Well, bath time in a foster home can be trying! Or it can be fun. Some foster children are not used to baths or may never have been given the opportunity to play in one! To see a childs face when they get the opportunity to splash and play in water can be really humbling. I know.... Shouldn't every child have this? Surely it shouldn't be a revelation to them. Believe me, sometimes it is. And what a simple thing to be able to offer a child. I love it especially when children experience bubble baths. The squeals of excitement and the amazed faces say it all.
In the past I have always wanted my newer foster children to experience bath time play, so I have all sorts of splash and play bath toys. The ones young children and babies have are often still really exciting for older foster children too! But today was reminded that keeping it simple is often good enough. And today was no exception. Why? I hear you asking! What was different about today? Well, we ran out of bubble bath. I tried to rinse the very last of it out of the bottle to the amazement of the child in the bath.
I offered bath toys. Would you like the mermaids? The fishing rod? the plastic tea set or measuring spoons? All the usual favourites. But all were turned down. Then a little voice piped up. "Can I do that?" "Can you do what?" I asked. "That!" came the indignant reply, accompanied by a hand reaching out to the empty bubble bath bottle.
So. The new best and favourite bath toy is the empty bottle. Hours of fun filling it and emptying it. Well, I do remember my mum telling me once that as a child I had wanted to play with the empty box that my birthday present came in, ignoring the present itself in order to play in the box.
One empty bubble bath bottle has now become the best bath toy ever. My new motto? 'Keep it Simple Silly!!'
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