When can they bathe fully independently?

[Claennister]

At what age do you find you can send a child to wash (including hair) and expect they will make an acceptable job of it? I've no real idea, the books tell you never to leave a baby alone then never really come back to the subject! I don't really mean for having several children and an older one will remind the others to do the job, more so sending a child (comfortably older than 5!) up to bathe and expecting them to return clean. What age did yours manage that?

Ds is 9 and can be sent to the bath/shower and will return clean. Sometimes theres more arguing about actually going there than others, but he's pretty good overall

I send my 8 and almost 6yo to bath and wash themselves they both enjoy a good soak in the bath. I will go in to wash their hair though

I would say 8 if you teach them how to do it properly.

Depends on if the child has long hair in my experience. Just bathing about 7/8. Hair as well about 10.

Hmm. My ten year old boy washes his hair very badly, doesn't rinse properly, so even at ten I feel I need to check on him to make sure he is clean, but I'll leave him to do all the rest. I have to check his teeth too, but it's more laziness and averse to cleanliness, than it is inability.

My almost eight year old girl can wash, and brush teeth without needing anything but a prompt, but can't wash her own hair. I do have to ensure she cleans her bottom and vagina properly as she is prone to soreness, so I will pop my head in and tell her to do it, and watch until she's done.

8yo dd is fine and has v long hair. Been bathing alone for 6 months or so.

My 10 year old is pretty much there, apart from today where she did a rubbish job of her hair this morning so was sent to do it again tonight

I would say just oversight (ie do it themselves, your hands don't get wet) with washing from about 4, but still needing help with hair until about 8 (or older for long hair).

I can tell dd1(7) to go and shower and she comes back clean, as far as I can tell. But that doesn't include hair washing. And I only do that about once a week when we're in a hurry - the rest of the time I chat to her while she has a bath.

8yr old DSS has been showering or bathing himself alone for about a year - including his hair. It's a battle to get him in there but he's perfectly competent once we've marched him to the bathroom!

About 9 without any prompting.

I think DS will be able to do an OK job when 8? Currently does a crap job age 7. The kids who board in Year 3 are expected to shower themselves every morning.

9 year old does everything including running bath and washing hair. I just make sure the conditioner is rinsed out properly.

7 year old needs help with hair washing / conditioner.

My 7 yo can bathe and wash / rinse hair. I used to check she'd rinsed all the conditioner out but don't need to any more. She knows how her hair should feel once the conditioner has gone and continues to rinse for a count of 20 after that.

Ds has been going for showers alone since around 6. Prior to that he was OK in bath doing (short) hair from 5.

That's a good cross section and useful to know, My daughter does have long hair and a tendency towards the back I end of development tables so it seems about right for her, but then she will try to get out of anything she doesn't think she can accomplish flawlessly, which means not really learning things because you need to make mistakes along the way. I'll encourage her a bit more now I know what's average.

Lots of contributing factors. Mine are 7 and 9 and shower independently. Sometimes need to rearrange shower head for younger one as he is too short to reach. He has short hair so much easier on that account.

When we are away I sometimes need to help both or they find out easier depending on shower/tap configuration.

Still need to remind 7 yr old daily to brush his teeth though. Perfectly capable but 'forgets'