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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To disagree with friend leaving 2 under 4 in bath ...

44 replies

SofieMonde · 12/02/2018 17:24

while she is downstairs. She thinks it's ok "because I can hear them"

OP posts:
limon · 12/02/2018 17:29

Yanbu. S/he is being completely unreasonale.

AHedgehogCanNeverBeBuggered · 12/02/2018 17:30

Shock YANBU! You can't hear drowning.

Shoxfordian · 12/02/2018 17:30

She's obviously wrong

Valkyrie99 · 12/02/2018 17:30

YANBU. No it's not ok. Drowning is silent and they can drown in a bathtub.

SomeRandomBird · 12/02/2018 17:31

YANBU Confused fine to nip out and get towels, not leave them on a different floor.

SofieMonde · 12/02/2018 17:31

I have told her this but it falls on deaf ears. What should I do next as I worry for the kids?

OP posts:
LovingLola · 12/02/2018 17:32

She is very stupid. Is this regularly happening?

MadRainbow · 12/02/2018 17:32

I don't leave my 4 year old in the bath for more than a min at a time Confused and I'm in a flat...

Shoxfordian · 12/02/2018 17:33

What is she like as a parent apart from this?

MadRainbow · 12/02/2018 17:34

Just read your last post - I don't think, unless there are any other safeguarding issues, there is anything you can do :( hopefully someone else may have a better idea

GummyGoddess · 12/02/2018 17:36

Mention to a health visitor? She's being stupid and her feelings are not more valid than the lives of her children.

MamaDuckling · 12/02/2018 17:37

Awful thing to have to search for but could you find anything to forward her, accounts of the unthinkable? Might make her think twice.

KarmaStar · 12/02/2018 17:37

Suggest if she's going to leave them that she buys them a support each which prevents the child sinking below the water,sort of like a rubber ring but fixed further up the body.But you should continue to voice your concerns.If she continues to ignore you then you may have to consider speaking to someone else.
She is being ridiculously stupid and risking her children's lives.
Less than a couple of minutes stand between dead children and a manslaughter charge.

Hotdoggity · 12/02/2018 17:39

God no. I think I prevent about ten accidents every single bathtime!

Oblomov18 · 12/02/2018 17:41

Recommendations are :

"Never leave your child alone in the tub until they are 5, and then only leave them briefly until they are at least 7. "

SofieMonde · 12/02/2018 17:43

Not a new thing has been doing it since the first one was little. She is very emotionally distant as a mother. Doesn't seem to enjoy spending time with them and also leaves them watching telly while she naps upstairs.
Who else can I talk to about this?

OP posts:
MincemeatTart · 12/02/2018 17:43

A very silly thing to do. Not only drowning but head injury risk.

Shoxfordian · 12/02/2018 17:43

Social services if you're really worried

SofieMonde · 12/02/2018 17:47

What will social services do ? Have a chat

OP posts:
MadRainbow · 12/02/2018 17:50

The emotional distance is worrying including the other issues you've mentioned. I know of a lady recently that has had her child removed due to an escalation of this. She started out lazy and became neglectful over time; we aren't sure why exactly but again she doesn't believe she has done anything wrong.

I do know the SS are far less likely to take notice of a "unrelated party" than they are of a family member (my brother is going through all of this atm) can you involve the child's father or a grandparent at all?

upsideup · 12/02/2018 17:51

How long is she leaving them for? I left DS4 in the bath upstairs today to go down stairs to open the door to dd, was gone less than a minute. Theres a big difference between leaving a todler for 1 minute or 20 minutes.

upsideup · 12/02/2018 17:53

Who is washing them? They can't be getting themselves in and out of the bath alone at under 4

SofieMonde · 12/02/2018 17:54

About 10-15mins

OP posts:
Giraffey1 · 12/02/2018 17:56

Are there on official leaflets etc you give her so she can see it’s not just you saying it’s the wrong thing to do? I’m not a parent but the thought of what she is doing horrifies me!

GummyGoddess · 12/02/2018 18:10

If she's distant then she probably doesn't care that much surely? Is she on her own, or is there the possibility of depression?

Either way, you can mention to the health visitor if a social services report intimidates you. If needed they can escalate it to social services. A friend of mine reported to the health visitor someone she knows, and was reassured that they said they'd go and check up gently to see what was happening on the person.