A Toddler Bath Routine That Ends When the Bath Ends

The bath is over. So is the cleanup.

Most bath-time routines have a hidden last step. The toddler is out and dry, the pajamas are on, and then there's a pile of wet toys sitting in the tub. You deal with them tonight, or you deal with them tomorrow morning.

We built Tiipi to remove that last step. This post is a simple routine around that idea. It has five moves and no special skills. It works because the water has somewhere to go the moment the toys are put away.

One note first. This isn't parenting advice. We make a bath toy organizer, and we know how water behaves when it has nowhere to go. That's all we're claiming.

The routine, start to finish

Here is the whole thing. Read it once and you have it.

• Give a heads-up. Tell your toddler the bath is almost over. Short and plain works best. "Last toys, then we get out."
• Toys go in. Let your toddler drop the toys into the organizer. Wet is fine. Wet is the point.
• Water drains out. Nothing else for you to do here. The water runs off the toys and down to the level underneath.
• Dump the bottom level. Do it before you leave the bathroom. It takes a couple of seconds.
• Wipe it with a cloth. Done. Bath's over.

That's it. No wringing out, no hanging, no moving a dripping bag to another room. There's nothing left to do tomorrow.

Why the toys can go in wet

Here is how the Bath Buddy works.

The two parts connect precisely. You'll hear the click. Water runs off the toys and is looped down by gravity to a second level underneath. That level catches it. You dump it, wipe it with a cloth, done. Nothing pooling under the toys, nothing to scrub the next morning.

We didn't use a coating or a spray. It's the shape. The basket where the toys sit dips toward the middle, so the water runs down and into the tray below. Gravity does the rest, and that's why the routine above needs no extra steps.

It also means you don't have to be careful. A toddler isn't careful. A toddler drops a handful of toys in at once, and splashes while doing it. The organizer is fine with that, because the water was always going to go down.

Give the routine a rhythm

Toddlers like knowing what comes next. A routine with the same few moves every night gives them that. You don't need a chart or a song. Just keep the order the same.

Some small things we'd suggest, all of them practical:

• Keep it where the bath ends. Put the organizer in a spot your toddler can reach from the tub or right beside it. It sits on four rubber pads, so it stays put and there's nothing to mount or drill.
• Let your toddler do the toys. Dropping toys in is easy to do and easy to like. It also gives them a clear job that marks the end of the bath.
• Save the dump for you. The bottom level holds water, so the dumping is a grown-up step. Do it as you pick up the towel.
• Keep the cloth nearby. If the cloth is within reach, the wipe happens. If it's in another room, it doesn't.

The dump and the wipe are the whole maintenance routine. It's the same kind of wipe you'd give any bathroom surface.

The one way it fails, and we'll say it plainly

We'd rather you hear this from us than find it out later.

It only fails one way: if the water never gets dumped. And a toy that holds water inside itself will hold it anywhere. We don't claim to fix that one.

So the routine matters. The organizer does its part by sending the water down and catching it. You do your part by emptying it. If the bottom level sits full for days, water is sitting in there, and no organizer can change that.

We made the dump a two-second job on purpose, so it's a step you'll actually do. If you build it into the end of every bath, it becomes part of getting out of the tub, like pulling the plug.

As for toys that fill up inside, you may know the ones. They have a hole, you squeeze them, and they take on water. Those will hold that water wherever they live. Squeeze them out in the tub before they go in, and the rest of the routine works the same.

What you need to get started

You need the Bath Buddy, which is $39.88. It comes with a silicone rinse cup. Shipping is free in the contiguous US with no minimum order. Alaska, Hawaii and US territories ship for a flat $14.90. We ship within the US only for now.

Toys are not included. If you already have a tub full of them, you're set. If you want a fresh set, Tiipi Cuties is a four-piece silicone bath toy set for $19.99, and it's $10 off when the two ship together. The discount is automatic in the cart, with no code.

If something arrives damaged or missing a part, email a photo to hello@tiipikids.com and we'll replace it free. One of us reads every email and answers. You can also return it within 30 days of delivery if it's unused and in the original packaging.

The short version

Wet toys go in. Water drains out. Bath's over.

Two pieces click together, and gravity does the rest. You dump the bottom level and wipe it with a cloth. Then you go read the bedtime story, and the toys are already taken care of.

That's the whole routine. It's small on purpose, so it holds up on the nights when everyone is tired.