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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Leaving them in the bath while you go to another room..........

117 replies

swiperfox · 09/05/2005 11:19

Just bathed dd who is 3.5. Leaving the bathroom for anything fills me with fear - you always hear the stories about 'but i was only gone for a second' However ds was screaming (11 months) so i had to run out to give him his bottle and put him into his chair.
I made dd sing 'twinkle twinkle' as loud as she could until i came back lol that way i could always hear her and if she stopped i could run!

What age do you start leaving them for a second but know they'll generally be ok?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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lunavix · 10/05/2005 14:54

I know we aren't meant to leave lo's in the bath, but till what age?

I know people who leave their 6, 7 year olds to have a bath themselves, I know at that age I had to run it for myself too if I needed one!

I'm not saying it's right, but as the mum of a one year old this isn't something I've come across yet, and I'd have thought 5 and ups would be fine left alone, for the duration of a bath if necessary.

colditz · 10/05/2005 15:00

Nope, not yet. Mine is 2, and I consider that to be too early to leave the room. I sit on the toilet and shave my legs instead, while I chunter, Mary Poppins style, "Now then, darling, we don't touch mummy's special conditioner do we? And jugs of water stay in the bath, don't they!"

puddle · 10/05/2005 15:41

I leave mine too (5 and 2.5) but only to go next door to their bedroom and tidy it up/ put ironing away, put dirty clothes in basket etc etc etc......
Wouldn't go downstairs.

haven · 10/05/2005 15:48

i will leave ds in the bathtub for a sec w/ door open...i close the clear shower curtain so the draft isn't cold....i do leave him completely, as maybe to get clothes or a towel...

i do believe that when moms say they only left for a second ( where drowning is concerned ) their second is or (was ) really more than a second...cruel or not (please forgive me) but i think that is what they tell themselves out of gilt....you can hear water splash if they fall....baby seats for babys that can't sit and infant well, never a split second because they just can roll even in a baby bath...but sis usually is in the tub with ds or i get her to watch him if i need to be out the room for a bit...she is 8

ScotsBird · 11/05/2005 11:22

I did leave dd in the bath but only to run next door to her bedroom for her towel/PJs etc. However, about a month ago she decided that she wanted to have a shower instead of a bath, so now she stands in the shower and "washes" herself - less likelihood of drowning in a shower, and it makes me laugh to see her washing her wee tubby belly!

melrose · 12/05/2005 09:34

Although I don't leave him on his own, my ds (11 months) sits in a bath seat, means he can't possibly get out or put his head in the water, (front of the seat means he can't reach!) Have been known to run outfor a few seconds to get towel/nappy - never organised!

Pagan · 12/05/2005 15:04

I'll join the bad mum club then. Have left DD in bath whilst I've done bits n pieces upstairs since she was about 10 months. She chatters and splashes and I'd never go outwith earshot. DS now goes in bath with her on a reclinig baby seat but I don't leave them alone other than to turn my back for a towel or to get a nappy.

Pagan · 12/05/2005 15:05

DD now 1.5 years btw

wordsmith · 12/05/2005 15:13

I leave my 2 (5 and 13mo) tin the bath, but only to go into the next room for 30 secs or so. I also inadvertently let DS2 climb the stairs yessterday and fall down!

kama · 12/05/2005 15:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

gggglimpopo · 12/05/2005 15:40

In my local paper today - a child was a near miss drowning yesterday, aged 2 when the mother left the room for seconds to get her ringing mobile from her bag in the room next door. The child tried to climb out of the bath to follow her mother and slipped. The mother heard the splash and ran back into the room where she found the child face down in the water. The little girl was revived by a 15 year old passerby who heard the mother screaming.....

dramaqueen72 · 12/05/2005 15:55

actually, I never leave mine alone til they are much much older, as i have learnt by nightmare experience.....
dd1 was 2 at the time, nearly three, and she was in the bath with ds who was about 5. the phone rang and I left the bathroom to get it (its was in the next room but it was a hands free so i expected to be 10 secs...) by the time i had answered the phone and started to walk back to bathroom, there was a crash and dd was lying down after standing up (a big no-no), she had hit her head, swallowed some water and was fitting -rolling her eyes and unable to hear me.
I had to scoop her from the bath and ring 999. scary moment of my life. so altho 'it only takes a moment' sounds so cliche, its true.
I clearly remember ds (5- hes now 13)opened the door to the ambulance men and was saying reapetedly, 'dont let my sister die' as i tried to do all the things the lady on the phone told me to do.dd1 was fine by the way,, I actually needed more medical assistance when the ambulance arrived as I was so freaked out.....

hercules · 12/05/2005 16:10

Have to say I wouldnt leave a child alone at all until 5 years old and then I was close by ie next room for a few moments. You can drown in a puddle of water and in a few seconds. Children are unpredictable.

sansouci · 12/05/2005 20:29

Have to admit that although dd is almost 5, I don't feel comfortable about leaving her alone in the bath "to play", as she says, because she often stands up!

frankie26 · 12/05/2005 20:32

would never too scared - usually in bath with both anyway, easiest way to do it

zebraX · 12/05/2005 20:36

But my children (& plenty of other little children I have observed) have gone under the water in the swimming pool for up to 5 seconds or so and not had to be revived or anything. They might sputter or cry, but it's not been life threatening.

Why did your child having fits, Dramaqueen -- did she have a concussion?

I've said it a million times... but we have non-slip baths which helps to cover the standing up problem so many of you seem to wrestle with.

flamesparrow · 12/05/2005 20:54

DD is 23 months and clambers in and out of the bath happily with non-slip mats... I love em to bits and we have never had any slippage problems...

The only slipping has been when she's legged it out of the bath and tried to run across the lino floor!!!

mumfor1sttime · 12/05/2005 21:01

Non slip mats do not always work, I have slipped on a non slip mat when getting out of bath. Bathtime should be a time spent together, cant towels etc be in bathroom before bath is ready??

Also are there any dads out there who can actually cook or do the bathtime while the mums cook?
I do tea when ds in bed,or while dh does bath.

zebraX · 12/05/2005 21:02

I'll try to be wonderfully organised in my next lifetime...

mumfor1sttime · 12/05/2005 21:11

Bath=towels.

rickman · 12/05/2005 21:19

Message withdrawn

jamiesam · 12/05/2005 22:37

Nooooo. Always make sure I have their towels and pyjamas before ds's come into bathroom for their bath - they play around upstairs while bath running but not allowed in bathroom without me as they would both climb in fully clothed if they could. They are 3.5 (yrs) and 21 months by the way.

I also had a bit of a scary moment a few weeks ago, as I've taken to cleaning the bathroom while the boys are in the bath. Top MN tip - sorry, can't remember who to credit. However, I'd been having a really good scrub at the floor and got a bit distracted, looked up to see only ds1 in bath. Ds2 was semi-submerged, Ds1 casually holding him under the water . Ds2 was OK but I wasn't . So I'll be much more careful with them at bathtime, even when I AM in the bathroom.

handlemecarefully · 12/05/2005 22:48

dramaqueen,

that's horrifying!

flamesparrow · 13/05/2005 07:48

I wasn't saying the mats were infallible.

dramaqueen72 · 13/05/2005 08:27

we had a bath mat, it didnt stop slipping then.
dd1 had a febral convulsion (sp), she had a temperature and the sudden standing up and high temp caused her to fit......she COULD of drown even in the few inches of water, because i had left her even for seconds. if i had been there, she wouldnt of stood up, and even if she had I could of stopped her falling back and thrashing about in the water.
HMC, it was absolutely terrifiying. thankfully long time ago. ds was laughing and still making noise as he thought dd was playing........

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