Baby bath seats

These sit in the adult bath and are designed to contain your baby in one comfortable position, leaving your hands free to wash him. Even though a baby is supported by the seat and his head is kept clear of the water, many parents still feel the need to keep one hand close at all times, particularly with a very young baby.

There are three types:

• Towelling cloth stretched hammock-style over a metal frame. These are suitable from newborn. They are quite cheap, the cloth comes off for machine washing, they are small and easy to store but offer the least support to the baby and are quickly outgrown

• A moulded lie-back seat with suckers to secure it to the bottom of the bath, suitable from newborn, ensuring the baby is well supported

• A rigid plastic seat that encircles a sitting-up baby (from about six months) to keep her in one place. It has suction pads to secure it to the bottom of the bath and may have an integral play feature

Points to consider