Bath time is a great opportunity for playtime. Kids love splish-splashing in the water, moulding bubbles and filling containers with water only to see what happens when they tip it out back into the bath. And my three-year old nephew, Max, is no exception. He loves bath time. And it's usually an exciting debate about which toys he takes in the bath with him.
This type of sensory play can be hugely beneficial for a child's development. Not only do the best sensory toys help boost their fine motor skills, but they can also help them to learn cause and effect and even help their language development. While my nephew was happy with the best baby bath toys when he was younger, I thought he might like to try something new.
So I picked up the number one bestselling bath toy on Amazon, a dinosaur-themed bath bomb suitable for ages three and over, to see what they hype was all about. But while my grown-up brain tends to focus on grown up things like whether the remnants of the bath bomb are a pain to clean up, or whether it stains the bathtub, that is the last thing on the mind of a kiddo. So for a well-balanced experiment I roped in the help of Max to see what he thought of it too. Here's how we got on.
This is the #1 bestselling bath toy on Amazon
It was a no brainer than we'd pick the dinosaur-themed Baff Bombz for our experiment. Max is obsessed with dinosaurs - he can accurately name more at three years old than I can now at considerably more than three-years old (and I've seen all of the Jurassic Park movies). This thrills his parents to no end as research suggests an intense interest in dinosaurs is a sign of higher intelligence. For non-dino obsessives, It's also available in a unicorn version too.
So we readied ourselves with our sleeves rolled up, and a bowl of warm water on the table and got to experimenting. I did make sure to make it clear to Max that he wasn't to put anything from the bowl in his mouth or touch his eyes while we were experimenting - I'm sure he wouldn't have, but it never hurts to be overly cautious.
Packaging
When you initially open the packaging, you find a plastic wrapped bath bomb inside. The plastic wrap means that the bath bomb is still intact, which is great as they are notoriously crumbly, but it definitely required an adult to get into it - I had to use a knife to carefully pierce the plastic to remove it. While not packaging free - the packaging is minimal and it all feels necessary.
Once the plastic wrap was gone, it was over to Max to carefully drop it into the water. It is advised to not let the dry bath bomb come into contact with any soft furnishings when dry, as that could cause staining. But we were careful, and once wet, there shouldn't be any issue with staining - we shall see!
Watch it fizz
As soon as we dropped it in the water, it started fizzing, much to Max's delight. His enthusiasm only grew when the water started turning a vivid blue. He was really excited to get his hands in the water and swish the bath bomb about - especially when I told him there was a surprise inside.
We used warm, but not hot water, and it took about seven minutes for the bomb to fully dissolve. For a three year old, that felt like a long time, so his little fingers were desperate to play with the bomb to encourage it along, which meant his fingers did develop a faint blue tinge. But that disappeared after swishing his fingers in the water for a few seconds. Phew! Wasn't sure how I'd explain that to his folks.
It's meant to have a fruity scent, but while the scent wasn't too strong or unpleasant, it didn't smell particularly fruity to me. I asked Max what he thought it smelled like, and he said that 'it smells like fizzy blue water'.
As the dinosaur surprise at the bath bomb's centre started to appear, Max was captivated, desperate to be able to tell what kind of dinosaur it was. He was pleased as punch when he realised it was a blue triceratops - his favourite, apparently. Unfortunately, it is luck of the draw as to what dinosaur you get, so this was more luck than design. There are six variants to collect in total, including a special gold one.
The dinosaur toy is quite small, so it definitely makes sense that this toy is recommended for children aged three and over, and that they should be supervised by an adult at all times.
Cleaning up
If you or your kids have ever had bath bombs that have left an icky residue in the bottom of the tub, then you might be understandably nervous about this one. That residue can take an age to clean and no parent needs to make more work for themselves.
The Baff Bombz packaging claims that the product is drain safe, easy clean and stain free, and the good news is that I can definitely attest to that. Despite the vivid blue shade of the water, there was no grainy residue left behind in the bowl, and no blue tinge left behind. It was just like draining away bath water. Another tick in the pro column.
Do I rate it?
Watching Max's reactions to the bath bomb was really rewarding and that makes it totally worth the £4.99 price tag in my book. He was really fascinated by how it was changing the water and couldn't wait to see what was inside. Having to wait for it to dissolve was a bit of a lesson in delayed gratification, but he was so patient and then so thrilled with his dinosaur toy that it was worth the wait. The fact that the clean up so was so quick was definitely a big tick in the pro column too.
It was also lovely for me as an aunt to be able to spend time with my nephew in this way. It felt like we were creating some core childhood memories, and bonding at the same time.
In terms of cons, the only thing from my perspective is that a bath bomb is a bit of a one hit wonder - once it's gone it's gone. So it's literally £5 down the drain. But those brilliant memory making moments makes it totally worth it, especially as a special treat.
Why are Baff Bombz so popular?
After seeing Max's reaction to the Dino Surprise Baff Bombz, I can definitely see why they are so popular. It offers a multi-sensory play experience, with fizzing, colour changing water, and the surprise reveal of the toy inside. The fact that they are collectable too makes them particularly appealing for little ones.
From a price point of view, they're £4.99 each on Amazon, or you can buy a set of three dinosaur Baff Bombz for just under £15, although this is only a few pence cheaper than buying them individually.
They'd made a great stocking stuffer, or birthday present for any child in your life - they are skin safe, but a skin test is recommended for anyone with sensitive skin.
It's worth understanding the different types of play to support a child's development, when looking at this year's top toys. If you also have a dinosaur enthusiast in your life, then definitely take a look at our pick of the best dinosaur toys if you are on the look-out for a gift.
