At what age would you leave a toddler alone while you shower?

[MissPenteuth]

DD is 22mo and sits rapt in front of show Me Show Me on CBeebies every morning. It occurred to me that I could nip into the shower while she watches (5 mins in shower, check DD, get dried, check DD again, get dressed). Currently I shut her in the hall and bathroom while I have a bath, but I don't like baths every day. We're in a flat so no stairs, and nothing dangerous within reach if she did drag herself away from the TV. My instinct tells me she's too small to leave though; what does everyone else think?

My 22m DS likes to watch me in the shower and also breeze in and out tinkering with things.

Been doing this for months, seems ok. I don't spend ages in the shower & he comes with me when I get dressed too.

I used to strap DD in buggy for a bit by telly just so I could have a quick shower. She never minded and couldnt get to any harm. I was working 5 days a week and had to take her with me so if I didnt do that I would stink I was doing that way younger than 22 months

If your flat is child proofed I can't see the problem. Just leave the bathroom door open so you can hear.

I leave my 18m DD in the bedroom whilst i shower....its as childproof as possible and i leave the door open so i can hear her (there is a safety gate, she cannot escape). I usually have some tidying to do but id rather that than her playing with the toilet etc.

I've left DD downstairs twice when I've been in the shower. I was terrified both times - but then I happily leave her downstairs when I go to the loo.

I have the same issue with my 16 mo. I rarely shower or bath in the mornings and do it night instead which I dislike but as I'm a SAHM I can be a bit smelly! I think DD is definitely too young to leave alone. I worry about choking on a toy or button off a cardigan or having a bad fall or something random. I think to be sure you just have to watch all the time. I'm interested to hear what others do...

Oh I'm so relieved, I thought everyone was going to shout at me for being negligent

I think I'd be more worried if we lived in a house, but as it's a flat she can toddle through to find me if she needs to. I honestly don't think she'd move from the TV during that half hour of Show Me Show Me though.

Thats why I used to do the buggy thing for 10/15 mins you know they are afe, nothing can happen you can zip in and out without them crawlig or walking in to you and smashig their head on the concrete bathfloor that we have. I live in a flat to and all my friends who live in flats do the same thing.

I know what you mean Sooty, it's all the "what if?"s that are putting me off. She's not much of a climber though (not at home anyway) and doesn't tend to put things in her mouth anymore.

It really depends on the layout of your house/flat I'd have thought. I've always left my DCs while I have a shower. These days, DS who is 2 is usually in his bedroom when I shower which is 100% childproof and is also next to the bathroom. I leave the bathroom door open so if he does wander out I can see him and generally ask him what he's doing/where he's going and he'll usually saunter back the way he came. Worst case scenario, he decides to head downstairs, which he can do quite safely and I'm confident in the childproofing of the rest of the house, so I don't worry too much about it but would in that case hop out of the shower pretty quickly and head after him to see what he's up to.

Depends on the child - DD I could leave at 2 while I had a shower, no problem. DS is 3 - there is no chance I could leave him while I showered, he is a Climber and generally seeks trouble

I tend to just have him in the bathroom while I shower, but 90% of the time he strips off and gets in with me, whether I want him to or not.

Ooh dear. I must be terribly neglectful. I've been leaving DS (2.5) downstairs while I have a shower for about 18 months! He's in the sitting room, with a gate across the door, and nothing in there that's dangerous. I keep the bathroom door open so I can hear if anything's happened.

i'm terribly neglectful too, we live in a townhouse so i've pretty much always had a shower while at least one baby/toddler is on a different floor to me!

I dont think there is anything wrong with that herbaceous I would of done that instead of the buggy but we have never had any gates or childproofing really so it was just in case. Its what they did in the old days else they wouldnt ever have got anything done.

Really glad to hear that other people do this. I think I might be a bit skewed by DH; he worries if I even leave DD out of my sight when I go to the toilet Dunno how he thinks I get anything done all day.