From the day your little one comes home with you from the hospital, you’re going to need a reliable method to wash them that’s going to be safe, comfortable, and practical for you and your baby.
A shower simply isn’t safe until your baby can sit up unassisted, because soapy babies are more slippery than a banana peel on ice!
Even once your bub can sit up, a shower is a chaotic space where spray and shampoo can sting baby’s sensitive eyes, and the adult bath presents way too much risk of slipping under water or banging a wriggling baby’s head on the porcelain base.
For the reasons above, we recommend to bathe your baby in an infant tub, the tried-and-true solution that lets you wash your baby safely in a practical contained area.
A baby bathtub with a strong base that stands freely can be placed on the floor or a large strong table, but to save your back, check if the bath you want has a matching bath stand available. Many of them do, and this can make a huge difference to our backs since we spend half our day looking down, hunched over, and reaching down to lift up our heavy little children.
For newborns, you may also want to check if the bath you’re considering has a bath support attachment available, usually to purchase separately. They are not strictly necessary, if you’re prepared to support your baby’s head with one hand and wash with the other, but be warned this can be quite tiring and fiddly.
Newborn inserts free up your hands to let you wash your baby faster without tiring out your arms.
Also, for those parents that already have a bath and don’t want the hassle of storing a tub, a bath seat can be the perfect solution. Bath seats simply sit in your adult tub, keeping little bodies and kicking legs contained while you wash. For added flexibility, these seats are often narrow enough to even allow you to wash your baby on the shower floor without slipping on the tiles.
It’s important to remember that these baths and bath aids are the best and safest available to assist you to wash your baby, but can never be relied on to keep babies safe without your supervision.
The main risks at bath time are scalding from water that’s too hot, and drowning if the baby manages to slip underwater. Although some of these products feature temperature alerts or supports to stop slipping, you must always check the temperature is comfortably warm and never leave a baby unattended near water more than 3cm deep.
With that in mind, let’s dive into our list of the best baby baths and bath seats currently available in Australia, from the most expensive models to the most basic and affordable ones.
1. Kids & Bells Bath Baby
The best collapsible baby bathtub for newborns, toddlers, and young kids
The ideal infant tub for apartments without bathtubs and without much space, this deluxe bath converts from newborn to infant to toddler mode, keeping itself useful until your child is ready for showers.
Newborn mode uses an ergonomic fast-drying cushion to provide comfy support to those tiny newborns who are barely even opening their eyes. For infants, there’s a bath support seat insert to keep bubba propped up so you can use both hands to wash her. The bathtub can be fully extended to accommodate toddlers, with high walls to keep splashy play time contained.
The colourful design appeals to kids, with calming mint greens, rosy pinks and sky blues, and a cute star-shaped plug to disguise a directed double draining port for fast emptying.
The bath is practical and sturdy as well as cute, though. The fold out non-slip legs with safety catch provide extra support to stop wriggly babies tipping the bath, and mums are even reporting the bath is tall and strong enough for kids up to 6 years old!
The Bath Baby does collapse and fold quite well into a convenient flat shape (83 x 54 x 18 cm) that can stand freely or slide under the bed, but the sheer size of it means you’ll have to consider where it will stay when not in use.
2. Fome Collapsible Bathing Tub
The super-space-saving baby tub you can hang on the wall or hide away
This is our top pick for those who don’t have space for a baby bath, because this infant tub collapses flat, to a super-thin 7cm, and even has a handy handle to hang it from the wall.
The anti-slip legs provide extra support to stop toddlers tipping the tub, and fold in and out quickly and snap into place. The rubbery material of the base is flexible and grips to tiles, so won’t slide like regular plastic tubs, making it a safer and softer choice for little wigglers.
As an extra safety feature, this bath features a plug that changes colour if the water temperature reaches 38°C, allowing you to easily check that the water’s not too hot without the extra task of using a bath thermometer.
FOME advertises that this bath is suitable for 0-6 years old, but at only 22cm tall when fully extended, that claim is dubious. There’s no denying that this super-portable bath would comfortably sit a 6-year-old on holiday, but it would really only be a reliable tub for toddlers up to about 2 or 3 years old.
3. Aqua Scale Bath
A 3-in-1 bathtub, baby weight scale, and bath thermometer
This bathtub displays water temperature, baby’s weight, and logs previous weights, making it the ideal multi-purpose choice for preemie babies and babies that need regular weighing.
Even the extra-paranoid first-time mums (we know who we are!) will have peace of mind with routine weight-checks built into the daily washing routine. The digital display is large and clear, and easily switches to metric and Celsius measurements.
The digital scale weighs the baby with or without water, so no more screaming cold naked baby weeing on the scales! The scale also tracks weight gain over time, crucially important for preemie babies and breastfeeding newborns.
Newborns can lie in the non-slip moulding, keeping bub safely in place whilst allowing both your hands free to wash. The moulding is a great feature for those smallest babies it’s designed for, but you won’t need it and it won’t be the right size for babies over 12 months.
4. InfaSecure Ulti Deluxe Bath
The strongest and most durable classic baby bathtub available
This robust bath has thick sturdy moulded plastic anatomically designed to support your baby with his arms and legs free to glide through the water.
The bath is designed to cradle younger babies on one end in moulded supports for a calming laid-back position, while the other side is moulded into an upright seat for toddlers more interested in water play.
The drain plug and hose make emptying the bath quick and easy, so you can get baby dry fast enough to have him back in a nappy before any accidents.
The two in-built soap trays with included pump-action dispensers are a nice touch, because they’re less fiddly when newborns need one hand to constantly support, but can also be removed when curious older babies get into their “grabby hands” phase!
5. Love N Care Baby Bath Tub
The best baby bath tub designed for stability and safety
The Love N Care bath is a large stand-alone tub designed for your baby’s daily washes.
The contoured plastic is designed for stability and safety. The shape and durable materials make this stable tub difficult to tip and easy to clean. This sturdy tub is designed to last through years of kids’ bath times. A plug and hose allow fast and convenient drainage.
The size may make this tub tricky to store, but it gives mums plenty of room to support under the neck while washing.
A shallow tray is moulded into the end for soap, which drains into the tub without pooling water. The tray is really not ideal for pump-action bottles, but cake soaps and soapy washers will stay put.
Love N Care also sells a flexible fabric bath aid with headrest that easily clips on and off this tub to swap between washing newborns and toddlers.
6. The First Years Newborn to Toddler Tub with Bath Sling
The small and mighty baby bath that fits your sink
This tiny tub is cleverly moulded to hook into the kitchen or laundry sink, your bath, or stand freely to make bath time easy for the first two years of life.
The adjustable mesh sling supports newborns from day one. The firm elastic is form-fitting, allowing a deep cradle that won’t allow the baby’s head to be too near the water. Once your baby can sit upright, the sling is easily removed to let him play on the moulded toddler side.
On the newborn side there’s a separate small basin for toys and supplies which is pleasingly deep, to keep even pump-action soap bottles handy, and the plug makes it easy to drain the water directly into the sink.
7. Roger Armstrong Oasis Baby Bath Tub
The extra-large baby bath perfect for the extra-chubby bubbies
This tub is the usual classic design, but with some thoughtful features you never realised you needed.
The ergonomic grip handles are soft and well placed for hip-hugging, which is a hugely convenient feature once you have it, because the super soft grips won’t cut into your waist or hands moving the full tub from the sink to the bathing space.
There’s a textured shelf moulded into the end wall, featuring a deep soap dispenser allowing you to bring the supplies with the bath without taking multiple trips.
The sweet creamy pearl finish is stain-resistant, ensuring the bath stays free of Bolognese sauce stains for years to come.
This bath has a draining port with a firm plug, which is a definite must for a bath this size, but does not come with a hose, so you will need to carry it to drain if you’re not using this tub in the shower.
8. 4Baby Bath Tub
The best budget classic baby bath
This tub is the classic design with no extra complications, at the absolute best value-for-cost available in Australia. Although there are other bathtubs at this price point, the quality of materials and design makes this product stand out from the others.
This bath tub has no moulding integrated into the design, freeing up your baby to “swim” around with your hand supporting. A small tray for the washer drains into the tub without pooling dirty water, and soft grips give your arm something to rest on while you support baby from underneath
This tub paired with the 4Baby Bath Support is the ultimate value pair that will get the job done on a budget.
9. Munchkin White Hot Inflatable Safety Duck Tub
This gorgeous yet practical rubber ducky will have your ducklings begging for a bath
For the toddler that never wants to get in the bath, this adorable rubber ducky bathtub will be one he never wants to get out of!
This inflatable bath deflates and folds easily, making it perfect for travel or camping. There is a recessed drain hole to allow fast draining, with a colour-change disc that reads “HOT” when water temperature is too high for toddlers.
A clever suction cup allows you to hang the deflated ducky on the bathroom wall (or the car window when camping), so ducky can air dry before storage.
The tub base has a non-slip surface with padding, so your baby’s bottom won’t press into the hard tiles through the inflated base, and a contoured headrest over the tail ensures this tub is comfy as well as fun.
This baby tub won’t be suitable for newborn inserts though, and being inflatable means that there is no hard surface to prevent a tiny baby from slipping under. This ducky is definitely only for babies over 6 months old who can sit up unsupported.
10. Big Softies Plastic Bath Tub
The best newborn bathtub on a budget
This great little bath is the stopgap for parents who aren’t sure yet what the permanent plan for washing will be. Something we’d wish we’d been recommended for our newborns: a small, inexpensive and durable tub for washing a newborn baby while you work out what kind of bath time works best for both you and bub. Well, this small tub is the classic design but without the bulk or high cost of other budget baby baths.
The tub features two washer trays moulded into the foot of the bath, so you can keep your soaping washer and rinsing washer separate. The rounded design is not contoured, allowing the most space for your newborn, and has soft grooved edges near the head for your arm to rest whilst supporting your newborn’s heavy head.
The removable plug allows quick drainage, and the plastic is strong and durable despite the light weight of the tub.
11. Summer Deluxe Baby Bather
The colourful baby seat that sits baby up in the bath
The best choice for all those babies that love being held up rather than lying down. This bath seat sits straighter and higher than most, allowing babies to get the most amount of movement out of their bath time.
The seat comes in five cheerful attractive designs to appeal to little ones who want a “special seat”, and also features a soft head support to help cradle younger babies’ heads.
Because of the height of the seat, you’ll need to fill the bath fairly high with water, allowing better movement for your child, and better access for you trying to wash him.
12. Dreambaby Premium Bath Seat
The best baby bath seat to keep wrigglers in place while you get the job done
This bath seat uses suction cups to stick strongly to the bottom of the bath, with no chance of budging. The depth of the seat is short enough to fit in most baths to face either the ends or to face mum, so you have better access to wash your baby.
The front plastic guard opens out to allow you to easily pop baby in and out, and securely clicks into place to stop any attempted escapes. The guard is tall, with loads of leg room to allow chunky thighs plenty of space to kick at the water.
The backrest supports your baby to sit on the seat without sliding. The contoured seat will help keep her in place when upright, but this seat will not be suitable for babies that can’t sit up unassisted.
13. 4Baby Bath Support
A simple, easy baby bath attachment to keep newborns in place
This moulded bath support is the perfect shape to fit in any bath for babies that can’t sit up yet.
The suction cups on the bottom stick strongly to the bottom of your adult bathtub, keeping newborns cradled in place while you wash, for a relaxing and calm bath time.
Drainage holes at the bottom of the support stop water from pooling in the seat and also prevent your newborn sticking to the seat when it’s time to get out.
This bath support paired with the 4Baby Bath Tub is the ultimate value pair that will get the job done on a budget.
