Making a bathroom child friendly

[minipie]

I'm planning to refurbish a bathroom which will mainly be used by small DCs (currently have one toddler and another planned). So, I'm looking for ideas to make it safe and work well for children.

So far on my list:

• lock that can be unlocked from the outside

• some LED lighting that can be left on at night (maybe even on a timer or motion sensor)

• Exofil instead of taps to avoid knocks

• non slippy flooring

• wall hung sink to allow step stool to live underneath

• lockable and/or high cupboard for bleach etc.

• hand held shower for hair washing

Any more tips to add to my list? For example are there particular types of taps that toddlers find easier (as we haven't got to that stage yet)? Any magic solution to stop the bathroom getting soaked ?

Thank you in advance.

• Stating the obvious - Bath instead of shower if bathroom is too small to have both.

• Never again in a place without hand-held shower as wiping off their poo butts is seriously a pain.

We lived in different places with different taps and I haven't noticed difference re: toddlers ease of using them.

• Oh, use sink with overflow - definitely critical :)

• built in toddler seat toilet seat. Can lock to make normal seat once old enough

• space next to toilet for step for toilet. ( we never used potties)

• bath toy storage

• for us , space for reusable nappy bin, and nappy/ wipes/ folding changing mat. Two children close in age meant 3 years of nappies.

• non turning taps. They can't undo if too tight or they leave dripping!

• built in laundry basket if space

• walk in shower. Would always add rather than any other. When pregnant easy for you, when toddlers and small children they can't trip over shower tray, and elderly can walk straight in so lasts for use for decades

storage for bath toys
place for toothbrushes and toothpaste that kids can reach
I taught my DTDs to sort the washing into the lights, darks, colours sections of our washing basket when they were just 4 - its the best thing I ever did. So get one of those if you can fit it in.

Don't have hand rails on the bath. My daughter got her chin and teeth stuck under it and ripped four teeth forward - it wasn't a nice sight!

ouch, starfish4 :/

oh and place for shampoos and liquids that is out of reach for kids but within reach for adults having shower

Thanks all, great ideas!

We will have to have the shower over the bath as there is no room for separate shower and bath. I know lots of people hate this but don't think we have a choice tbh. Shower will only be used by guests or when DC are (a lot) older.

I didn't realise there were built in toddler loo seats, thought they were always the clip on kind. off to google. thanks

good tip about taps, and about shampoo out of reach

Built in laundry basket, sounds good but how does it work do you mean basket inside a cupboard? I think we have space...

at handrails story, your poor DD starfish.

Shower will be used as soon as DCs can vaguely stand up, it's vastly quicker than running a bath for sun creamy, sandy DCs and you'll end up climbing in with them.

If you go for a double ended bath with waste in the middle don't have a click clack waste huge nuisance when DC stands on it and lets all the water out!
Many bathroom cabinets have lights built in giving you extra storage and additional lighting, check out the Schneider Graceline with LEDs it has a nice colour sequence which mesmerises little ones

ah sauvignon that's what we had planned - hadn't realised the click clack wastes pop up when stood on! hmm, but the alternative is pop up waste and they tend to go wrong quite easily I think...

DD broke pop up waste in a matter of weeks in new bath. Whole freestanding bath now needs to be disconnected to have it replaced FFS.
Tile everywhere, the biggest tiles you can find as less grouting to clean especially when it's toothpasty water.
Locks on the bathroom windows so that they can be left open for ventilation but the kids can't climb on the loo and exit head first.
Extractor fans are now compulsory - it's worth spending the absolute most you can on the quietest model possible so it's not rumbling on for hours in the middle of the night. We put in two pull cords, one for lighting, the other for the lights in the shower which triggered the extractor fan. Brill.
Low level lighting option for late night potty/vomit stops. Nothing like BRIGHT lighting to properly wake them up.
Storage, storage and more storage.
Lockable medicine cabinet so you've got the Calpol, thermometer etc in one place when one child gets sick and the other is sound asleep? Handy for guests visiting with ill children too.
Lots and lots of overflow outlets. Or a cupboard for a mop and bucket
Counter space beside the sink to sit a child down is dead handy.
A laundry basket that won't disolve into a mush of straw when filled with a selection of freshly bathed and soaking wet unsqueezed "bunnies".......

Oh yes, extractor fans (which I hate and always switch off if I can...). Will have to have a think about that.

What I want is some sort of switching arrangement so that

• fan is on when DC are bathing and ideally for a period after their bath
• fan is off at all other times
• this happens automatically so that it's not reliant on me or older DC remembering to switch the fan on or off.

Is this possible? can't immediately think of a way... unless there are fans with timers??

at freshly bathed bunnies and mush of straw! oh dear. Yes, plastic laundry baskets I think. It will be a modern style bathroom so white plastic may look ok. Or maybe one of those fabric sorter efforts.

We have a brushed steel Brabantia jobby which is going ten years now and looks perfect. Worth the ludicrous 80 price tag imo back in the days before kids when we could afford expensive accessories .

We separated the lighting as you either shower in the dark/twilight or switch the light on and the extractor comes on with it. If you are using an electric shower, you might be able to link the two things?

You can set a timer so it only comes on after a few mins which is handy for a quick pee in the dead of night but you have to be quick!!

Some of the new ones work on the basis of moisture in the air so will keep going and going so beware if there's no window in the bathroom. You will definitely want an over-ride switch to knock it off.

Bunny had her tummy scrubbed with stripey toothpaste and a toothbrush the other day as part of her "bath". The bath towel bought it at the same time and the whole place was soaked. It only took 5 unsupervised mins with a near 4 yo just at the point when you think you might have escaped that particular stage ... Suddenly the bathroom is mega interesting as a playroom. Bunny is going to have a long, v long, summer in the paddling pool methinks.

Oh - a soft close toilet lid is fab, so no huge crashing noises.
Beware fancy and usually very stiff buttons for flushing too - my 4yo can only just manage some of the fittings.

A hidden cistern has been a great destresser. No prospect of anyone taking the lid off and dropping it on the floor/toes to see what's inside.

One final thing - sorry if this is TMI. There are toilets which have a shallow bowl with the water towards the back and toilets which don't and have more of a straight down design. The former will have more skid marks than the latter necessitating the frequent use of domestos and marigolds or gasp the dreaded MN toilet brush. Regardless of your personal opinions of toilet brushes, if you can avoid the necessity for one in a children's bathroom, that is A VERY GOOD THING. It's just one more thing to clean and remove from small fingers as they try to "help".

Best of luck - I'm still wishing I'd had the forethought on the toilet design question. Would have been a horrendous conversation in the showroom though !! I'll bet you anything if you posted a link on MN to your chosen model though, someone will have it and be able to tell you.

Get your plumber to put the cold tap on the right so that's the default one for teeth washing bunny baths etc with right handed people and tons of hot water doesn't go down the drain.

Thermostatic shower to avoid scalding anyone if some considerate type flushes the loo.

Under no circumstances even consider natural stone tiles.

Can you tell I've installed three bathrooms in 10 yrs?

If you are doing shower over the bath but it will mostly be used for baths, I'd put a shower curtain in and keep it folded over the railing.

I've never seen a usable, practical screen that can be usefully swung back so you can bath children without cutting off door or loo access. The folding ones just collect mould and leak as far as I can see

A nice screen can be installed later, and the whole thing regrouted to freshen it all up (circa 5 yrs) and so it's worth keeping a few spare tiles in case of cracks/screw ups at that point. Spare floor tiles are really useful too - the buggers are always getting broken and a good tiler can remove one and replace without too much trouble.

If you're going to have a shower screen rather than a curtain think about getting one that folds flat against the wall when not in use. (Will probably mean you can't have the taps at the same end). Then it's not in the way when the kids are in the bath.

More great replies thank you!

Tread I think I have found a screen which will fold the other way - inwards in the bath, underneath the shower head iyswim. Hoping that will work...? really don't want shower curtain if I can help it.

So, additional conclusions

• Spare tiles good idea. Agree about avoiding stone

• Cold tap on right - ok, so do I definitely want separate cold and hot taps, rather than a single "joystick" type lever?

• Hidden cistern yes as we will have a wall hung loo so built in cistern. Big button flush.

• Lock high up on outside of door to prevent bunny type incidents.

• Soft close lid. Non German style loo (apparently the Germans like to inspect their poo, hence the "poo platform" in certain loo styles). Actually we will probably use the same loo model that we chose in our last place, so I know it doesn't have a poo platform.

• Thermostatic shower/bath taps to prevent scalding. Thermostatic basin taps all seem to be ugly and pricey though?

Will continue to mull the fan switch arrangement, I will probably need to talk to an electrician.

Won't be any room for counter space beside the sink, but the loo will be right beside the sink so a child could sit there.

Still not sure about pop up bath waste vs click clack...

cross post, yes onceipop I will have to have the taps somewhere else, not the shower end, so I can fold the screen back against the wall.

We had the humidity sensor type extractor fans in our old house. They worked well.

You can get an extractor fan with a humidistat so it comes on automatically when it detects steam from the bath/shower.

Oh one more tip. When you put the bath taps in, put the hot tap on the far side. Then any mischievous toddler will be less likely to turn the hot supply on.

These are all great ideas but I have to say our bathroom features hardly any of them and somehow we survived the toddler years So I wouldn't spend a whole lot extra on features you may only need for a couple of years.

My 3 nearly always shower now. I think I would choose the bath with that in mind so it's reasonably easy for a 5yo to climb in and out of.

No suggestions but I'm SOOOO jealous. Would love to have a second bathroom so I keep one lovely for just me, and maybe eldest DD, and then OH and little ones can go throw toys and clothes around in their own bathroom.

Lever taps are good.

We have an exofil thing with lever taps in the corner of a double edged bath.

Our bath is sitting on the floor with the trap between beams. So even though its a really deep bath its easier to get into and out of. It makes the room look bigger too.

Twin sinks are great. We have them in built incupboards and each DC has a drawer for toothbrush etc.

Heated towel rail is nice and we've preciously had them with an electric element in so you can dry towels in the summer when the heating is off.

Be careful with wall mounted sinks that the mounting is strong enough for kids swinging off them, having their bottoms washed in them etc.

We have a tiny bathroom in this house but have fitted in the twin sinks, tall heated towel rail, 1800 bath and toilet.

We have one of the three part seats mentioned were one part is adult seat, one is child and then lid. It looks quite neat and was only £15 off ebay, saves lots of toilet seat swapping and potty emptying.

On pinterest i saw a fantastic bath side panel mounted on hinges so the top hinged out and all the bath toys and sponges etc were stored in containers fitted to the back of the bath panel. I've not fitted my bath panel yet so may yet try this.

You can get built in laundry baskets if you will have cupboard storage space. Or under sink

Oh and huge bath so kids and parent can bath together if wanted