Bath balloons – A Toddler Trick for Bathtime

My toddler loves balloons but they have a limited life expectancy in her hands.  This trick is a great way to get hours of fun out of a few balloons and is just as much fun in the bath, a paddling pool or even a larger pool.   Aside from basic playing with your water filled balloons you can invent all kinds of games with them including balloon races, balloon basketball and even balloon tennis if you  don’t mind a lot of water on the ground (or you!)

This toddler trick is best for toddlers that can sit securely in a bath; a bath seat could be useful.  Like any water-based activity it requires constant supervision.

What your need:

• - Water bomb balloons (we got ours from the $2 shop)
• - Tap for cold water
• - A plastic container for balloon basketball

What you do: (Note: make sure you remove the balloons from the bath before you pull the plug.)

1. Fill half-a-dozen water bomb balloons with cold water.  Don’t over fill. Try to use a variety of different colours.

2. Place your toddler in bath or pool and ‘plop’ the balloons in one-by-one (or put them all in the bath at once, with some bubbles and see how excited your toddler now is to get in the bath)Enjoy experimenting:

a. Feel the texture of the water in the balloon by squeezing.

b. Drop into the bath and watch them float up…the higher you go, the faster they pop up.

c. Create a wave behind them and move up and down the bath.Let the fun begin!

3. Once you have tried the basics, then have a go at a few games – here are a couple we came up with:

a. Whirlpool – swirl the water in a circle next to your toddler and watch the balloons circle around, seemingly chasing each other.

b. Balloon basketball.  Sink a coloured container in the end of the bath (we used a plastic bowl) so that it is easily seen in the bath.  Now get your toddler to throw the balloons to land inside the container.  This is a lot harder and wetter, than it sounds.Your balloons may last several baths.  Collect them up and keep them safely in a bowl until the next encounter.

Let us know if you come up with any other bath-balloon games in the comments section below.

Warning: Small balloons aren’t generally toddler friendly so make sure you don’t leave any unfilled balloons lying around.  Try to deter your toddler from putting the balloons near sharp objects such as their teeth and the taps!  If a balloon does break then quickly collect the skin and put out of reach.