Being somewhat of a water baby, I have to say that my children seem to have taken after me and love bath time. This is what we did:

When Leala was a tiny baby, one of us would always get in the bath with her. I have to say

that fights occasionally broke out about whose turn it was. In the early days, a bath was something that would calm her right down and sometimes even put her to sleep. It is something that I have heard recommended for colicky babies. If you can support the head and let the body completely float free, it (can) work a treat. Both mine have fallen asleep within seconds when we did this.

When we found that the novelty had worn off slightly, we bought something that she could lie on in the bath - a frame covered in towelling cloth. Having since bought a plastic bath support for Nyle, I wish we had gone for that first off. He loves lying down and kicking like mad - enough to soak his sister, any close adult and the bathroom floor. The bath support means that I can let go of him and he feels completely safe. I can then wash hair and bodies without worrying. Obviously, no child is ever left unattended, bath support or otherwise.

We bought a suction bath mat to prevent any slips and also some bath "splats". These are designed to go on the floor of the bath instead of a bath mat, but we use them to decorate the tiles / bath. When Leala was a little baby, they added interest close by her on the sides of the bath and grabbed her attention. When she was sitting up, she slowly learnt how to peel them off and stick them back on again. We are now using them to teach her the names of the animals on them - jellyfish, whale, turtke etc. 

When Leala got bigger, we invested in a chair that suctions to the base of the bath. She had some rings on the front of it to play with and could sit up unsupported.
This gave her more freedom to play with bath toys. We have tried many over the last two years and the firm favourites have been squirty toys (good for learning cause and effect), plastic characters from her favourite TV programme, but mainly assorted containers with holes and spouts so that she can drip and pour water.

Bath time should always be a fun yet relaxing time. For a treat, we occasionally break out the bubble machine and fill the bathroom with bubbles. This is an ideal place to do this because we don't need to worry about the mixture making carpet or furniture sticky.

 I find that the water can be reasonably warm (wrist comfortable) and often the only way I can get my daughter out when time is well and truly up is by adding cold water slowly until she realises it's not so much fun. This way, she ends bathtime when she wants to and not with me dragging her out.

I rarely use bubble bath or in fact any infant product in the bath. Babies don't get that dirty that they need soap and I once read an article pinned up at my local hospital about how many midwives were incorrectly using bath products. This can lead to a baby's delicate skin drying out and can aggravate eczema, unless the product is specially designed.

I have a bath built in to the bedtime routine, but babies really don't need a nightly bath. If your child really hates the water, don't force them but wait a while and try again. Perhaps fun and interesting toys might help, a good bath support or even bubbles and nice music.

As a final reminder, and something I'm sure everyone adheres to, the rules of bath time:

• run a bath with cold water first and then add hot to avoid the risk of scalding
• run a little cold through the tap at the end (if its a mixer tap) to make sure the tap and any drips are cold
• treat taps as a no-go area for children from day one.
• do not overfill the bath
• never leave a child unattended.

Happy bathing!