Let me tell you one of my parenting secret tools - the bath tub. When whining gets too much, it's time to put the fun back into "bath time fun". This post provides a few tried and true solutions. If you're lucky, your kids might even like your ideas.

Kids would barely pass up a soak in the tub. A warm and soothing soapy bath can be a go-to indoor kids activity to distract a cranky toddler or entertain a bored kiddo. Your kids have a basket full of bath toys that they love to play with, but you can also gather up a collection of fun kids activities to make bath time even more fun.

Most kids love animals, right? Obviously a lot of kids love to watch animal movies, stories about animals, they draw animals, and even pretend to be like their favorite animals.

FUN ANIMAL STORY IN THE TUB

Sit down right next to your kids at the bathtub and talk to them about how animals take a bath or keep clean. Tell them that they have to be in the bath before you'll start talking. Then start talking about the different ways that animals keep clean. For instance, rhinos need help from a special bird to pick the bugs off the rhino's hide, chimpanzees have other chimps pick dirt off their fur, zebras and horses roll around in the dirt, cats lick themselves clean, and elephants bathe in dust or water. Think of different ways to turn this into a game, such as:

• Have the kids select 5 new animals at the end of each bath for you to talk about at the next night's bath; you can quickly research the answers online.

• Have the kids imitate the cleaning movements of the animals they're learning about.

• Try to match the same animals with toy plastic animals for the kids to pretend to "clean".

• Follow their cues for fun game ideas.

Other Fun Animal Story In the Tub:

HATCHING DINOSAURS
Make the bath bombs ahead of time to surprise your dinosaur-loving kiddo; she won't know what to think when she sees the dinosaurs hatch.

SPIN A TALE
Once your child becomes a preschooler, you may need more elaborate ways to turn bath time into an adventure. Preschoolers love pretending, so indulge her creative side. Tell your tot that the tub is an ocean where there are sharks and whale. Encourage your kid to be creative and widen his imagination.