(suggested) reading age: 5+
(suggested) interest age: 0+
Genre: #bathbook #baby #firstbooks #farm
Bath time with a baby can be a pleasure or a complete nightmare! Fortunately, in the case of our 4-month-old son, he seems to love the water, and enjoys splashing and soaking us as we try and get bath time done! Except for feeding time, I think it's his favourite time of day. Although other things crop up, for the most part, we try to give him a bath every night as part of his bedtime routine.
The other day, he got this book, Ffrindiau’r Fferm / Farm Friends, from his Nain and he loves it. It's a bath book, so it's made of a soft, wipe clean plastic, and therefore completely safe to get wet.
For the last two weeks, he’s been putting absolutely EVERYTHING in his mouth. That's the way babies get to know the world apparently. If he can get hold of something, you can bet it’s going to be chewed up. It’s a good thing then that this book is tough enough to deal with all that.
In the book, there are colourful pictures with farm animals, with bilingual text – ideal for anyone looking to introduce a bit of Welsh to their children. When my friends have babies, these bath books are my go-to’s for simple, useful and inexpensive gifts.
Despite being a bath book, it’s getting a lot more use than that. For example, we've started taking it in the pram on our outings because it's lightweight and a pocket size. It's just something handy for him to have in his hand to play with and keep his attention. He’s not too keen on the car seat, so anything to keep him quiet is a godsend!
Right now, I'm not worried that he's not actually reading the book, but he's definitely examining it with his mouth and enjoying staring at the bright pictures. The important thing is that he’s going to be familiar with holding books. Everything else will come in time...
Also, as part of the series there’s a book with sea creatures, Ffrindiau’r Cefnfor/ Friends of the Ocean. I’ll probably get a copy of one of those to keep in Nain’s house.
