Don't leave young children unattended in the bath..

[MrsKitty]

What qualifies as a "young" child in this case? I was just in the shower washing my hair with my sons conditioner.. and under instructions it offered this helpful safety hint.. "Don't let young children bathe unattended".

Which got me thinking ... (yes I know, but I was in the shower and had nothing profound to think about).. what exactly is a young child, and how old should they be before being left to bathe alone. Everyone knows you are not supposed to let young children be in the bath alone, but no one says what that age cut off is.

Is there an age where its not okay, and when it is?
Do you assess it from child to child, or is it one of those "6 months start cereal, 1 year turn carseat around" type deals?
Does it make a difference if the child has been taking swimming lessons from a young age?
Is it better or worse with an older child? (Better because the older child can alert you if something is wrong, or worse because they might play fight and drown eachother)
What about running to get a phone call or change something on the stove?
Does the mothers location make a difference? As in.. if the child is old enough to bathe on their own, it shouldn't matter if the mother is in the next room or across the house, OR its incremental.. you feel safe going into the next room where you can hear everything, but not going somewhere out of hearing/dashing distance.

[still_me]

Our bedroom is connected to the main bath, so I will occasionally go in there to grab something if I need it. The whole time I am gone though, I am singing a song with both of them or talking to them. I don't feel they are in danger of any sorts. Now, I wouldn't go wander off and check the stove while they played in the tub though. That would take me downstairs and through a whole other room to get to the kitchen.

I'm torn about the age because a 5 year old could slip and get hurt just as quickly as a 3 year old.

[Sputterduck]

It depends on the child. My son is 4 and fine in the bath. If he were the type to stand up and play around or something, I would worry he could hit his head and drown or something. But, really, if he were doing anything other than normal bath noises I would hear in a second.

[_Gypsy_]

It's child to child.

With dd, she was about 3 before I felt she could be alone in the tub - not ALONE but out out eyesight, until she was about 2.5 she slipped, was clumsy etc. I've always lived places where I could hear the kids in the bathroom pretty much anywhere I was in the house.

With ds, he was about 18 months - very physical, very advanced socially and developmentally. He never slipped in the tub, even as young as 9 months old, and he was LOUD - so I could always hear him and knew he was ok. He has ALWAYS been ok in the tub, but even when dd was 5, she slipped and went under - I heard the splash and went in and scooped her up. Hasn't happened since and she is 8 now, and I can still hear her in the tub. If she was taking a shower I'd let her close the door and be alone, but probably a couple more years for baths, I just need to be able to hear her.

[Maret00]

I think it depend on the child. No child should be left under the age of 3 after that it is the parents knowlage of the child. If it is a hyper child that may try jumping off the tub spout then No Way! But if it is a child that likes to play boats or mermaids with thier toys then sure. Just check on them reguraly like start the dish washer and go back check on them fold acouple shirts then check on them as they get older and do things on their own things will change. and times will space out and one day the baby will be a kid and wash on their own and then take showers. If their are older sib it again depends on the sib if they want to play lifeguard and drown them to rescue them then again No Way but if they want to play mom or dad and wash the hair and play the ABC soap game then sure.

[Earthmama]

I agree it's child to child - DS got to the point where I was comfortable being in the next room while he bathed at about 3 and a half. We're in a small apartment and I can hear every noise from any room in the house, anyway.

I would be more leery about leaving 2 alone - because one may be completely oblivious to the danger the other one could be in & continue to make misleading normal noises while the other quietly drowns.

But since my #2 is only 10 months old, I see her as very vulnerable, though I felt comfortable enough last time they bathed together to sit in a chair beside the tub instead of keeping my hands in the tub with her the whole time (or bathing with them like I did for the first 6 months or so. I even quickly turned around to grab an extra wash cloth off of the sink behind me. lol

Maybe one day soon I'll be able to bring a book in with us.

[Peeka2]

I love how far apart in age my kids are. Has been very helpful for bathtime. They start out bathing together and since David is 6 if I have to run and grab a washcloth I can trust him long enough with Dylan to do it(16months). Which is like 6 feet away.

Now David I have trusted him in earshot for 2 years now. Its wonderful. He has never given me cause for worry. I stay in earshot with him and so he usually stays in the bath after the baby comes out. Since the baby is mobil the bathroom door gets shut but I can still hear David. Dylan I will probably always worry about. But then he refused to sit in the bath. Hates too. He stays in long enough to get clean and brush his teeth(yes we brush teeth in the bath...lol) and then he wants out. Dylan will probably be 15 before I trust him...lol. :p

[ima062002]

I wouldn't feel comfortable under age 6 to leave them alone. A child I don't know, but heard from a friend drowned when he was around that age. While certainly rare, why take the risk. Even a kid who doesn't usually stand can do so one day because [insert a gazillion reasons]. That doesn't mean that I never ran out to get something (new towel from the dryer etc.) when they were younger, but I was never away more than 30 seconds.

[rock__]

I recently started letting my girls bathe alone together. They are 6 and 4. I typically stay where I can hear them the whole time, but don't run into check on them all the time anymore. I don't hesititate to do roll call if I think it's too quiet though, lol.