definitely valued when you have a new baby in the house."

Michelle adds, "One thing to note is that Baby's skin is very sensitive, so you'll want to use products that are mild and gentle. And there are a number of products that Johnson's creates. They're one of the most trusted brands with about 8 million baths a year given worldwide using Johnson's products."

As for after bath time... "Massages are great; who doesn't love a massage? And babies love them as well," says Michelle, "And this is a great way to calm Baby down before bed. And it's been found that the regular caring touch of a parent or loving caregiver actually contributes to improved cognitive performance, alertness and attentiveness." Michelle suggests using just a small amount of lotion or oil to help ease the friction between your hands and Baby and to give the massage in a warm room so it's really comfortable. "And other than that...cue in to your baby and respond to what they're telling you they like," suggests Michelle, "They're not speaking a lot but you can read a lot just based on their motions and how they look at you."

To sum it up, Michelle says, "All of this just kind of points to creating a wonderful bath time routine for your child. If you don't have one already, [it's] definitely worth the time to give it some thought, figure out how you can integrate bath time, massages, and what works best for you, so that includes splashing, playing with bubbles, talking, singing, anything that works; it's a really great bonding time on top of everything else."

To learn more, visit JohnsonsBaby.com/SoMuchMore and join the conversation on social media with #SoMuchMore.

Sponsored