Bathing a toddler when you don't have a bath

[PogoBob]

Moving house next month, the new place only has a shower in the bathroom and I'm trying to figure out how we're going to bath 15mo DD!

She has had a couple of showers with me but isn't a fan and is a big girl (2 - 3 year old clothes) so a normal baby bath won't work.

Does anyone know of some sort of bath that would fit in the bottom of the shower or any other idea of how we could bath her?

Any suggestions gratefully received as I've got visions of having to put her in the kitchen sink [cofused0

My cousin uses those massive Gorilla tubs for her toddlers when camping. They're tough and durable... worth a try? Here's one on Amazon

or do what we did on hols a couple of years ago - use the kitchen sink just make sure you take the dishes out first

On a more serious note - ds2 has some sensory issues - loves showers but only if the water sprays no higher than his ankes iyswim. I put a shampoo bottle over the plughole which means the tray fills up to a depth of about 3 inches which is enough to get them to sit in and wash them down with a flannel - not as good as a proper bath but good enough - ds gets his "shower" and I get ds washed. Just have to keep an eye on the water level so that you don't flood the place. hth

In a tin bath in front of the kitchen fire on Saturday evenings?

We used the big tub phlossie linked to, they're excellent. Plenty of other colours available, doesn't have to be bright yellow!

Both DC shower now but the tub still gets plenty of use in the garden.

(Ours is a 42 litre one)

Or storing toys, cleaning out the guinea pigs, carrying laundry...

I'd just bite the bullet and get her used to the shower, yes a tube would be possible but would also be a really pain.

My twins have loved showers since they were her age because I let them hold the shower themselves. Does this shower have a handheld bit? I can understand she may not like getting it on face/ hair but it's a thrill to 'control' the water.

Otherwise you can buy these massive plastic tubs, a lot bigger than a baby bath. My 5 year old fit in one when we were having our bathroom done. We got it from a local Asian shop.

Thanks all, will look into those tubs and work on getting her use to the shower. Letting her hold it would be a big hit as she's seriously into doing things for herself at the moment but suspect that would result in a flooded bathroom

These suggestions beat DH's idea of taking her down the car wash!!

My DD was scared of showers until we stayed at her nan's recently. I had tried plugging the tray, but she still didn't like it as she got too cold. Her nan has a walk in shower with plastic chair to sit on. DD loved this, so if a tub not long term solution a cheap folding plastic chair to sit on might work to help her get used to being under shower. I adjusted the shower head to be as low as possible to reduce the water spraying in her face.

Same situation here! We moved when dd was 2.5 to the bath less house...if you search for my name you'll find a thread where lots of useful plastic bath tub thingies were linked to! She got used to the shower very quickly, mainly holding it as others have suggested (yes, a few floods! Keep Cubicle doors shut!!)

Since dd2 came along her fave thing is sitting in her Ikea baby bath in the shower cubicle! She is massive too, age 5 clothes when she is not even 4 yet and she can lounge in it quite comfortably, quite likes the shower raining down on her at the same time!

Extra-long shower hose so she can hold the spray herself could be a hit - under strict instructions that if she sprays outside the shower it gets taken off her! Should be feasible to buy the hose and simply screw it in.

Or just use a wet flannel except when you really need to wash her hair.

Yes, cubicle doors shut and then quickly open door and grab shower, finish off 'bits'. Absorbent bathmat essential! Possibly a non-slip mat (my kids are a bit older and we don't have one, but they have good balance and the shower tray has some bobbles on it). Our bath doesn't get a lot of use tbh as dh and I NEVER have one and the kids only have one sometimes.

Yes dd is well trained now and knows I mean business when I bellow "point the shower down!!!" before I open the doors!

I'm going to steal "point the shower DOWN"!!! The bottom of my jeans invariable get wet. They do also seem to enjoy washing the shower down more than themselves, so the other shout is "Wash YOURSELF not the walls!"

Go swimming. Get her used to seeing other small children having a shower and let her play, most pool showers are open plan so she won't feel heamed in like she might in a domestic cubical.
Also no one will moan if she gets the floor wet.
DD2 wasn't mad on showers, it took a few trips to the pool with mummy cuddling her before she'd stand under our noisy power shower at home.

We used a tin bath, then a blow up 'camping bath' (like a little paddling pool), until we got a proper bath.

What lead to this situation was when my parents got us a bathroom suite as an engagement present (strange, I know, but we were desperate), and my mother saying we would need a bath for when we had children. Cue defiant refusal of bath, thankyouverymuch, I WON'T be having children in the next X years, I am far too independent. 15 months later...baby floating around in a tin bath.

, and .

We had no shower in the house until a couple of months ago. DD had baths in the bottom of the shower tray (you can buy a special plug that goes in the drain) or in the kitchen sink. The sink has much to recommend it, actually - they can't slip under, it's not backbreaking and you need far less water for them to have a nice deep bath. Hairwashing is tricky but IME a 15 month old doesn't need it washed that often anyway.

I know this thread is a week old but just wanted to recommend a Flexibath (we bought ours on Amazon IIRC). It fits in the bottom of the shower tray and is supposed to last til age 4 (not a chance but our near 2yr old tall DS fits in it fine with room to spare).

When not in use it folds flat so you can put it away somewhere

HTH

Thanks WeeLors that's really helpful