Once upon a time, bath time around here was a gloriously happy and fun part of the night-time routine. Lately, bath time has become a challenge. In an attempt to return to the glory days of frivolous and tantrum-free bath times, we made up some DIY bath paint. Considering how much bath paint costs to buy, you will be surprised to find that this version it only takes three common household ingredients to make. It’ll literally take you moments to encourage some happy moments for your kids.
File this one away as a rainy day activity as well. Make sure you wash the paint off straight after the bath. We left paint on one night without cleaning the paint off and the grout did go slightly pink but just required a bit of cleaning product. Also, if you are a bit concerned about corn flour clogging the drains, I found that we weren’t using a large enough quantity for this to be an issue. There is also plenty of water in the bath to dilute the corn flour and wash the paint away.
Ingredients
- corn flour
- something soapy like shampoo or body wash. (We used body wash.)
- food colouring
Instructions
Step 1: Simply mix equal parts corn flour to equal parts shampoo or body wash. We mixed a cup of each together. (This part of the procedure is fun- hello sensory play!)
Step 2: Then we split the mixture across five bowls and tinted each bowl with a different colour. The mixture will be quite thick, so add a few drops of water to create a consistency that you are happy with. If it gets too runny, just add a bit more corn flour. We ended up with about 60ml of each colour. Store excess paint in an airtight container in a cool place until next bath.
Step 3: Put the kids in the bath with a variety of paintbrushes and let them Picasso the tiles! It smells delicious!
An unexpected benefit I discovered was that my daughter was SO excited to clean the paint off the tiles, so my bath actually ended up cleaner than what it was at the start of the activity. I’d call that a win!
What works at your place to bring about tantrum-free, fun bath time?
More fun DIY activities for kids:
- 15 Fun Ways to Teach Your Kids Their Sight Words
- How to Make Paper Beads Out of Old Picture Books
- Entertain the Kids Until Dinner with Invitations to Create
Images: Oh Creative Day. This craft tutorial first appeared on Oh Creative Day
