There’s nothing like ending a long, exhausting day with a meltdown: a bad bath can ruin your night. If you’re finding that you dread your little one’s bathtime, it’s probably time for some new bath toys to make baths fun again.
We’ve searched high and low to find the best baby bath toys on the market. We’ve included toys for the littlest babies and ones that toddlers and even older kids will enjoy.
Our favorite bath toys teach numbers, colors, letters, fine motor skills, music appreciation, and hand-eye coordination.
Use these great toys to make bathtime a bonding experience instead of a harrowing one.
- Safety tested
- Innovative & educational
- Encourages active & imaginative play
- Asthma friendly & BPA free
- Set of four bath books
- Helps develop child's fine motor skills
- With hot water indicator
- Useful and fun
- Durable and easy to clean
- Various water activities
- Promotes sensory development
- Designed for tiny hands
- 60 fragrance-free bathtub tints
- Completely washable
- Free of toxins
What to Look For
Your baby’s bath can be so much more than a segue into sleep. It’s the perfect time for you to bond with your baby.
It’s also a moment for your child to continue their essential task of exploring, playing, and learning in a different environment.
You want to look for toys that will encourage this kind of growth and imaginative play. Your child’s preferences will determine whether you choose foam letters, fine motor skill toys, or those geared toward creative play (1).
Pay attention to where your toys are manufactured, and make sure they can hold up in hot water. Even if your baby’s bathwater is at room temperature, there’s no guarantee the toys won’t be affected by your hot shower steam.
Product Reviews
Here are our favorite bath toys for babies and toddlers.
Little Tikes Bath Letters and Numbers
Best Overall Bath Toy
Foam bath letters are a classic bath toy for a reason. They provide a great opportunity to introduce colors, sounds, and other early reading skills. These letters are safety tested, float, and stick easily to the tub or bathroom walls.
This letter set includes numbers 0–9 as well. The large foam letters are perfect for little fingers to trace and identify. This is a bath toy that’s more than just fun. It’s a great educational tool that you can sneak in under the radar.
Yookidoo Baby Bath Mobile
Best Bath Toy for Babies
Babies, toddlers, and even older children can’t get enough of the Yookidoo baby bath mobile. This sensory toy provides gentle mental stimulation and distraction during bathtime. And I love that the water feature helps desensitize my baby to water spray in a fun way.
When switched on, the flowers spin, splashing water drops, and the bird spits a steady stream of water.
The mobile fits a wide variety of tub shapes and styles. Clamp it to the side of an infant tub, or use the three strong suction cups to adhere it to a full-sized bathtub. It grows with your baby into toddlerhood, and you can store it out of the way.
It’s easy to keep clean — wipe it down and dry it after using. It’s entertaining for your baby during bathtime. A bonus is that you don’t need to collect lots of small parts to put away afterward.
Baby Loovi Foam Bath Toys Numbers and Animals
Best Bath Toy for Toddlers
These foam toys are our top choice for toddlers. They help toddlers develop a variety of skills. Toddlers can work on their fine motor skills as they catch the floating toys and practice sticking them to the walls and side of the tub.
You can use bathtime to help your child learn animal names while practicing their numbers and colors. It’s a great spin on a classic bath toy. They won’t even realize they’re learning.
BabyBibi Floating Baby Bath Books
Best Bath Book
Kids love books, and you can never provide them with too many. Bathtime is as good a time as any to encourage reading.
Our favorite bath book set is this collection of books from BabyBibi. We like the learning opportunities they provide for children.
This set of four books includes a book that teaches numbers and shapes, one about fruit, one about ocean life, and a book about letters and colors.
If your child has already mastered those skills, the eye-catching colors and designs and the squishy, waterproof pages will still entertain them.
Munchkin Baby's First Bath Toy Set
Best Combo
The set includes three favorite bathtime toys: a rubber ducky, a scuba swimming bath toy, and a little boat train. It makes a great baby shower gift for new parents.
We especially love that the rubber duck doubles as a safety precaution — it’s a thermometer in disguise. If the water is too hot for your baby, the word “HOT” appears in white on a blue panel under the duck.
You have enough worries to contend with during bathtime. Thanks to this little toy, the water temperature doesn’t have to be one of them.
The little scooba diver is always a favorite for little ones as they make him dive and try to sink the boats.
Munchkin Bath Beats Musical Bath Toy Gift Set
Best Musical Bath Toy
Kids love music. They also love playing in water. A toy that can bring both of those together at bathtime is sure to be a winner.
This music maker set from Munchkin is rust-resistant and has passed rigorous safety testing. It’s sure to bring out your child’s inner Mozart.
The set includes a “dingray” xylophone, “octodrum” rhythm toy, and two starfish shakers. It not only encourages a love for music, but it also helps your little one build fine motor skills and understand cause and effect as they figure out how to play these instruments.
Yookidoo Spin N Sort Spout
Best Sensory Bath Toy
If you are looking for an interactive bath toy that encourages motor skills development, this is a great choice.
The Spin n Sort Spout provides loads of fun at bathtime. It has 10 water activities to keep your little one occupied and challenged as you wash them. Your child can use the bathwater that pours from the spout to create different water effects such as spraying, straining, and floating with the three funny-faced stackable cups.
The bright colors, textured pieces, and big eyes make this set entertaining for everyone. It’s recommended for babies from 9 months to 36 months.
This set is affordable and makes a great gift for any active toddler.
Crayola Bathtub Crayons
Best Bath Toy for Fine Motor Skills
Nothing will help develop those fine motor skills faster than writing. If you’re looking to encourage little ones to work on skills necessary for writing and drawing, bath crayons are a low-pressure way to do it.
These crayons are toxin-free and wipe clean from the walls after bathtime murals are complete. They come in a variety of colors and won’t irritate sensitive skin. Even parents find them fun to use as they draw with their little one on the sides of the tub.
This set also includes 60 bath drops that change the color of your little one’s bathwater, making bathtime an even more colorful event.
Whale Spout Cover Bath Toy
Best Mermaid Bath Toy
Have you ever watched your little one hit their head on the faucet or end up with a face full of water? If you have, I don’t need to tell you why we love this little whale so much.
It only takes seconds to slip this rubber whale cover over the faucet to cover its hard edges. And its very easy for adults to remove it — but not so easy for little fingers to interfere with.
Babies love looking at the cute BPA-free whale and seeing water pour out from under it as you fill the tub.
Fajiabao Fishing Game
Best Fishing Bath Toy
We love that this fishing set comes with two fishing rods. Instead of fighting over who gets to use the fishing rod next, your kids can go fishing together.
This is a great activity to improve hand-eye coordination and practice patience. Your little ones will use the hooks to snag the six happy fish over and over.
The colors in this set are attractive and fun, and its made with soft, durable silicone. This set has passed safety testing, is toxin-free, and is easy to clean.
We recommend this set for toddlers, as it may be too challenging for little hands to work the fishing rod, but younger babies love playing with the fish toys
How to Store Bath Toys
The two things that always get me with bath toys are storing them and cleaning them.
Imagine this — you stagger into the bathroom, ready for the fastest shower known to man. The next thing you know, a small toy with a name you can’t remember is wedged between your toes. Maybe you don’t even have to imagine this scenario — you’re just remembering this morning’s shower.
I have to confess that this was my morning routine for years before I bucked up and invested in a storage system for my kids’ bath toys. It took me a while to find what worked for us, but I can’t recommend it enough.
If you’re anything like me, you think new bath toys are great, and so do your kids. That is, of course, until you’ve had the toys for a little while. Then you wonder what kind of germs they might be harboring.
I spent a long time searching for the perfect way to clean bath toys in the hopes I wouldn’t need to replace them as often. This recipe for clean toys is simple, effective, and cost-efficient.
Baby Bath Toys FAQs
Are Bath Toys Necessary?
While not necessary, bath toys can greatly enhance the bath experience, making it fun and aiding in your child’s development through play.
How Do You Clean Bath Toys When a Baby Poops in the Bathtub?
Clean the toys with hot, soapy water and disinfect them with a mild bleach solution if needed. It’s all about keeping those bath toys sanitary.
How Do I Keep My Bath Toys From Molding Inside?
To prevent bath toys from molding inside, make sure they’re fully drained and dried after each use. Choosing toys without holes and regularly cleaning them also helps prevent mold.
How Often Should You Replace Baby Bath Toys?
Replace bath toys if they show signs of mold that can’t be cleaned, or every few months, to maintain hygiene and keep things fresh and exciting for your baby.
Which Bath Toys Are Safe for Babies?
Safe bath toys for babies are those made of non-toxic materials, free from small parts, and easy to clean. Look for BPA-free plastic or natural rubber toys.
The Bathtime You’ve Dreamed Of
If you’ve been dreading bathtime, you don’t have to anymore. The right bath toys and accessories can change how you approach your end-of-day routine — for the better.
There are so many great options here. But our top pick for the best bath toy is the Little Tikes Bath Letters and Numbers. We love the many variations of learning games you can play with them — and your child will think it’s all just bathtime fun.
Foam letters are easy to care for and clean. They also store well and encourage tactile and cognitive development. We can’t say enough good things about the benefits of introducing letters early and consistently to your children.
