Like most kids, my trio loves nothing more than a good splash around in the old tub. But when you add in a plethora of rubber ducks, soap crayons, plastic boats, and cups of various sizes, you end up with a very packed and cluttered tub in which my kids can hardly move, let alone get clean. I downsized my bath toys for this reason. (I also eliminated all the squeaky bath toys because water gets stuck in them and they grow mold – gross!) My kids’ current bath toy collection consists of: 9 foam alphabet letters, 3 same-sized plastic cups, 3 cups/bowls of different sizes, 1 non-squeaky rubber duck, and 1 non-squeaky hippopotamus.

Since I know my kids will eventually tire of these offerings (and I do want them to learn the other 17 letters of the alphabet, even though O, H, and T are fantastic), I have an “on deck” basket of bath toys that I keep in a separate cupboard and will rotate in as needed.

Now I know what some of you are thinking, because I thought the same thing when I downsized. Won’t the kids get bored with so few toys? Am I somehow hindering their bathing experience by not offering a surfeit of bath crayons and floaty boats? Hogwash! My kids are just as happy (if not happier) with less toys. I honestly believe that kids will play with whatever toys they are offered. And they will fight over whatever toys are offered, no matter how many choices exist. Which is why, to my utter amazement, my kids are never happy for long with “new” toys; it just gives them something “new” to fight over! So I navigate a few squabbles over the hippopotamus and the duck. It’s better than refereeing a water war involving 10 different kinds of scented bath marker. And most importantly, my kids are clean. Well, for a few hours anyway…