To think that kids be left in the bath...

[Flashbangandgone]

... While I go to another room upstairs from the age of 4?

yes mine were 3 ish when they were alone in bath, i was in room next door for bit , I dont think its age dependent thing is it, its like everything it about how sensible is your child, random ages on this thread, but im sure everyone is taking about for a few mins and yes we all know about silent drowning but its a low risk thing going to change bed while my child was in the next room at age of 3 ina bath never did them any harm, if they actually had shut up I would have been in there in shot

Yes I have left 4 year old with 6 year old sharing a bath. We live in a flat so I could "audio monitor" from other rooms with the door open.

I sometimes wonder if all the people who have left a 4 year old in the bath just don't dare post.

My kids are teens now and of course I let them bath with the door locked.

Nope nope nope, I have a 4 year old (who has been swimming since he was tiny and who has completed his survival cert) and I still haven't ever left him in the bath for a moment. Not sure when I'd be happy doing so, but a boy I went to school with drowned in the bath aged 9. It takes mere seconds. The 10 year old showers most mornings and hates baths, so that's easier.

Also, why pop out of the bathroom; get stuff together while the bath runs and stay with them and play. Bathtime is one of the few times in our house when I can sit and relax and have fun for half an hour without needing to run errands or tell them off. It's quite nice, really.

X post with Clare. Sorry for the unfortunate timing.

Mine aren't allowed to stand up either, Snossidge. But I know damn well that's the first thing the 3yo would do if I turned my back for a second!

I'm quite strict

When my DD was 4 I would leave the room to get pyjamas etc. Small upstairs and the rule was that she sang (she sings a lot) all the time on the basis that quiet was bad.

you can drown in an inch of water, so shallow baths for nearly three year olds are pointless....you just as well fill it to the top and leave them for 15 seconds you will get the same result.....you CANNOT risk assess a toddler in the bath.....think about your child being bathed by a nurse in hospital....if she left your child alone for even 5 seconds, you would be livid wouldnt you...dont do it yourself then!

Where's the OP?

9 year olds, 17 year olds, 25 year olds can drown in the bath - does this mean we should never leave anyone unsupervised?

DD slipped in the bath when she was about 2. I was right there to scoop her up. She had inhaled water as she screamed when she slipped and inhaled when her head was under water. If no one had been in the bathroom I am sure DD would have drowned. We now don't lock the doors when having a bath or shower.

Please do not leave your DC unattended in a bath at such a young age.

I'm not sure how learning to swim has any bearing at all on bath safety - you cannot swim in the bath. Surely drownings in older children are due to slippages and bumped head? Even confident swimmers can slip.

Oh right. Well anyone can fall over anywhere and die, doesn't mean baths specifically need to be supervised.

Very sorry for your loss though, what a horrible accident.

clareash with all due respect, the no door locking until 18 is preposterous.

The 17 year old who died, would have died if they were 18, 25, or 42. It was a freak incident unrelated to age.

Then turning 18 doesn't change the safety aspect. And 18 isn't an indicator of privacy needs either, before someone suggests that an adult needs the door locked. People need privacy from puberty.

So either implement a no bathroom door lock policy for everyone, or abandon your arbitrary 18 age lock limit. You are at just as much risk as the 17 year old was.

9 year olds, 17 year olds, 25 year olds can drown in the bath - does this mean we should never leave anyone unsupervised?

no, it means that being in the bath alone is ALWAYS very dangerous for young children and should never happen.

I also suspect this is a reverse. Someone's OH has done this, and they have really lost it with them.

I think DS was 6 when we first started letting him bath alone. At 4 quickly popping to the next room is okay especially if they keep talking/singing to you while you're gone.

He mostly takes showers now which I prefer anyway. Seems less likely!

YABU to leave a 4 year old in the bath unattended. My 3yo is generally very good in the bath but always has someone watching her. Dp is usually sat on the loo next to the bath or if he has to pop downstairs for something I am usually in our room directly opposite the bathroom sorting the baby out and I can see her from the bed. We always ensure someone is watching her, it takes mere seconds to drown in any depth of water.

I have no idea when I'll feel comfortable letting her bathe alone. Someone I know used to let heir 6yo shower unattended, I personally feel that's a bit young to just leave them to it in the shower let alone the bath.

clareash with all due respect, the no door locking until 18 is preposterous.

It isn't, and it saved DS's life when he was 14

Silvercat, that's the point that everyone has been making - that bath drowning has nothing to do with water confidence.

DS can 'swim' in our bath though. It's mahoosive. My toes don't reach the end without my head going under...

We have one of those locks that you can open from the outside with a coin.

The furthest I've left 2yo DD is 10 feet away to grab a towel from her room, and the bathroom is in my line of site from there. I wouldn't go up an entire flight of stairs, you can't hear or more importantly see them from there.

My risk assessment is that a - I only potter when he is in a shallow bath, it would be impossible for him to slip under on his back. Yes he could still drown if he fell in face first.

So my second aspect is how long is he out of sight when I'm pottering? Probably less than 30 seconds per 'potter' and if at any point he stops singing/talking or I hear any sort of clatter or messing around I go in immediately.
Lastly he is an extremely cautious child, (still won't go on a slide at soft play! And has always been scared of climbing) and in the event of him wanting something out of reach he would just shout me to get it.

I accept this is riskier than being sat on the edge of the bath watching his every move but I don't think it could be described as dangerous.

In what way is that a risk assessment?????

It isn't, and it saved DS's life when he was 14

You're misunderstanding my point. Teenagers and adults all have the same risk of dying in the bath.

Why is 18 the age for door locking? That is what I think is preposterous. We are all at risk. Turning 18 doesn't change that.

Mine aren't allowed to stand up in the bath.

So they won't do it when you aren't around. How does that work? What is the secret? My teen isn't allowed to drink/do pot. So I have no worries then right?

At 2 I would stay. at 3 and 4 I might go out to the hotpress for a few seconds. At 5/6/7 I would wander in and out, with shouting/checking every minute or so always staying one room away.

Under no circumstances whatsoever would I leave a younger child in a bath with a 4 or 6 year old and presume the older child will cope if something happens. That to me is almost worse than leaving the younger one on their own because if something happens the older child may well not notice/be able to do anything but you have put them at the scene of their sibling's death and left them with that guilt - no way.