To wash my toddler in the kitchen sink?

[Napdamnyou]

Have done since he was a baby and now he sits cross legged in it and seems happy. He gets washed after each meal, (he eats in his nappy as he is very messy still at 18 mo), after we go out and he gets dirty or sandy, and after swimming and before bed, so he is very clean.

It seems a pointless waste of water to give him the traditional bath each night (we live overseas by the sea and water here is desalinated seawater so expensive and energy inefficient). He gets to play with bath toys and there is a shower attachment so can rinse him and wash his hair etc. He seems quite happy.

AIBU? Dont think so but various acquaintances and family members seem a bit shocked. So thought would ask the MN jury.

Yes YABU. Don't you have a dishwasher instead?

mintyy You need some Vim in your life :)

I did this at my mums a couple of years ago and we all loved it. I must do it again

My mother was obsessed by this when I had DD1. She went on and on about it. I wasn't particularly keen - it didn't seem like an obvious thing to do plus our kitchen was rather cold and the sink a bit small. But she couldn't let it go when DD was tiny and we ended up actually rowing about it!

I thought she'd given up on this bizarre campaign then we went to the US for the first time with DD when she was 5 mo and she produced a contraption that was specially designed to make this easier?!

OP ARE YOU A YANK TOO? (like me)

Done it many a time....brings back memories!

I'm not a hygiene freak but don't think this is a good idea. What's wrong with a baby bath in your bath. That's what I was told to do. I know people used to do it. But nowadays there is absolutely no reason to. Surprised so many folk think it is OK.

taken last week :)

That is a VERY cute photo...

Thank you :)

Very cute . There aren't any hygiene issues I don't know why people worry so much, perhaps too many adverts for totally unnecessary anti bacterial products. The pots and pans are washed with soap. The baby is washed with soap. The bacterial are killed by the soap. No problem.

I don't think that I washed either of my two in the kitchen sink (it was probably full of pots and pans!) but I did do them in the bathroom sink once or twice. The only problem was the taps getting in the way which would be less of an issue with most kitchen sink designs as the tap tends to be movable. It is a much better height for controlling a slippery baby, so probably a safer option.

I did think it was a lot of cleaning though! My children were mostly dirty as toddlers :)

If I was in the uk I wouldn't wash him as much. But going out here involves lashings of sun cream which stains clothes and isn't great for skin, and anti mosquito repellent, which is not nice to leave on for hours, so it is easier to rinse him in sink and use a bot of soap where needed.

After meals, well, he is covered in gunk, reacts to baby wipes and hates being wiped with a wet cloth so as he eats in his nappy anyway it is no bother to sling him into the sink and less faff than trying to wipe him clean.

I hardly use any soap, mostly just warm water and soap where needed.

I don't see that the kitchen sink is any less clean than a bath. It just uses less water and is a better height for my back. DS also finds baths wildly thrilling and slashes madly and stands up and tries to climb in and out and drenches the tiled, slippery bathroom floor so neither relaxing nor particularly safe as a pre-bedtime thing.

Thank you for the feedback! I didn't think I was BU but some of my friends seemed agog that you could put a baby to bed without the traditional bath.

Am not a Yank :) but it's an american sink. Hip bath size for a toddler.

Slashes? Splashes! Stupid iPad.

I'm also abroad and have water issues but we have a large plastic tub (a bit like an old fashioned tin bath tub) that sits in the bath. Most nights we use that and once a week the DCs get a 'deep bath' in the actual bath. Works fine for us and saves a lot of water.

Nothing wrong with the sink though - ours is a bit flimsy and the DCs a bit big now for it.

Nah, I just think people get carried away with a sort of questionable nostalgia over it all. Its totally not necessary in 2012: people like to take photos of their baby in the kitchen sink and have all sorts of strangers go dappy over how "cute" it looks.

Why not wash the baby in the bathroom, if you must do a full wash after every meal?

The bathroom sink is tiny and the kitchen sink is bigger and nearer and safer because has a mono-tap that can be moved rather than fixed taps. He is a toddler, not a tiny baby so he wouldn't fit in a bathroom sink!

PA much mintyy?

No, that is my honest opinion on the matter.

Photo is lovely :)
Must get DH to take one of DS in sink before he gets too big to go in.

I always used to put dd1 in the sink after painting. She used to paint for ten mins and play in the sink for an hour. Happy days! Couldn't be sure either my clothes or the house would survive if I carried her to the bath-she was an enthusiastic painter!

I have an old black and white photo of me circa 1968 being washed in the kitchen sink chewing a sponge

My DD is 2.6 and I still do this, we have a Belfast sink so she fits but she loves it - I can't really see what the issue would be...

I wished one could just chuck them in the washing machine with clothes on.

Can't see the problem.

DD and DN had a sink bath in MiLs kitchen last week

I use to do lots of sink washes/baths for ds - much easier on my bad back!