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Original poster

"Well, you don't just stick them all together in the bath." Why not?

48 replies

NotQuiteCockney · 12/12/2007 18:15

My MIL said this on the phone to me as I was getting my two, and a spare two, into the bath.

The youngest is 3. The oldest is 6. WTF? Why wouldn't I put them all in the bath together?

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zippitippitoes · 12/12/2007 18:16

carry on i used to..she mad bat

moondog · 12/12/2007 18:16

Good God, I shower and bath with my 3 year old and 7 year old.
Much more efficient

PandaG · 12/12/2007 18:17

I would, as long as parents of other children would be ok with this - do it regularly with friends' DC

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camillathechicken · 12/12/2007 18:17

i bath my two together and often sling in any childrne who might be around at the relevant time.... better for the environemtn and lots of jolly fun for the childrne

ElfPolarBear · 12/12/2007 18:17

space maybe? or fighting?
sounds like a lot of fun though, as an only child i used to love having a bath when staying with my cousins

RudolphtherednoseEANDHdeer · 12/12/2007 18:18

Both of mine go in the bath together, I havent got time or enough pairs of hands to do them seperately (dh always at work when its bath time and dd2 would be crawling everywhere and getting in the way)have often had nephew in there as well so a 3 yr old, 2 yr old and just under 1 year old and they love it

ElfPolarBear · 12/12/2007 18:18

"sling in any childrne who might be around at the relevant time"
carol singers...kids passing in the street...

ChasingSquirrelsUpTheXmasTree · 12/12/2007 18:19

done it with 4 - although ds2 was months old at the time and just dipped him in.
tried it a couple of months ago with 5 (2 x 5yo's, 3yo, 20mo, 15mo) - it was, umm...SQUASHED!

zippitippitoes · 12/12/2007 18:19

add some dettol mil will approve of that

WeAllWantSomeFluffyPudding · 12/12/2007 18:19

Weird...we even have 'family baths' (generally on a saturday night whilst taping Strictly!) with DS (2.4) in the middle and DH and me at either end...although with the 2nd one arriving in January it might get harder [fgin]. Group baths are so much more fun when you're little (ok, and I really enjoy having joint baths with DH most evenings, so we can chill and chat, which is why we got a larger-than-average bath put in!!)...ok, so maybe I'm not normal ....!!!!

camillathechicken · 12/12/2007 18:20

well, generally , it is children in the house , but could be anyone in the vicinity who needs a wash, i suppose !

JingleyJen · 12/12/2007 18:20

DS's go in the bath together and often there is DH or me in there as well.. if we had 3 children there would be 3 children in the bath!
What is her problem?

PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo · 12/12/2007 18:23

Not only do we bath all 3 of ours together (2 boys, 1 girl, ages 1 to 7), but every few months we inflate the birthing pool and have a mega family bath.

I don't think it's generational, because my mum used to chuck us all in the bath together, guest LOs included.

FioFio · 12/12/2007 18:25

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BroccoliSpears · 12/12/2007 18:26

We were all bathed together as kids, with siblings, with friends, with cousins. We loved it! I do the same with my LO and will continue to do so as siblings arrive.

WendyWeber · 12/12/2007 18:30

We had 6 in the bath a few times when DD1 was about 8 - the others being 5, 5, 3, 2 and 1½ (but we did have a big corner bath with a seat so there was a bit more elbow room )

Some people are just funny about nakedness.

FioFio · 12/12/2007 18:30

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EricScrooge · 12/12/2007 18:31

Yeah - everyone i know does this.

In fact if one of mine is in the bath for some special reason without the other, they just want to get in and have fun even if they are clean.

Nice that they see it as a fun family thing.

Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 12/12/2007 18:55

I don't personally get naked with other people's kids without prior permission of the parents.

Actually, I don't bathe other people's kids without prior permission, or at least without warning.

I know this family are fine with it, this will be the third time I've had their kids for the evening and returned them in PJs, bathed. All four of them had a lovely time in the bath.

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ChirpyGrinch · 12/12/2007 19:26

One of my favourite photos as a child is of me and my 3 older sisters, ages from 2 to 9, all in the bath, covered in bubbles and doodles from those cool bath crayons and grinning like mad.
Both mine get bathed together and will be for as long as possible!

QuintessentialShadowOfSnowball · 12/12/2007 19:30

I dont think it is so much about other peoples nakedness as in sitting in a pool of other peoples dirt, toe and bottom fluff.

QuintessentialShadowOfSnowball · 12/12/2007 19:31
Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 12/12/2007 19:31

I'm sure she already knew we bathed our two together! I think it was the spare two that bothered her? Who knows. I didn't ask what her objection was, as I didn't want to get into a discussion with her about it (and I was too thrown by her assumption I wouldn't do this!).

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TheIceQueen · 12/12/2007 19:32

When DS3 was little I bathed him, DS2 (then 3) and DS1 (then 6) all together - but unfortunately I have long gangly boys - and DS1 wasn't fitting anymore - so once he turned 7 in September he started showering (made it a "big boys have showers" thing so he didn't feel he was being pushed out of his beloved baths) and I bathed the younger 2 together.

Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 12/12/2007 19:34

Yes, it's not very hygenic, I'll give you that.

Particularly when you notice that one of the children has ... well, skidmarks on steroids in his pants, which he's already taken off and got into the bath. (That kid is 4, so at that magic 'too big to get his bum wiped by a non-parent, too small to wipe it competantly himself' age.)

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