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Original poster

Child too heavy to lift into bath

76 replies

Boomerwang · 26/10/2016 18:42

This might sound like an odd question but how would I get my 4 year old into the bath if I couldn't lift her? She's getting too heavy for me to lift and I have quite a deep bath. I can obviously put a step on the outside, but what of the inside? Would a grab rail suffice? I use a bath mat so she doesn't slip in the bath but I'm worried she just isn't tall enough to lift her leg up and over the side to get back out.

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BusStopBetty · 26/10/2016 22:43

But if the weight is an error then 30lb isn't heavy to lift? It's dinky.

clumsyduck · 26/10/2016 22:43

Yup mummy my five year old is 30kg ( he's about 4 stone 9) which Iv just worked out to be 30kg he is big built and as tall as 7 year plus . He is not by any means obese !!

Think some of the comments on here at extremely harsh !

Stormwhale · 26/10/2016 22:46

The average weight for a 4 year old is 17kg. Sorry but those of you with 30kg 4 year olds are deluded if you think your child is at a healthy weight.

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4 year olds Families General parenting
mummyofmoomoos · 26/10/2016 22:56

Why are so many just gawking about weight- my boy was the skinnyest little man I ever saw til he started on epilim and clonazepam last christmas- now he's twice the weight he was and it's hard to keep him active with the ammount of seizures hes still having, but in time, as meds are tweaked and things calm down, i know he will soon be right back where he was- this lady asked for advice with getting her in and out the bath- not judgemental comments about weight. thought this place was meant to help people???

SpareRoomChaos · 26/10/2016 23:01

My 8 month old weighs 30lbs! He is a big lad though. And I do help him in and out the bath.

Pestilence13610 · 26/10/2016 23:05

Some baths are ridiculously deep. I had one I could rest my chin on the edge when sitting in it and I am 5'10.
Go for an industrial bath step and it should work around any disabilities.
30kg is very heavy for a four year old.

Pestilence13610 · 26/10/2016 23:08

mummy that is why people have asked about SN

Toolateagain · 26/10/2016 23:11

Teach her to shower? If she really is that size and is unable to lift her leg over the edge, baths are not really an option are they?

PopFizz · 26/10/2016 23:14

Ds1 has only confidently been getting in and out the bath since he was 7. He still asks for help sometimes - I haven't been able to lift him for a long time, but I help by holding his arm and moving his leg. He doesn't have great balance tbh, and our bath is hard to get in and out of.

quicklydecides · 26/10/2016 23:17

Op if you or your child have additional needs, I'm sure we will be able to adjust our advice, our tone as appropriate.
I hope you and your child are well.

DownWithThisSortaThing · 26/10/2016 23:23

Teach her to shower? If she really is that size and is unable to lift her leg over the edge, baths are not really an option are they?

That doesn't solve anything though if the shower is over the bath like it is in pretty much everyone's house that I know Grin

OP - plastic footstool from IKEA - it's about £2.

LotisBlue · 26/10/2016 23:37

When I was heavily pregnant with dc2, I bought a little step stool for my three year old. She used it to reach the sink, get onto the toilet and get in and out of the bath.

Original poster
Boomerwang · 27/10/2016 06:42

Right I guess I must have got her weight wrong. Truth is the last time I weighed her was a long time ago and she was 20kgs then so I assumed her weight had gone up. I'm not good with kgs, only stones and pounds. I've uploaded a picture of her to my profile but for some reason it won't show up? I get a broken picture icon even though it's a normal jpg file far as I can see. She's perfectly normal sized but lifting her does hurt my back. I'm overweight, but not massively.

I never considered getting her to sit on the edge of the bath because there's no way I would do it myself. I'm sure it'd hurt, being so narrow and hard. Also cold. I guess I'll be giving it a try now. She's my first and last and I'm a single parent so I suppose I'm late with showing her how to be more independent.

Thanks for the responses and I'm very sorry for the confusion. This is a genuine thread but if it's taught me something, it's that I've been making the bath thing into a bigger issue than it had to be.

OP posts:
SeasonalVag · 27/10/2016 07:22

Op, there's nothing wrong with being unable to lift a child, it's not about your weight. I cant lift my 17kg child because I have Terrible backache. All you can do is teach independence. Guide in and out. Hold hand and let her clamber. My back problems mean that my kids basir have to forego regular baths. It's showers all the way here. That's another option.

MissMargie · 27/10/2016 07:43

Thick towel on the side of the bath. DD leans forward from kneeling until she is 'lying' on towel, her two hands under her head, and cocks her legs over one at a time onto a soft mat.

Saltedcaramelbrownie · 27/10/2016 08:05

Sit on a chair next to bath and she climbs onto your lap and then into bath.

Tryittwice · 27/10/2016 08:14

I have a 13 year old who struggles to get in and out of the bath (dyspraxia.) I have to remind her each time which hand to put on the shower screen to hold on to and which leg to put out of the bath first. It is wearing.

She used to have a step from ikea when she was little.

Original poster
Boomerwang · 27/10/2016 12:14

Thanks for those last few suggestions those are good ideas and I'll try them out. I was thinking of getting one of those mobility steps with a handle on it but I didn't think it'd help for climbing back out of the bath. I'll have a little experiment with the chair. I don't have any grab rails so I might get one installed too.

Thanks for the help everybody

OP posts:
PurpleBoot · 27/10/2016 12:54

This is the product we have. It's adjustable to your bath width and designed to bear a person's weight (up to 190kg!)

TripTrapTripTrapOverTheBridge · 27/10/2016 13:00

Things like this always confused me. How weak are you if you find that weight too heavy to lift?! Most people can lift that weight easily, surely?

hazeyjane · 27/10/2016 13:25

It isn't necessarily about weakness. I am pretty strong, with arms like Popeye, but my back is crap, not helped by continually having to lift and help a disabled child.

Timetogrowup2016 · 27/10/2016 13:41

Trip
Everyone is different . No need for judgment like that

MissMargie · 27/10/2016 15:56

It also depends on how tall you are and how cooperative the child!

Original poster
Boomerwang · 29/10/2016 08:18

Purpleboot thank you for that link. Since it's a permanent fixture I'll probably look at that option last.

OP posts:
PurpleBoot · 31/10/2016 20:16

The one we have lifts off the bath for other users - very light weight. Anyway, hope you find a solution.