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Parenting

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Original poster

Is it okay to leave a just gone 3 yo in the bath unsupervised

34 replies

espares · 05/01/2009 10:54

I recently went to pick my ds up from a playdate at his mates house.
While I was there the mates mum put her 3 yo in the bath and left him in there with the bath filling up while she saw me out the door.
I felt uneasy about it wondering if he was okay to be left like that and it worried me a little.
Just wondering is it acceptable to do this with a just gone 3 yo.
I don,t think I left my ds alone in the bath until he was at least 5 and then it was just to nip into the next room but I am a cautious parent anyway and a bit of a worrier.

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compo · 05/01/2009 10:56

I left mine whilst went to get pjs, milk etc
but not with the taps running
what if the water suddenl got too hot and he put his hand in the stream of hater water?

ninedragons · 05/01/2009 10:57

No, it's not ok.

Original poster

espares · 05/01/2009 10:59

I can,t help but feel its a tad young after all they say that children up to 4 years of age can drown in a paddling pool.
Its not something I would do but I know everyone is different in what they deem acceptable.

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GaspodTheWonderDog · 05/01/2009 10:59

No, not ok. Not ok at all.

whoingodsnameami · 05/01/2009 10:59

With taps running, absolutely not, I have only just started to leave dts alone in the bath, they are 5, but I stay on the same floor, so I can hear them, they talk to thier toys and sing while in the bath, so I know they are fine as long as I can hear that.

BusyBeeWithThree · 05/01/2009 11:00

No, I have only just started leaving my 7 year old alone whilst I get PJ's etc and he is a competent swimmer!!!! I know of a family where the 20 month old died in the bath whilst Mum went to grab the phone. The worse thing was that the eight year old was in the bath with him..... so perhaps I am overly cautious.

backalleysally · 05/01/2009 11:00

My DS is 3.4 and I have just started leaving him in the bath alone.
I run the bath, he gets in, I wash his hair and give him a scrub and then leave him in the tub for a while to play. I am only usually nearby tidying up so can hear him. He knows not to stand up and to shout if he wants to get out.

Lizzylou · 05/01/2009 11:03

No, not OK.
Not with taps running esp.
If DS1 (4.9) was by himself in the bath I may pop and get PJ's etc but not go downstairs and see someone out of the door.

27 · 05/01/2009 11:05

No, IMO it isnt OK.

I would leave a 4 year old while I ran to get pyjamas or a towel, but not any younger, and not with the taps running.

LyraSilvertongue · 05/01/2009 11:07

I've left my two (4 and 6) alone in the bath for a while now but I'll always be within listening distance so I can hear they're ok. I wouldn't go out of earshot.

HSMM · 05/01/2009 11:19

I chat to and read to my DD 9. She thinks I'm being friendly, but I am really supervising bath time. I do pop out to get her PJs etc, but I still don't let her climb in and out on her own, because I know a 12 yr old who slipped climbing out of the bath and broke several ribs.

Sycamoretree · 05/01/2009 11:32

With taps running, no. But I leave my DD 3. 4 in the bath with the door open whilst I dry DS 1.4 in his room and get him in his PJ's.

I think it's down to your own instinct as a parent and what you know your child is like. I've done this with DD since she was younger than now - can't remember when I started - probably around the age of 3 ish. She's incredibly well behaved and we tend to to a game of singing each other a line from a song in the minute or two it takes me to sort out DS. That way I know she's ok.

I somehow feel that DS - a completely different personality might not be able to be left like this at a similar age - but I don't intend to have any more children so it's not likely to be an issue.

ClarissimoUsedToBePeachy · 05/01/2009 11:35

I am aware of a child that age wo tried to get out slipped and went under, drowning when Mum answered that door (sibling of an older friend)

So no, not something i would contemplate; my boys have been 7 and that was with a downstairs bathroom and doors open

mankymummy · 05/01/2009 11:45

Not with taps running.

My DS is just over 3 and I will leave the room but make sure he is continually talking to me.

And if he stops talking, I run like the wind back into the bathroom to an astonished DS wondering what on earth I am doing!

wishingchair · 05/01/2009 14:31

I would never put my DCs in the bath with the taps running.

I do leave them in the bath whilst I get PJs, put clothes away etc ... but our house is small so I am never more than 10 feet away, doors are all open, DD1 is 6, DD2 is 2 and they bathe together, and they are so blinking noisy I can hear everything that is going on. I am always there when they get in and out.

I never go downstairs though. What if I fell down the stairs?

Weegle · 05/01/2009 14:36

I think in that situation - taps running, going downstairs, no. But I must be lax because I leave DS who is 2.7yrs playing in the bath for about 3-4 min (but he's singing I can hear him) whilst I nip in to his room (next room) and get things ready. If he went quiet then I would be in there like a shot. I wouldn't go downstairs and I wouldn't answer the phone - my ears would always be listening.

PinkPoinsettias · 05/01/2009 15:04

alone in the bath while you're in the next room chatting to them while you collect pj's/towels/etc or get baby dressed if you bathed them together.... yes, have done and feel safe doing so as if they slip you hear it happen and are close enough to be off use.

alone while taps running.... no way in hell.... i'd never even put a child in the bathroom never mind the bath til it was filled and i'd checked the temperature.

alone while you're too far to hear them fall or notice when they go quiet... no way

when dd was 18 months ds was born and after a few weeks i started bathing them together, there was no floor space in the bathroom to get him dressed so i'd leave dd in the bath while i was round the corner in our bedroom getting him dressed.

i chatted to her constantly and never went more than a minute or so before looking in on her as well even though i could hear her chattering to me.

now they're oder and still bathe together and i do pop in and out of the bedroom to grab things or sort washing while they play but they're so loud and spend the whole time shouting at each other that i don't have to worry about knowing if something happened and i'm never further than round the corner of the door anyway.

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 05/01/2009 15:07

I am the world's most neglectful laidback parent and I would never put a child in a bath while the taps were still running. I would leave a three-year-old long enough to get towels etc as long as I was still in earshot, but no longer. It is perfectly possible for a three year old to drown in the bath.

PortAndLemon · 05/01/2009 15:10

Depends on layout of house. Our bathroom is right next to the front door, so I would happily have a just-turned-3-yo child in the bath and take one sideways step out of the bathroom door to the front door for a few seconds. But I also have the hot water temperature turned down to a point where it can't scald anyone.

expatinscotland · 05/01/2009 15:11

No, I wouldn't. My 3-year-old is very active and likes to stand up in the bath and try to get stuff - the shower taps, for example.

MissisBoot · 05/01/2009 15:13

I leave dd in the bath alone but am generally tidying up in bedrooms so not far away. I'd never answer the door or put her in there with the taps running.

sweetkitty · 05/01/2009 15:15

I bath DD3 first (she's 5 months) then I plonk DD1 (4 1.2) and DD2 (3) in whilst I dress DD3 in the other room, I'm about 6 feet away from them at all times, I will then pop DD3 in her cot and go wash the other two.

Taps are always off and turned very tight and non slip mats cover all of the bath. I would never leave the hot water tap running it's scalding.

sleepycat · 05/01/2009 15:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

expatinscotland · 05/01/2009 15:21

i get it all organised beforehand - PJ's, socks, towels, the lot.

i do DS first. get him out and dressed and put him on baby gym matt.

then i do the girls.

they both get out at the same time and off to the bedroom to get dressed, brush hair, etc.

mummyofboys · 05/01/2009 15:32

NO NO NO !!!!

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