Mum’s savvy bathtub hack is ‘saving her sanity one shower at a time’ – it makes it so easy to wash while your baby plays

EVERY parent will know the difficulty of finding time to have a wash, especially when your little one is awake or not quite ready for their nap yet. This is particularly true when they start to learn how to roll, crawl, or find their feet and begin running around. It’s an issue that many mums and dads struggle with, as babies require a lot of attention, making it hard to fully clean yourself. In a perfect world, most would try to utilise their child's nap time for some self-care, but this is not always possible.

In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics found that many parents often neglect themselves in favour of their baby's needs - which means that the daily luxury of having a shower can end up at the bottom of their list. However, one mum has discovered a trick that allows her to shower in peace. Kerregan Calhoun took to her TikTok page and shared a video demonstrating her hack whilst saying: “When you are a mum that needs to shower without your baby getting into things.”.

She started by laying a blanket down in her bath, before adding some of her baby’s favourite toys to create her own DIY playpen. Kerregan then let her baby settle in the bath, while she took a shower herself in the same room but in a separate shower. She captioned it: “Bath tub. Play pen.”. Her little one appeared to be super happy and content in the bath, which allowed her to have a shower in peace.

In the comments section Kerregan revealed how this trick was “saving my sanity one shower at a time.”. Many other parents praised Kerregan for sharing her savvy hacks as they say it’s ‘much better than a play pen.’. One commented: “Great idea!!! The people who say pack and play clearly don’t remember how huge that thing is..plus I got stairs! Bathtub for the win!”. A second added: “I did this before my kid could crawl around. She'd just sit there and play and wait for me and was perfectly safe, I could see her the entire time.”.

Whilst someone else mentioned: “Pack n play works great too, so they don’t figure out how to turn on the water.”. But another person suggested: “I just took the handles off because I was worried about that.”. However, a fourth was left confused and wrote: “That's what cribs are for.”. Then a mum responded with: “Sometimes babies have a hard time being in another room. “This is great so that they can see their mother or father near them and not cry.”.

Morning Routine. Nighttime Preparation: Set out clothes for yourself and the kids, pack lunches, and organise backpacks before bed. Effortless Breakfasts: Keep simple, healthy breakfast options on hand, such as overnight oats, smoothie packs, or pre-made breakfast burritos. Meal Planning. Weekly Meal Prep: Dedicate time each week to plan your meals to eliminate daily decision-making. Bulk Cooking: Prepare larger quantities and freeze portions for future use.

Hands-Off Cooking: Make use of slow cookers or Instant Pots for easy, unattended meal prep. Ready-to-Use Veggies: Purchase pre-chopped vegetables or chop them all at once to save time during the week. Household Chores. Daily Laundry: Do a load of laundry every day to prevent a buildup of dirty clothes. Continuous Cleaning: Encourage kids to clean up after themselves and perform small cleaning tasks throughout the day.

Efficient Multitasking: Fold laundry while watching TV or listen to audiobooks/podcasts while cleaning. Organisation. Family Command Centre: Set up a central hub with a calendar, to-do lists, and important documents. Daily Decluttering: Spend a few minutes each day decluttering to maintain an organised home. Organised Storage: Use bins and baskets to keep items neat and easy to locate. Kid Management. Prepared Activity Bags: Have bags packed with essentials for various activities (e.g., swimming, sports).