Where do you leave your toddler when you are in the bathroom/shower

[lightwind]

My almost two yr old is getting to the point where he will be able to climb out of his playpen/ cot and I'm panicking - how will I have a shower or go to the loo when he does? Please help.

Oh - depends on the lo really I suppose - at that age - I could stick mine in front of the tv for about 5 mins but I had all the stuff - fire side grilles, kitchen door safety gates etc. My lo was out of the play pen by about 15 months.

I always left bathroom door open and he was often in the bathroom with me.

my 19 month old comes in the bathroom with me he just plays with his bath toys and waits for me to finish. i know its not ideal but its the only way i can have a bath or go the loo.

We had a stairgate on his bedroom door so he could play happily in his room without wandering.

I used to take mine in the shower with me or let him play in the bathroom. By about the age of two I would shut the stairgate at the top of the stairs and let them run around upstairs.

dd often decides she wants to come to the loo with me but when I have a shower I leave her in the sitting room with the telly on. She is ok there for about 20 mins while I wash, get dressed etc.

My 2 year old is either wandering about upstairs (stair gate on & all child proofed) or watching TV when I shower. But usually he stands by the bath and watches me!

Stairgate on, bathroom door open. Usually they both wander into the bathroom and watch me anyway.

I've always let them roam free. The only safety being a stari gate at the top of the period for 6m or so between crawling and being unable to descend carefully.

the house is a deathtrap otherwise. I take the positiont hat they won't like the taste of bleach (and since I can never open the bottles I doubt they could). The couldn't reach the knives.

My DD plays in my bedroom with the door shut whilst I have a shower in the ensuite.

i stick ds in his pushchair in front of the telly.

either playing in bathroom
parked in front of DVD (the days of long showers are over, my friend)
or failing that, become an evening shower person. the latter works well if you WOHM as the mornings become much less frantic

I'm another Mum who normally has an audience both when I'm in the shower. Bathroom door open and stair gate on, DD plays in her room but wanders in and out to chat and repeatedly point out that I'm 'nudie' and have 'boobies'. DH always locks the door

My DD sits on our bed in front of Cbeebies while I have a bath,she is usually in the same place I left her in when I come back in to get dressed!

My DS plays in the bathroom while I have a bath, either reading books, doing jigsaws or now (his favourite Christmas present) playing with his ELC super scribbler.

Don't think I've managed to go to the toilet solo for about a year now.... the days of privacy and mystique are long past!

I used to put a plastic storage box at the other end of the bath - ds had a bath in that while I showered, so 2 birds with one stone, but no privacy...

Mine always came with me into the bathroom and played there. They still do (aged 5 and 3). Nowadays they're free to go downstairs, play with the toys, hassle their father. But no, in the bathroom getting in my way is where they want to be.

In fact this morning, they even got in the shower with me....

Can you use stairgates and have a 'safe' room for him?

When DS was that age, I could take showers/baths once he was in bed or before he woke up.

At that age, shut stairgate, left bathroom door open, and dd watched cbeebies on our bed or wandered in with me. I think she was nearly 4 before I could hope to go to the toilet alone.

I only ever have a bath/shower when DS1&2 are a) in bed or b) DH can watch them. I have brought DS1 into the bath with me before though. Toilet not an issue as we have downstairs loo so I just leave the door open and we play the 'shut mummy in the loo' game...

cbeebies

Thanks everyone for all the responses and helpful suggestions. I was just getting to the point of thinking it would be ok to leave my ds in my bedroom while I'm in the en suite - and today (after I had left my first post) he decided to put both hands on the bulb in the bedside lamp - when it was on. Burnt two fingers, shouted "hot hot hot" through his tears - and this when I was only a few feet away, with my back to him. I guess I will have to childproof a room - the playpen has been such a Godsend that I've been a bit slack.

totpit...or in with me.

if i want a long bath...with cbeebies, though this isn't really so doable with 2.