How on earth do I stop her standing in the bath?!

[Thistledew]

DD is only 8 months but her favourite thing at the moment is pulling to stand on anything that she can get her hands on. Unfortunately, the side of the bath is just at a perfect height for her to do so.

I keep one hand on her as much as possible but this doesn't stop her grabbing the side of the bath and trying to get to her feet. She is so quick. Today, I took my hand off her for literally two seconds to pass a spoon of vitamins from one hand to another and she grabbed the side and started to pull up. Unfortunately, she slipped and although I grabbed her before she went properly under she did take a bit of a dunking. She was a bit upset from the shock of it but was soon content again. It didn't stop her trying to get up again!

Any suggestions to keep her sitting? She has bath toys and does enjoy splashing around. I'd just prefer it if I could clean her teeth or give her her vitamins without her skittering around like Bambi on ice!

I think some just like standing. Have you got a non slip bath mat? My DS stood and still does at nearly 2 and a half.

Bath mat is a good suggestion- no I haven't. I don't particularly like them due to their propensity to go manky but it's better than DD slipping.

You definitely need a bath mat! Or duct tape.

Give her the vitamins when she’s not in the bath?!

I agree with a bath mat. You can’t stop her at 8 months from standing. She’s a baby, she doesn’t understand or appreciate why you’re telling her to sit down.

You definitely need a bath mat-there’s a really good Munchkin one (coloured spots-on Amazon). It doesn’t go manky if you remove it after each bath. I’ve had ours ages.
You can’t stop them standing.

Cheap bath mat. I give ours a squirt with bleach spray once a week. When I’m feeling enthusiastic I scrub the suckers with my old cleaning toothbrush.

Bath mat! You will need them for years my 6 and 7 year old can’t be trusted not randomly jump around in the bath.

We have this one (and it says we bought it in 2015) and it isn't mouldy (and we just take it out the bath and plonk it between the bath and the sink after a bath.

You can wash bathmats, just chuck it in the wash every few uses and it won't go manky.

This one
Munchkin Dandy Dots Children’s Non Slip Safety Bath Mat, Multi Color, 77.5 x 36.2 cm www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IBO5O6W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_Tt72FbE76A348?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Stick it in the dishwasher

If you're there with her I don't think she'll come to much harm even if she falls and accidentally swallows water. Obviously it's not ideal but it's nothing that she won't recover from within 5 minutes.

Just let her but stay right there! A few dunkings might put her off as long as you’re there to grab her then no harm done. A bath mat would be handy though!

20+ years ago, my daughter was famous for this. I got used a bath may and I also draped a towel, the long way, over the edge of the tub so her wet little hands wouldn't slide out from under her and cause her to fall. Those two things along with watching her like a hawk did the trick.

Another vote for the munchkin spotty bath mat - we get it out after every bath & no problems so far.

My 20 month old like to wander up and down the bath 🙈

A bath mat will help but maybe you also need to do the other stuff out of the bath so you don't need to let go of her.

My son has always done this and still does at 16 months. He says with the taps on and off too

Anyhoo yes you need a non slip bath mat!

And less water in the bath.

Amazon do extra long bath mats which are about a foot longer than and better than the munchkin one and have a more textured surface so more grip for their feet.
I fill my bath with really hot water and bung some detail in with it then drain and poured scalding water over and stick it to the wall tiles to dry once a week. No manky mats!

Get a bath seat! We had one for DS for this reason. People think they are just for supporting babies who can’t sit up but we used it to constrain him and stop him climbing everywhere and turning on taps etc. He was in it from 6 months to over 1.

Thanks! Bath mat it is then. Super tips for keeping it clean too.

I like to do her vitamins in the bath as half of it gets spat out and at least in the bath the cleanup is easy.

I suspect she will just want to pull the mat up, but at least she will have to sit down to do so and won't be standing!

Just give her a shower...

Bath mat.
Having said that, my DD chipped a tooth slipping in the bath so I’m pretty hardline with DS. Standing = out of the bath

But also why are you doing all that extra stuff like vitamins and teeth when she’s in the bath?

My dds both had a phase of this ankle deep and not so easy to clean - I guess she's just a shower not a bath kind of a girl OP. It's still the only argument I have ever had with dd2 now 15. She was the age of your dd and wouldn't sit down so I swept her legs from under her and gently sat her down. She held her breath in fury and stopped breathing and went blue! Fine after. I never solved the issue I just adopted a big jug to pour over them.

Oh sorry cross post. Just do vitamins at mealtimes when you’re cleaning up mess anyway, or add them to her bottle (unless you’re BF of course)