Mikey has always enjoyed bath time. He has incredible amounts of energy so bath time is all about kicking, and splashing as much water out of the bath tub as possible!
As a baby we used a collapsible baby bath tub on the kitchen table which was great but he outgrew it very quickly. From there we moved him into our bath tub and held him which was back breaking! As Mikey became heavier we would roll up an old towel and place that under Mikey’s head in a shallow bath.
Our OT loaned us a baby bath seat for several months which was great as Mikey always loved to kick. We really wanted to get Mikey into a supportive bath seat so he could sit up and be encouraged to use his hands to play. We looked at a couple of options but there wasn’t a lot available for little ones to sit upright, most options are for laying down in the bath. The flamingo was a good option but it came with a base for later use as a commode and we had no room to store the base.
We weren’t just looking for a bath seat, we wanted something that we could use for outdoor water play and at the beach. Something that folded up so it was easily transported and something that was lightweight and easy to clean sand off. The Splashy portable bath seat by Firefly had not long been launched and just arrived in Western Australia so we snapped up the opportunity to try it as soon as it was available.
We are really pleased with the Splashy, it meets our son Mikey’s needs. We use the Splashy in the bath, outside, in paddling pools and at the beach. We have even taken the Splashy to NZ where we used it isn the bath and at the beach, it went everywhere with us. Some of the features of the Splashy are:
- Wide rubber harness so nice and secure
- Option for 3 or 5 point harness
- Movable supports for heads, trunk, thighs etc.
- Folds flat and has a strap to easily be transported
- Lightweight
- Adjustable recline
- Easy to clean and drys quickly
- Lots of growth – Firefly’s guide is ages 1-8 years
- Suctions to the bath
It is quite a large seat so it takes up a lot of room, however we store ours in the bath so it’s not in the way. Also the seat sits on a base to keep it suctioned to the bath tub – great for safety but it does mean you have to fill the bath with a lot of water to even reach your child’s thighs. For this reason we alternate between showering Mikey, a shallow bath and using the Splashy. My pet peeve with the seat is the way the straps sit means it's difficult to wash your child and things can get a bit squashed!