The toddler years mean lots of mess and, in turn, plenty of baths to wash the mess away. As Baby becomes more curious, you’ll need to ensure you’re extra vigilant during bathtime to avoid potential hazards and help them stay safe. Here are some bathroom safety tips to help keep bathtime fun.
- Limit accessibility: When running the bath, be sure Baby isn’t able to get into the bathroom if you’re not right there with them. Shut the door, block it off with a gate, or consider a latch that is out of their reach so they can’t get into the room without you. Even with these precautions, it’s still important to make sure potential hazards like hairdryers and medications are locked up and out of the way.
- Take precautions: Toddlers aren’t known for their gracefulness, so it’s helpful to plan ahead if Baby is an explorer. Consider a suction bath mat to prevent slips if they decide to stand up in the tub. Babyproofing bath items, like faucet covers, may be a good investment to avoid any bumps on the head. You can also cover the faucet with a facecloth for extra padding.
- Fill with care: Pay close attention to how you’re filling the tub before bathtime. The right amount of water for a toddler is about waist-deep (to a toddler’s waist), so it can be easy to overfill. Though they are getting older, their skin is still sensitive. The appropriate temperature for a comfortable bath is between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. You can check the temperature with your own hands, or with a thermometer if you’d like to be extra safe.
- Use toddler-friendly products: As much as try to avoid it, suds will most likely make contact with Baby’s eyes at some point when rinsing out that shampoo. Look for products geared toward toddlers that are extra sensitive to minimize discomfort when bathing and rinsing.
- Check for mold: The warm water that sits in bath toys makes a perfect environment for mold to grow. Be sure to check Baby’s bath toys often to make sure they’re mold-free. If you do find mold, clean the toy or toys thoroughly to prevent exposure. To avoid mold, squeeze water out of toys at the end of the bath, and allow them to air dry completely between uses.
- Supervision: When it comes to bathtime safety, there is no substitute for proper supervision. Remember to never leave a toddler in the bath unattended, even for a moment. A child can drown in just inches of water, so always remain present and undistracted any time they are in the bath.
Bathtime can be a lot of fun, and making sure it’s as safe as possible is one of the best ways to make sure it stays that way. The other best way to make sure bathtime stays fun, of course, is bubbles.
