At what age can you leave a child in the bath?

[tingalayo]

For nuance:
At what age can you pop out of the room briefly while they're in there?
At what age can you leave them with the door open and they call you when they want to get out?
At what age can they do it entirely alone with the door locked?

For my own children
Pop out briefly - 3 or 4ish
Leave them with the door open 5 ish
Entirely alone (usually showers not baths) about 9

Pop out briefly I’d say around 3 but obviously dependent on how sensible they are. I’d be more than happy to let my almost 5YO bathe alone with the door open but she likes the company and won’t stand for it. Based on my older nieces and nephews I would have thought about 7/8 for showering with the door locked (but girls with long hair may still want help with washing it!).

My son is 10 so I obviously need to start giving him privacy but I remember a lady in work telling me about her son being killed out right at 19 having slipped getting out of the shower and hitting his head on the toilet. It has forever terrified me.

Are you saying you don't currently give him privacy? I hope not because it's not ok for you to be watching your 10 yo son in the bath.

This is a freak accident though, I know it is hard but it would be good to try to find a way to shake it off. Childen also die in car crashes.

Depends on the child obvs. I'm not sure tbh. Maybe 5? Wouldn't judge anyone doing it a bit younger, but I think mine were 5-ish, before I felt comfortable leaving them in the bath alone. Weirdly, I can't really remember...

@itsnearlyallover I do give him privacy, yes, but I stay upstairs and the door is slightly open.

My DD is 4 and plays quite happily in the bath whilst I potter about upstairs.

However I'm 35 and my family still seem to think I require supervision in the bath- can't remember the last time I had an uninterrupted soak!

I pop out briefly with my three year old, but I’ll start singing the wheels on the bus or similar so we’re singing together! That way I know he’s ok.

My ds is 3.5 and I never take my eyes off him for a minute while he's in the bath! I think I need to relax on that front if this thread is anything to go by!

DD is 2 and I do things like sort the washing in the bathroom then nip out to put pile in another room - I'm max 5 steps and about 3 seconds away. Shes very sensible and chats to me the whole time,

@mammagotmad absolutely heartbreaking, but even if that occurred with a younger child and you were there I doubt you could stop it from happening?

😁

DS is 3 and I will now leave him in the bath but stay within earshot, but he's one of those kids that makes some sort of noise at all times while he's awake 😂

Oh no. Very sensible. You can't be TOO careful. 3.5 is still borderline toddler (IMO) (Just about...) (Or a tiny infant anyway!) Like some other people, I left mine at about 5, but was still within hearing range IYSWIM. I didn't bung 'em in the bath at 5 years old, and then bugger off down the shops!

I leave my 3 and 4 year olds in together for brief periods. I can always hear them chatting and never go further than the next room. I might nip downstairs if their 11 year old sister gets in with them (don't ask how the heck they all fit in there!)

If they were on their own, I'd say 4 for leaving in the bath and popping out briefly, 6 for leaving the door open and calling when they're done, and 8 for locking the door and doing it alone, although younger on all counts for showers.

Pop out, 3-ish
door open, 5 ish
alone, 6/7 ish but not necessarily with the door locked

Mine is 5 and I leave the door open whilst I lie on my bed reading my phone in pure bliss.

Bedroom is next to the bathroom and I can hear her talking to her 50,000 Barbies that absolutely must share the bath.

There was one unfortunate incident where she decided she needed a poo halfway through and hopped out the bath wet, managed to slip off the toilet and smear a large skid mark on the toilet seat. That wasn't a good day for me.

But yeah, 5

Of course it's ok, as long as he feels comfortable with it. Don't be ridiculous.

Around 5 for popping in and out and pottering close by with the door open. He's 9 now and showers but I still sit and read/do jobs in the room next door...just in case.

If neurotypical, 5 or 6.

Ok. When you said you need to start giving him privacy I took that to mean you weren't currently doing that.

Age 3 whist I am nearby. Age 4.5 maybe whilst I can hear her playing still. If she goes quiet I shout her to get an answer. We have a bungalow so I can be in lounge listening to her.

Sorry i appreciate that's how I had worded it. At 10 you can imagine that he's all self aware.

Around 5. My youngest is 6 and washes herself without my help anymore and dries and dresses herself.