Bath time visual schedule and shower steps: free printable

Who it’s for

Children who find bath time hard (the water on the face, hair washing, getting out when it’s fun, getting in when it isn’t), older children and teens learning to shower on their own, and the parents and carers who help them. The bath is one of the few places where a speech device can’t go, so a paper board, laminated and taped to the wall, is the one that works.

How to use it

1. Tape the schedule up where it can be seen from the bath: on the wall above the tub or on the door. Laminate it first.
2. Point to each step before you do it, and say it: “Next, wash my hair.” For hair washing, count out loud too, so there’s a clear end.
3. Keep the order the same every night. The same order every night is easier to follow, and a step that always comes last (pajamas) shows when it will end.
4. Put page 3 next to the bath and answer every point: too hot, in my eyes, stop. Stop when they say stop, then go on together.
5. Hand over steps bit by bit. For learning to shower alone, let the person point to the step and do it, and step back as each one gets easy.

From bath to shower

Moving from baths to showers is a big change, and the shower schedule on page 2 makes the order clear: clothes off, water on, hair, body, rinse off, water off, dry off. Step 7, water off, is printed as words only, because no picture shows it well: draw your own tap or shower handle on it, or glue on a photo of yours. Set the temperature together at step 2, so the person learns what “warm, not hot” feels like.

Safe in the bath

The schedule helps a person know what’s coming; it doesn’t replace a grown-up. Stay with young children for the whole bath, and check that the water is warm, not hot, before anyone gets in.

What’s on the PDF

Bath steps

• toilet first
• clothes off
• get in the bath
• wash my body
• wash my hair
• rinse my hair
• dry off
• pajamas

Shower steps

• clothes off
• water on
• wash my hair
• rinse my hair
• wash my body
• rinse off
• water off
• dry off

Talk

• yes
• no
• more
• all done
• help
• stop
• wait
• too hot
• too cold
• in my eyes
• get out
• I like it

Bath fun, washing and after

• bubble bath
• duck
• toys
• splash
• pour
• cup
• soap
• shampoo
• towel
• robe
• lotion
• brush hair

Printing tips

• Laminate all three pages, or slide them into sheet protectors, and tape the edges so water can’t get in.
• Cut page 1 into eight cards and stick them to the tiles with removable tape, in order, then take each one down when it’s done.
• Bath time is often part of the evening: the bedtime routine chart has the steps after it, and the tooth brushing visual schedule comes next.
• Starting with a toddler? Read start with one routine, in our guide to AAC for toddlers.