Constantly filling the bath - any safety devices?

[AgnesDiPesto]

DS (ASD - 5) has started independently (and obsessively) taking himself off for baths. Usually when we are busy cooking - during Xmas dinner we found him naked in the bath with water 1cm from the brim. Am mainly worried about him scalding himself / drowning although we have turned down the thermostat so hopefully the water can't get too hot. I have found an alarm on amazon you can suction to the bath and it goes off when the water reaches that level which I guess I can position near the bottom of the bath, but welcome any other ideas. I can't lock the door as kids need access to the toilet.

Am all for DS gaining self help skills but this is ridiculous.

does he like rules?
we've found that DS1 (who likes rules a lot) responds fairly well to "the rule is..." repeated ad nauseum

so "the rule is, no baths without mummy or daddy"

keep saying it. he'll get it

Remove the plug and keep it somewhere he cant reach. On top of a wall-mounted bathroom cabinet is good (we used to keep them on our keyrings at one school I worked at. Great for keeping your keys clean, not so good for laminated PECS cards...)

Then do what ThisIs said

Take the nobs off the taps

device to stop baths overflowing.

keeping the plug out of reach?

How about a Thermostatic Mixing Valves which control hot water to pre-selected maximum temperature?

Some info here: www.rwc.co.uk/public/HWBLF%20-%20FactSheet.pdf

Just to add a note of caution on hiding the plug, I tried this and DS's response was to wedge loads of toilet paper down the plug hole, which resulted in a lovely afternoon with pipes being unscrewed etc.

I put a line of bath stickers around and made a fuss about checking that it met the line when I was filling the bath "Not too much, nearly there, ahh just right!" etc. Seemed to lock into his obsession about 'in the right place' and now even without the stickers he fills it only to there. Also got back out the thermometer I used when he was a baby, it is a little duck with 'too hot' and 'too cold' and he likes checking it before he gets in.

We also did a bath signs that he can stick on the door to remind him whether it is bath night or not [he has a lot of ezcema so is only supposed to have a bath every other day].

We put the plug up where DS2 can't reach it, but we also have a swing hook on the door near the top as well, so he can't actually get into the bathroom without an adult. We have a 2yo as well, so cannot risk random bathtubs full of water as it would be a huge drowning risk. Not to mention that DS2 is not the best at sitting still in the bathtub, so we would worry about him standing up and slipping and drowning as well.

That's so strange I have the exact same problem with DS (ASD) 5. Sometimes I think it's because he is cold, this is because he chews his tops then takes them off and socks and slippers last almost no time at all.