Unsupervised bath time?

[Nettie]

Just wondering when everyone decided it was 'safe' or appropriate to leave their kids in the bath alone (but within earshot of course!).

I'm not planning on doing this anytime soon, but it just occurred to me tonight while he was in the bath that I wonder what everyone does??

Your input is most welcome and appreciated!

[Rach75]

jack was probably 2 when we would let him have a shower alone and about 27mths when he wa shaving abth, we are within ear shot and constantly calling out or checking but yeah he has baths alone

[ChrissyT]

Paige is 3 tomorrow and we started about 6-8 months ago.
Definately in earshot and we go in and out every 3-5min...sometimes more.

[Nelle]

Not sure when we started doing it, but we leave ours and they're about 3 and 18months.
I'd say it depends on each situation - in our situation, our house is quite small, and the kids quite chatty, so when I hear them stop chatting, I'll stick my head in. And the bathroom's quite central so I'm walking past quite often.

I imagine it'll be different in our new house where the bathroom is tucked away a bit more, I might have to find something to do much closer. And obviously I don't go out of earshot, like outside or anything. I don't think I'd be putting washing on the line during a bath til they were much older, as in old enough for someone to come and get me if things went wrong.

[Pandora]

DS1 turns 4 in November and he doesnt have unsupervised baths. I nearly drowned as a child so maybe thats why but I wasnt planning on leaving him unsupervised til 5

[Turkish Delight]

DD is 2 and i leave her to play but check every 2 minutes or call out to her

[Twin Sister]

Ds is almost 2 and I love watching him play in the bath. I'm ok leaving him for a few minutes to run get a towel, washcloth or camera, but I couldn't let him have his whole bath unsupervised. No only do I feel uneasy leaving him alone but I'd miss out on him being cute in the bath. It'll be a few more years I think.

[Spring Angel]

TBH DS is 2 and I don't even turn my back on him when he is in the bath. If I need to get a towel I'll get DH to watch him. I don't see me leaving him in there without someone watching for at least a few more years just yet.

[LimeSlice]

Charlotte has been having caths by herself since she was about 15 months or so.
I started intially as we were living in a VERY small unit, with no bath, so she would sit in the TINY baby bath we had from when she was a NB in the bottom of the 'roman bath' (shower lol). The bathroom was in the middle of the house, I would put towels ont he tiles around her bath and on the floor so she wouldnt slip over if she did get out and used to do the dishes and keep an eye on her.

However, Charlotte has NEVER been a stnad up in the bath type - has always been aware not to do that, she doesn;t touch the taps at all ever, again she was taught from the beginning tht only mummy and daddy touch the taps.
Now we live in our own house with a propper bath, she still baths alone if she wants to (she more oofen than not kicks me out lol) but we can see her from the couch or even the patio if we need to. And she doesnt get herself in or out of the normal bath as she did with her baby bath in the shower set up. lol She is really good in the bath, and I trust that should something terrible happen, it would be/have been a very isolated and unpredictable occurence - she is always within earshot, and always within 30 seconds travel time from anywhere in the house.
So I think it really does depend on the child and how they are known to behave and respond to instructions

[*charmalea*]

about 2yrs we started to leave DS alone for a few mins or so, to get a towell or something , i usually have the water very low and he has a million toys to keep him occupied . DS hates his head under water , so i know he wouldnt pourpusly put his head under.

DD is a water lover (12mths) and often puts her head under water deliberatly , so i never ever leave her alone in the bath .

they both bath together, DD comes out first and i go to dry her off , while DS is unsupervsed . if its quiet i often run in panic , but DS is just concentrating on something important to him (cleaning matchbox cars with a toothbrush )

dds room is right next to the bath room so i can hear ds easily . or i wait till DH gets home so he can bath and i can supervise if he needs to get towells or something .

[Spring Angel]

So I think it really does depend on the child and how they are known to behave and respond to instructions

I agree with this to a certain extent but I also think accidents happen. DS listens to us, won't touch the taps etc but IMO it is still too much to ask a toddler to follow instructions unsupervised.

[Indadhanu]

I can't see myself leaving her in the near future... I would never forgive myself if something happened that I could have prevented by being there, and besides, whats 15-20 minutes out of my or Shel's day to sit with Jazz, either in the bath with her or in the bathroom, and enjoy her?

[Glamourcide]

DD1 often showers unsupervised, I pop in every couple of minutes to make sure she hasn't emptied an entire bottle of shampoo or climbed out to brush her teeth at the sink. Sometimes it's the easiest way to keep her occupied while I clean up a mess she's made, and the bathroom is within earshot so I just listen out for her talking and banging things around and check in on her very often.

[Erin_25]

hmmmm depends what you mean by "bath alone" if you mean leaving them in the bath alone to play etc totally alone for the bath then NO.
But yes since DS was about 2 perhaps a bit earlier I would "duck out of the room" so to speak....go to the toilet myself, get him a towel, microwave his milk or lay his pj's out. That sort of stuff or even grab the phone if it rings (then walk back into the bathroom). Like most have said, he's within earshot etc.
But I don't see why you would leave them totally alone until a time they can wash themselves properly etc.....I still have to wash his hair & get him to brush his teeth & so on. And he can't get out by himself as it's too high. I'm sorry, & not to offend anyone AT ALL, but I can't see why you would want to do something so time consuming at that time that you can't initiate some play time in the bath....like watch telly IYKWIM.
And accidents that's what they are do & can happen in the blink of the eye, expecting it or not. Just this morning DS was in the shower with me....when it came time to get out he missed the mat & slipped & first thing he hit was his head on the tiles. We had some tears & a cuddle, all better but it could have been much worse & he wasn't doing anything silly & I was there.

[~breeze~]

DD is 4 (turns 5 in April) & I will occasionally step out to get the camera or towel but I always rush LOL. These days DS baths with DD & where we are currently living DS's bedroom is across from the bathroom & his change table is just inside the door so I can hear/see DD while I dry & dress DS. Most of the time DD will get out first & dry & dress herself while I dry DS, I much prefer this as I get so nervous leaving her unsupervised. When she was younger if I had to duck out of the bathroom while she was bathing I'd have her sing songs until I got back so I could hear she was ok the whole time
I'm just a scaredy cat & worry that something could happen in those seconds I'm away & I'd never forgive myself if it did. I also dont mind sitting in there with them, I enjoy watching them play together... they love bath time
Each to their own though... as I said, I'm a big scaredy cat LOL

[sirenz]

the only time I leave ds is when i am BUSTING to go to the toilet and the toilet is right next to the bathroom so I make sure he talks to me while i'm on there.

I would never leave him any other time as I know accidents happen and they can happen to anyone. Also, he is a cheeky little monkey and will try to stand up because he knows he is not allowed to He has the naughtiest little grin when he does it too.

My ds is very clumsy as well, so there is no way I want him unsupervised in the bath.. anything could happen

Not sure when I would let him bath unsupervised. Maybe when he is 21 lol

[MrsFabuloso]

My kids are 2 1/2 and 13mths and I don't really leave them. Only to get things quickly like towels or whatever if I forget or answer the phone, but I try not to. We only live in a littel 2br unit so it is always within hearing distance of them if I do leave, usually to their room which is right next door.
My kids are climbers and mischeif makers though so I tend not to leave if I can help it! They bathe together and DD likes to 'help' mummy and will often try to wash DS's hair or something, even when I'm there with them (sometimes I will clean the bathroom/toilet/floor when they're in the bath) so even just taking my eyes off them for a few seconds is a worry for me, lol! DD has emptied the contents of a bottle of baby shampoo on DS's head once (luckily it was almost empty) and she has gotten the childrens toothpaste and fed it to DS and waten it herself, she tries to brush DS's teeth and DS tries to climb out of the bath......so in short no I do not leave my kids in the bath!!

[The[cookie]Doctor]

I leave my DS while I potter around and do my own thing, popping in and out every couple of minutes. I'm not even going to try make excuses for it because in the end someone will disagree. We're okay with how we do things.