18 June 2013

Bath Time Safety



Baby and toddler bath times can be great fun but there's always that little niggle of safety in the back of your mind. I was completely paranoid that Logan would drown in the water when he was a baby and I remember secretly making my other half bath him for the first week when we came home from the maternity hospital as the thought of me doing it made my stomach knot with nerves. It's not that I didn't trust myself, I really felt I would slip or trip and he'd fall into the water! It was all new mum nerves though and I quickly got over it, thankfully. So what things can be done to keep your little one safe at bath time?


Bath Time when Logan was a baby

Be There!
Seems obvious but NEVER leave your little one unattended at bath time, not even for a second as that's when accidents happen. Be super prepared before you put your child in the bath and have their towel, shampoo, toys, face cloth etc all ready in advanced. If you have forgotten something shout on your other half to get it for you, if they don't hear you or no one else is in then tough! You'll just have to do without. Don't leave your little one, if it's that important take them with you and bring them back again. Please don't risk it.

Thermometer
Babies and young children have much thinner skin than adults, especially babies, so great care should be taken to have the bath at the correct temperature and the easiest way to do this is with a thermometer. There's lots of different kinds you can get and all are quite effective. You can have a fancy electronic one or do what we did and purchase the strip thermometers attached to plastic.




Bath Seat
Logan had a little baby bath seat and it was fantastic. It was given to us as a present from my auntie when Logan was born and we used it all the time. We only stopped using it when Logan got too big to fit in and by then he was finally sitting unaided and not as wobbly as before. By far the most popular bath seat (and the one we used) has to be the Safety 1st Swivel Bath Seat. It's reasonably priced at around £10 and if you can get it second hand then even better. The good thing about this bath seat is that it has suction cups on the bottom so sticks to the bath but beware it can be moved when your baby gets bigger and stronger. Stay close to your little one whilst they're in the bath seat just incase.

Bath Mat
I do think a bath mat is an essential bath time accessory for safety. Logan is 3 years old now but without his bath mat he slips and slides in the bath which is really dangerous, he could knock out his teeth if he fell the wrong way! Anyway, get yourself a good bath mat and use it every time your child goes in the bath. We have the Non-Slip Colour Change Bath Mat from Toys r Us which tells you when the water's too hot (the crabs leg shows the word hot and changes colour) and again it's reasonably priced at £12.99. Ours has been on the go for 3 years and it's still going strong.



Taps
Sounds a bit silly but don't allow your toddler to touch the taps on the bath at any point. They might not be strong enough yet but they will one day and might turn the wrong tap on i.e. the hot and really hurt themselves. It's best to just discourage any touching of the taps until they're much older and can understand exactly what the consequences are of turning on the hot tap. I always tell Logan that the taps are very hot and could burn which seems to keep him away from them at the moment, and the fact I'm there with him when he has a bath so he doesn't get the chance to fiddle with them.

The Water
Your baby or toddler doesn't need a massive bubble bath only a few inches of water is fine for a baby and a few more on top for a toddler, it's not a swimming pool after all - although my son seems to think it is! The less water the better really especially for smaller children and there's no need to fill above waist height for toddlers. I always think they can play with their toys a bit better if there's less water as the can reach them easier.

So there you have it, some of my tips for Bath Time Safety for little ones. I'm sure there's tons more tips out there and I'd love to hear what other parents do to make sure their kids bath time is always fun but safe.

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