Gather around, mommies and daddies! We are about to tell you the best trick that will get your 4-year-old ready for bath time.

No, you don’t need to buy $1 toys to bribe them because we have a better and more creative idea! Rubber ducks just aren’t enough to keep the attention of kids, anymore. Bubble baths can be exciting, but they get old pretty fast… Oh, who are we kidding about the last part? The more bubbles, the more fun it is to take a bath, even for adults!

You’ll find that the DIY bath toys for 4-year-olds included in this post are easy to make. The best thing about them is that besides making your toddler’s bath time more fun, these activities will also teach them something new every day. If you are looking for something more advanced, keep your eyes peeled for the Pinwheel Crafts Soap Making Kit (coming soon!). The project will require adult supervision to melt the soap base, but adding fragrances and colors to the mold will be something unique to your toddler and something that have never done before.

Let’s look at the DIY toys now:

Bath Boats

When making boats for bath time, we recommend craft foam, or thin felt instead of paper, because it won’t drown in the tub. Follow these steps below to make your own boats. If you’re more of a visual learner, you can also watch this great video tutorial of the process. Just remember to follow the steps using foam or felt.

• Place an A4 piece of foam/felt on a clean surface in landscape position (wide, NOT tall), and fold it in half from left to right. Make sure to press down on the fold so that a well defined crease forms.
• Rotate the folded foam/felt to the right (the crease should be up top). Now, fold the felt in half again and press on it to form the crease. Then unfold the second fold.
• Keeping the felt in its current position, fold the top corners from both sides so that they meet in the middle, along the vertical crease.
• Fold one sheet of the bottom half of the felt upwards and do the same on the other side
• With the folds now facing downwards, fold the bottom flops downwards and downward flaps upwards
• You will now have a pocket in your hands in the shape of a triangle. Open it from the middle and turn it into a square
• Fold the flaps upwards from both sides and then open them again to make a square
• Now, pull out the side triangles; your square piece of felt will now transform into a boat
  
  

Make several boats in different sizes and colors and place them in the tub. Give your toddler a surprise by showing them the display. To turn this toy into an educational experience, hand your toddler a straw and teach them the dynamics of wind.

Car Wash

Does your toddler love cars? A great way to get them to take a bath is to use the toy cars to create a game. Think of it as more of a bath time kit that will get them all excited to jump in the water. Here’s what you need to do:

• Grab a container and place a small cup of child-friendly soap liquid in it, along with a toddler toothbrush
• Add all the cars in the container, and place them on the edge of the bathtub
• Explain how the game is played to your child: all the toys cars in the garage (container) need a wash, and they need a good scrubbing with soap
  
  

Now, watch your child dip the toothbrush in soap and clean the cars with glee.

Bath Word Play

Who says bath time can’t be fun and educational? Instead of going to the Dollar Store and buying pre-cut alphabets and numbers, why not make them yourself? Because you know your toddler is bound to throw away some and tear a few.

You Will Need

• Colored foam sheets
• Number and letter stencils
• Pencil or pen
• Scissors
  
  

Directions

Use stencils to neatly trace and cut the letters and numbers. If you want them looking a bit funky, make them on foam using free hand cutting. Foam easily sticks on tiles with the help of a little bit of water. Moreover, it dries pretty fast so the characters will last longer.

• Cut out the alphabets and numbers and make funny faces on them with a pen or marker. Let your toddler have a go at it so that they can join in the fun.
• During bath time, add all the alphabets in water and let your kids play with them. Ask them to spell their name and simple words they have learned so far by sticking the alphabets on the bathtub walls
  
  

Bathtub Fishing

How about doing something different and just fun for a change? Your toddler will have such a great time fishing in the bathtub that he won’t want to get out! This is one of the best bath toys for 4-year-olds if we say so ourselves.

You Will need

• String
• Small pole (plastic or wooden dowel rod)
• Small round magnets
• Black marker
• Craft foam sheets
• Scissors
• Glue
  
  

Directions

• For the fishing pole, tie the string around the pole and tie the magnet on the other of the string.
• For the fish, draw them on foam and use a marker to add in the details
• Use scissors to cut out the fish and then set them aside
• Place a small drop of glue on the magnet and stick it on the eye of the fish. Make sure that the magnet is small yet thick enough so that the pole magnet can pick it up
  
  

Optional: If the pole magnet does not pick up the other magnet, attach paper clips on the tails of fishes.

Final Thoughts

These are some of the fun bath toys for 4-year-olds that will have them eager to take on the tub! There’s a good chance that you already have most of the supplies mentioned. Even if you don’t, you can easily get most, if not all, of them from your local Dollar Store. If you are looking to keep things simple, we highly recommend our pre-made craft kit, visit the Pinwheel Crafts website and browse our selection of DIY toy kits for your toddler.