At what age can you leave your child alone in the tub

[ernalala]

I've been discussing this topic on another board recently. No one really knew when and if ever you should leave your child unattended in the bath tub. And bathroom. Definitely we avoid locking doors here for safety reasons with few exceptions. (I only lock it when I'm there with my toddler, prone to run out when I'm in the shower, or when he needs to get one and makes running away a game :-).
When did you feel ok to leave your child having a bath/shower on his/her own? If you do, do you ask them to sing or make sound so you know they're ok?
I think of possible drowning, gliding and hitting head, opening hot water tap and getting burned etc. Isn't it so that most at home accidents occur in kitchen and bathroom?
My kids are still too young to even consider leaving them alone in the bathroom, even for a little while (4,5 and 2,5), but I just wonder.
I guess ıt's got a lot to do with child's personality and level of responsibility?

[mamamelia]

:

my 47mo and 20mo stay in the tub together unattended. the 47mo alerts us when the 20mo is standing or doing something that is forbidden (which is rare in general). the taps are very tight and neither child can turn them (i can't even turn them at times). we do call out every few minutes to each child and they usually don't stop talking/fighting/singing the whole time anyway. our house is also set up in a way where the bath is visible from the lounge room through the reflection of the shower door, so check-up from afar is easy and quick. i know i'm going to get flamed because my kids are young but it's never been an issue for us. i should add that our 47mo is mature for her age and has a very "straight forward" personality. her and her baby sister do A LOT alone together with very, very little problems. they make huge messes of everything but overall they get the job done and come out unscathed whether it be chopping up fruit or vegetables behind my back, having a sword (my kitchen knives) fight again behind my back or climbing the clothes line outside and taking down all the laundry. they are both ahead of thier ages in terms of fine and gross motor skills & maturity and have rarely hurt themselves.

my neighbours boys are 35mo and 19mo and they are still very much baby-like when i look at them. they are not the type of kids who can be left unattended for a period of time as they prone to hurting themselves without supervision. when they are over, i definitely hover over them a lot more than i do over my two. i don't know... i guess it does depend on your child.

ok, you can all throw tomatoes at me now.

[minimunklemama]

Everyone to their own but for me personally,
I will leave my just 2y and 4y in the tub for a few minutes while i get their jammies out (in the next room and I talk to them when I am doing it) but that is it.I don't think that anything is more important than keeping my kids safe in the water.Phone calls go unanswered,laundry can wait.My 6 y old takes a shower by herself but I fix the water first as we have an old shower that can get to hot for a kid if it is fiddled with.She is very good and knows not to touch it.
A friends daughter drowned(thankfully was revived but was flatlined for a while!) so having seen what she goes through,the guilt,pain etc.It just makes my water paranoia worse.I make sure not to let the kids see it but it is there.
I think that five is a good age to have them bathe/shower themselves.

[sunny*pa*mom]

My 4 y/o can stay in the tub unattended. He sings or talks constantly so we know he's fine. He's also very responsible so wouldn't turn on the water or misbehave in there. My almost 3 y/o will probably be 12 before he can be left unattended because he's got a sixth sense for trouble.

[hipumpkins]

My Dd was safe in the tub at 2.5 and my son at 3.
however we live in VERY small apartment so alone is just that I'm not in the actual bathroom but I can hear every move they make...or don't make
I can see them easily at a milliseconds notice.

[nannymom]

I leave a 3 and 4 year old unattended in the tub together but I stay upstairs in ear shot of the tub and check on them every few minutes. I wouldn't have done it before 3 and I think it is heavily dependant on the child.

[ZoshaMosha]

I leave my 3 yo now, but I always stay within earshot. She's always singing in the tub, but if not, I do call-outs. She's very capable in the water, and while accidents happen, I trust her abilities to handle the bath without my constant supervision at this point.

[ilovebabies]

Age 2 with all my kiddos. They are never really left "alone". I'm peaking in all the time and can hear them when I'm not in there. But yeah, they're old enough to sit in shallow water and play w/out any danger. But, we swim a lot so they are very comfortable in the water and learn water safety early on.

[moondiapers]

When they were 3 I would leave them if I was in earshot. By 4 dd ran her own bath, got in, cleaned up, and got out all on her own. Ds took a lot longer just because he enjoys being taken care of.

[MissinNYC]

I let my 6 year old shower alone- we have grabby mats on the floor so she won't slip and I call out to her every few minutes. Our bathroom is next to the office (attached, no hallway) so I leave the door open and can hear her the whole time if I am on the computer or reading or whatever.

[KarmaJoy]

I bathe my 35 month old and the baby together. When I take the baby out of the tub to go diaper him in the room across the hall, I leave dd to play. I am comfortable with it as long as I am very near and and can hear her. I did ask her to sing until recently but not so much any more. She knows not to stand and just plays. I wouldn't go far (like downstairs for instance) but I think she is fine for a couple minutes when I am very near.

[neptunemama]

I started leaving my girls alone in the bath when they were 4 & 2 yrs old. I would stay nearby in our bedroom which adjoins our bathroom, so I was always very close, but they were not in my direct line of sight. And I could hear them talking and singing. If I didn't hear anything for more than a few seconds I'd always call out to them or look in on them immediately.

[Dena]

Originally Posted by TeresaZofia

I leave my 3 yo now, but I always stay within earshot. She's always singing in the tub, but if not, I do call-outs. She's very capable in the water, and while accidents happen, I trust her abilities to handle the bath without my constant supervision at this point.

:

My kid is fairly sensible and seems to have a healthy fear of things that could actually hurt her, so the only real danger I can see would be if she slipped and hit her head and got knocked out, and I am always close enough that I would hear that and be there within a second.

I usually use the time to check email (my desk is a straight shot down the hall about ten feet within eyesight of the tub) or do other stuff upstairs within feet of the tub - reorganize her closet next door, go through her baby sister's clothing in the room next to that, etc.

[Ks Mama]

After we finish bathing (we all bathe together), I'll usually let DD play in there while the water is draining, and I'm getting DS dried off. I will step out of the room, but she's pretty noisy with her play, and we keep within voice contact.

We don't use a tub around here... DS is too energetic. We have a large stand up shower, which we just plug the drain & let it fill up a couple inches. The floor is not slippery, and there aren't any head-cracking edges. Tubs really can be dangerous for children who can't sit still.

I think when you leave your child alone has to do with their temperment, reasoning and physical ability. I don't think there's any specific age. My daughter knows to stay seated while in the shower, and knows how safetly to open the door & step out only onto the rug, not the slippery floor.

[tatermom]

I just started feeling comfortable leaving my 3.5 yo alone in the tub or shower now (with a grip mat on the bottom of the tub), but we have a very small 1 floor house where I can hear him from any room. He's usually singing or talking, so if he is quiet for a minute I just shout out to him and he answers, plus I pop my head in the bathroom every few minutes to make sure everything is ok. He's a calm, responsible type and wouldn't try anything dangerous in there, and I think he likes the alone time. I don't for a second leave the baby or the two of them together in there, though.