to think "solo bathtime" it not really a big deal?

[FuckedOfftotheFarSideofFuck]

there are a few mum friends of mine who occasionally post fearful status updates/tweets about having to do bathtime for their 2 (or more) kids all on their own without help of their DH/DP/OH.

Surely this is not a big deal?! My DH is often not home at the DCs bathtime and I know I am not alone in this for those with and without partners/husbands/whatever.

Obviously an extra pair of hands is useful but it's not exactly a difficult thing without the extra pair...

I find it's straightforward doing a bath for my son without my DH, and he says the same. It's nice if we're both doing it as one of us can dry DS, whilst the other tidies away the bath stuff.

Probably the same women who can't use a petrol station without their bloke or ring an insurance company up without their bloke. Pathetic, gives women a bad name.

hazeyjane I like your style. Please present yourself on all posts of a similar vein forthwith (particularly the buggies in GPs surgery thread).

I am a LP and of course I do bathtime on my own and all other times on my own. I don't quite see why an extra pair of hands would be useful at bathtime - but I don't bath them very often have triplets/screamers. There are many times an extra pair of hands would be useful but not particularly bathtime. But in the spirit of Hazeyjane, I don't live their lives so I don't know.

In my day, we got the dcs to fill their own baths and sort themselves out, kids today, they don't know their born, I hate these helicopter parents who hover over their babies in the bath, ffs.

Our bath room is about the size of a postage stamp (standard not commemorative).
Only one adult can help, and even then it's easier with the door open. The other DD plays in the hall outside unless DH is about to entertain them.
It's so cramped they can only really bother Mums feet as I kneel by the bath.

I guess this is why bath time has never become a great ritual, there really isn't room for them to play together in the bathroom unless both are in the bath. Then there isn't room to dry two DDs. It's pretty difficult to dry one except with them standing in the bath.

Hence I only ever washed dirty children and very quickly moved to the older DD watching the younger and only doing washing and drying. (I generally put washing away so i was all of 20 ft away if the yelled).

Feel free to c+p my post and add it to the buggy at the drs thread, I haven't got the stamina for that one.

DH is a chef so is pretty much never here in the evenings. However, I dread when DH is at home at bathtime - the children are so hyper at the novelty of it all that a 20 minute job seems to take over an hour.

I admit to being a bit worried the first time i did dinner, bath and bed alone for Ds1 and Ds2 (3 and 6 months). to be honest i tend to bath Ds1 and wash Ds2 as it's easier. once he's sitting up I'm sure it will be easier. Ds2 has the occasional morning bath! I can do it on my own but opt for the easy route if i can.

I had three under five and DH never home before eight so bath times were down to me. Two oldest played in the bath whilst baby was dunked at one end then dressed and BF whilst I sat on the loo. Not easy but it worked.
What I did like was if he was home to do bedtime stories as they bored me senseless and he would happily do silly voices etc.

I'm afraid it annoys me when people are a bit hopeless about doing this. I had a neighbour who asked me to come and help her get her children ready for bed when her dh was away for a few days. Her kids were something like 3 and 1, mine were 3.5 and 1.5 and I had done their bath times on my own about 75% of the time since they were born. I was as to what she expected me to do with my own children while I was helping her with hers! Took a lot for me not to say something sarcastic to her.

Sounds more like a passive aggressive swipe at their partners than anything else