At what age is it safe to leave the child unattended in the bathtub? - Page 3

[lovingmommyhood]

DS is a little over three and I leave him in there while I'm in and out doing things. We live in a smallish apt. and I leave the door open. He doesn't stand and our water heater is set so that it can't scald.

[megansar]

Originally Posted by Astoria

About the marital conflict, you had an intuition, and he had a different one. But you followed up by asking peers, and possibly researching. He's still basing his on an intuition. Ask him to research the issue of when its safe to leave a baby in a tub alone. Remind him that there are parenting styles and then there are first aid / safety issues that are not opinions.

Also, in our house, the rule is if someone is more "conservative" by which we mean is scared or worried about the well-being of the child, about any issue, his or her opinion wins. So he's nervous about children eating in a moving vehicle because they could choke and you can't reach them, he wins, no eating, even if I don't worry. If I'm nervous about no being alone in the tub, I win, no being alone in the tub. No parent should be in fear for their babies safety in their own house, its no way to live. And he sounds like he really needs some of his choices and private space with the baby affirmed. I hope you can find a different area to do that, rather than a life and death area.

Good luck.

That is a FABULOUS way to compromise on parenting things. I am going to share that with my dh. We have (in the past) argued about things where I think the kids just aren't ready to be as independent and he thinks the opposite.

THANK YOU for explaining that so perfectly.


Oh yes, and 19 months is way too young. My ds is that age and even with one of us right there, he's slipped under the water in a second (silently). I got a sick feeling in my tummy just reading that your little guy is that young. Hugs.

I just recently started leaving my dd who is almost 4 in the tub alone for a few seconds while I go into her room or her brother's room. Both rooms are steps from the bathroom and I can see her the entire time. I keep talking to her the whole time I'm gone. But she's a really well-behaved kid who is quite predictable. I'm not sure how I'll feel when ds is that age...he tends to be a risk taker and I just don't think I'd trust him not to do something silly if I wasn't there, even at almost 4 years old.