I still remember the trauma of Izzy's first bath (for me) and although Simon takes charge at bath time, I am still nervous of everything from her jumping around too much and slipping, to the water temperature.
So when Ozeri sent me one of their Turtlemeters, I was really keen to try it out. The premise behind this is remarkably simple - it's a bath thermometer. The center of the turtle has an LCD display which gives a constant temperature reading, and is coloured to show at a glance if the water is an appropriate temperature. The turtle floats, and so is also something that kids can play with in the bath.
We are still using our baby bath and, I have to admit, it does actually have a thermometer built into it. However, we quickly realised that if we use bubble bath, you can't read the thermometer to make sure the water temp is OK as the bubbles obscure it, and it isn't the easiest to read at the best of times. Because the Turtlemeter floats on top of the water and bubbles, we can chuck it in when filling the bath and, within one second, it will give us a reading using the sensor located underneath the turtle. The thermometer is constantly reading, so updates the LCD display accordingly, letting you know if the bath is starting to cool down. Once we move Isabelle to the main bath in a few weeks, this will become even more useful to make sure her bath is at the perfect temperature every time.
Green means go - perfect temperature
The LCD screen is really easy to read the temperature from, and the color coding means that a quick glance will let us know that the water is OK. The screen is blue if the water is too chilly, green when it's just right, and red when it's too warm. I know most people test the water temperature by feeling it, but since the temperature this summer has been so up and down, Simon and I have realised that we can't accurately judge the water temperature ourselves. When it's warmer outside the water feels cooler than normal and vice versa, so this gives us total peace of mind. The LCD reading is given in Fahrenheit, something us Brits may not be used to, but the color coding means that it is still so simple to use. The back of the packaging also gives the range each color corresponds to, so you know if you are edging towards too warm/cool. The sensor only works when in water, so there is no on/off switch to forget about and let the batteries run down - as soon as it's out of the bath and dry, the screen is off.
Overall, this is a very nifty little gadget for parents who, like me, worry about bath time. Isabelle is still a bit young to appreciate it as a toy, but I know she will love it as she gets bigger - especially the light on the display.
The Turtlemeter retails for £9.99 on Amazon.co.uk, and you can learn more about Ozeri's products on their Facebook and Twitter pages.
