How old was your child when you left them in the bath?

[Beeryfeary]

Having a disagreement with dp. Trying to make this objective so- one of us left 6 year old in bath and sat in the room next door. Door was open. Child was talking/singing the entire time. Adult was sat on bed/playing on phone so not doing anything important, but also able to hear the entire time. Parent A thinks this is fine. Parent B thinks child is too young, but not sure how old child should be before they should be left?

YABU- child is fine and old enough to be safe
YANBU- child is too young and it’s not too much effort to sit on the floor/toilet for 15 minutes

Ten?!

I am really not risk averse when it comes to kids, I think we wrap them up in cotton wool these days, BUT when it comes to water and fairly young children, to me the risk is just entirely unnecessary and genuinely horrific when it goes wrong (which it does- so often- just do a google search. Or actually don’t because the details are so horrible). It takes seconds, and it happens to kids who are 5,6,7. Just not worth the risk, use it as a time to sit and chat to them.

My DD is nearly 6. Over the last few months, I've started pottering around upstairs putting laundry away or getting school things ready for the next morning. It's pretty much the only time she'll play independently without fuss!! (She takes her Barbies in). I'm always popping my head in to check on her though, and she's pretty sensible.

Meant to say, I wouldn't go into a completely different room for the entire time, especially without checking in her.

Long time ago but l think 3ish, we lived in a flat so was never far away.

DS is 5 and I’ll spend a bit of his bath time doing jobs upstairs - putting washing away etc. doors open and can chat to him and hear him playing. I wouldn’t feel comfortable going downstairs though as I wouldn’t be able to hear his chattering.

DD has showered /bathed independently since about 8 years. I still sometimes sit in and chat with her but just to chat, not to specifically supervise.

Mine was 7.

10 is ridiculous.

Dd8 stays in bath alone but I never go downstairs, just put washing away etc.upstairs but I ALWAYS make sure she communicates....(it's a standing joke now that I always sing "talk to me girl")

Thanks everyone. I was in my room, next to the bathroom, reading a book on my phone. Child sings and talks and plays with bath toys so I’m ignored if I’m in there and can hear every word from my room. Child can swim really well (I know this doesn’t prevent anything, but they’re water confident), and loves just sitting playing in the bath.

I pop in and out when my 7 year old is in the bath, and do jobs like folding laundry. I wouldn’t lie on my bed on my phone though, that feels too distracting (or I might doze off!)

Again, amazed anyone actually has kids at all. 10, wtf? Of course 6 is fine to be left in the bath for five minutes. And of course someone will pop along in a minute and give me a lecture about how you can drown in a puddle etc

Mine are 5.5 and 3.5, they do bath together but definitely in the last six months I've left them to grab changes of clothes, new towels, pick up some stuff in their room, but again, doors open, can hear them with each other. I think I could leave the eldest for a bit now to do something upstairs (change bedding, maybe), so I think that's fine.

DD is 6 and our bathroom is next to the bedroom. I potter in and out of the bathroom and bedroom but I know I couldn't go downstairs or not within ear shot of her. She likes to splash about lots and generally likes me out of the bathroom to do that 😅

DS is 7 but has profound SEND and is developmentally delayed so more like 3. I will leave him for maybe 30 seconds to grab a towel, or my (always bloody cold) cup of tea, but I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to bathe independently. I do think I’d be comfortable doing this with an NT 6 year old though.

Dd aged 8 and can swim but not left alone in the bath yet. I have however started potting near by. My feeling is when the child says. She has a shower alone but I'm next door with the towel. Her choice there. 6 is very young.

Age 10 is ridiculous- my daughter age 7 started to become more body conscious 7/8 and no way would have wanted me sat next to her babying her

My youngest are left alone age 4 - alone in the sense I'm upstairs just pottering around getting their pyjamas etc ready - twins so I can hear them

I don't think 6 is really young to be just outside the room or pottering upstairs. Too young to be left entirely alone out of earshot then yes.

My youngest can't swim but swimming isnt going to help in the bath. They need to be capable of getting themselves out of the water if their face goes under and old enough to not mess around which might cause them to knock themselves unconscious.

I started off by leaving the room to get a towel from one of the upstairs bedrooms, then pottering upstairs going in and out frequently. Then I would leave them whilst I sat on my bed and could hear them and now I don't stay upstairs the whole time but I do check.

I wouldn't supervise them the whole time until they hit x age then it's a free for all, it needs to be a build up to make sure they can be trusted to be sensible.

10 is ridiculous.
I think 5 is the recommended age.
My 6 and 8 year olds bathe by themselves but I stay upstairs and Potter around getting jobs done, always within earshot and poke my head round the door every few minutes.

Agree. Common sense seems to be severely lacking sometimes.

Around 5 we would leave the bathroom but one of us would be upstairs with the door open and close enough to hear/chat.

From age 6 I would not stay in the bathroom the whole time, I would potter about putting washing away or tidying up. I’d never go downstairs, and we live in a fairly standard 3 bed semi so pottering between bedrooms was never so far from the bathroom. I don’t think it was a plan or decision, just a natural progression.

It seems the issue here is the two parents not being g on the same page.

I agree with this. In a few years the child will be glued to a device and won’t be interested in the parent. If I were the parent I’d be off the phone and playing with my child.

10?!?!?! So... almost in high school?!?!

I remember being left from about 8 or so but back then it was demanded that a bath was about 2 inches deep and could only have 10 minutes 🤨. I can’t leave my eldest at 9 for more than 5 minutes but he has ASD/ADHD and it would be chaos (no learning disability, not concerned about drowning but the state of my bathroom) but he is getting to the stage of wanting privacy (understandable).

I used to leave her on her own at that age, but stay on the same floor and pop my head in every few minutes. Age 10 seems absolutely nuts!