A No Phone Bathtime Routine (For Moms!)

My girls love to take baths, and sometimes I'm in the bathroom with them for 20-40 minutes each night! Which is great, I love that they love baths! But what I came to realize was I was spending a lot of that time, several nights a week, just mindlessly scrolling on my phone.

About six months ago, I decided to stop taking my phone upstairs with me after dinner while I do baths and bedtime. I mean, really though, why would I need to be on it then?! In doing so, I was able to start some new rhythms for myself during this time and I wanted to share them with you. They're super simple, and things you might already be thinking, "I should do that more often!"

I feel like this should go without saying, but let me go ahead and say this - your number one job while your little kids take a bath is to make sure they're safe and you're paying attention. We have a very tiny bathroom, and so when I do any of these things I am within arms reach of my girls, specifically Sunny, who still slips and slides around from time to time.

I do, of course, play with June and Sunny while they’re in the tub too. We play “dolphin rescue” and “waterfall” (aka turning on the shower to run down against the shower wall) and more. But! For the times when I’m not playing with them or helping them bathe, here’s what I’m doing. :)

1. Clean the bathroom.

Shocking idea, right? But do you know how much easier it is to keep your bathroom clean when you clean your mirror and sink one night while your kids are in the tub, and then do the rest another night? It's such a simple thing I adopted into my routine and it has made a big difference! I just make sure that I've got my bathroom cleaning products and a roll of paper towels ready to go in the closet, this way I don't have to leave the room once they're already in the tub.

2. Paint my nails.

I always enjoy when my nails are taken care of and painted. Yet, during the normal week, I don't make the time to do it! Or, I just forget entirely. Adding this to my "while the kids are in the bath" routine, has been awesome. Some nights all I do is take off the old nail polish and file my nails. Other nights I'll have the time to paint one single coat of a fresh color before I need to get my hands wet and help Sunny get outta the tub.

3. Practice a hairstyle.

I learned how to french braid hair when I was in college, by practicing on my roommate at the time! But what I could never seem to master was braiding my own hair like that. I just couldn't figure out where to put my fingers and how to make it work! That is, until a few years ago, when I was still pregnant with June. I was very pregnant and had just hurt my back and so sitting down for long periods of time was really hard. Yet standing and being active (like cleaning or anything) was too much work. I literally just needed a task that would have me on my feet but in one place. Enter: learning to french braid my own hair via YouTube tutorials. I learned the most from this one here.

But this same idea applies when you've got some extra time while your kids play in the tub. Teach yourself a new way to braid or style your hair, or try out that hair or makeup style you "wouldn't want to wear out in public" without some practice!

4. Take off my makeup.

I am the worst at taking off my makeup. I literally can't stand it. Sometimes to the point where I won't even wear makeup because I simply don't want to take it off! But, while looking for other things to add to my already existing routine of the kid's evening baths, I started taking off my makeup during this time. (My favorite wipes are these ones from Bliss!)

Wanna know what else I do with my makeup wipe? 😂 After you've used your wipe to take off your makeup, use that same wipe to clean out your sink! LOL! I feel like my Grandpa when I do things like this -- not the take off the makeup part! -- but the "using something for something else before you throw it away" idea. I mean they work great! I just rinse the used makeup wipe in hot water after I'm done with it and then use it to clean the sink!

5. Read a book.

Uhm yeah, I'll just leave it at that. Who knew! There are like amazing books we could be reading that aren't on a screen.

There you have it, my simple ideas for keeping you off your phone during bath time with your little ones. Hope they help!