Bathing time is a time of fun and play for most young children, especially when it comes to filling the bathtub with soap and water and putting rubber plastic toys with your toddler to play and have fun. Often, mothers also resort to this trick to distract their child and entice him into the bathroom and take a nice shower. They comply with the idea of bathing easily, but if combined with fun and playing for some time, then why not?
It is not only the shower time. Sometimes on hot summer days, the mother fills the small plastic swimming pool or the bathtub for her kids to play with water and escape the heat, and the kids use plastic toys as if they’re on the beach.
But can you imagine that having your baby’s plastic toys with him in the bathtub or small plastic swimming pool poses a serious risk to his health? Yes, this is the truth of those beautiful little fun toys… Here’s the secret.
Why are showering toys dangerous to your toddler’s health?
When placing plastic shower games with your toddler in the bathtub, they are usually filled with soap and water, especially if they carry many internal cavities, such as rubber balls, toys, spills, cups, animals, etc. These games are usually placed after bathing without drying for the next time.
Once again, bacteria accumulate, causing the appearance of black clay and mold in the cavities of these games. Unfortunately, they are not very visible to the mother or father, as they accumulated in the inner folds of the toy. So when filling the bathtub with clean water again and putting the toys inside it, the water get polluted by the mold and bacteria that the plastic toys carry without knowing or notice it.
Often, too, your child puts these toys in his mouth or drinks some water in the shower, touching his hands and body directly, and the bacteria and germs move to his skin and infect him without warning.
So you are surprised sometimes by your child having a gastrointestinal infection or vomiting or vomit after bathing for no apparent reason, although the unknown cause is contamination of your child’s bathing toys and contamination of his body and skin and the water.
And what is the solution… Do not stop him from using his own toys during the shower?
Of course not, especially if this is one of the main ways to calm him and convince him to take a refreshing bath to get rid of the dirt lingering in his body, but you have to consider the following regarding the cleaning of shower games:
- Make sure to thoroughly clean it with lukewarm water and empty the holes and various folds of water after your child finishes playing with them, then dry them with a dry, clean cloth and put them in a large strainer in the air and the sun to dry completely.
- Use vinegar and water to soak the toys slightly before drying to sterilize them in a natural and healthy way, and then repeat the previous step in the same order.
- Plug your baby’s plastic toys with silicone or wax to avoid water entering, so it’s easy to clean and dry later.
- Put your baby’s toys inside the dishwasher – if you have one – and use appropriate programs to sterilize and dry after bathing.
- Customize some fun games for your toddler, so make it easier for yourself to clean up and reduce your time and effort.
Finally, taking care of your child’s games in general should be done on a regular basis. It is one of the most common things in a toddler’s room that carries dust and germs and touches his body, mouth and hands directly. So clean and sterilize them with water and vinegar periodically and wash soft toys such as dolls and teddy bears in the washing machine from time to time to get rid of the tar stuck.
Also remove plastic cubes and toys such as kitchen, place and remove games and leave it dry in a filtered strainer in the sun and air, and do not forget that your child’s health and protection of diseases need some time and periodic effort from you.
