Bath time safety

Every parent knows bathing your little ones can be a great bonding activity, but like everything you do with your child, accidents can also happen.

Over one million children under the age of 16 attend A & E departments as a result of accidents in the home every year, with over 10% of these accidents occurring in the bathroom. The great news is that there are lots of quick and easy measures you can put in place to make your bathroom child-friendly.

Ideal Standard and parenting expert Lucy Atkins, author of numerous parenting books including ‘First Time Parent’, have teamed up to create some handy tips to show you how to help prevent unnecessary accidents and create a safe environment for family bath time.

1. Avoid scalding. Many bathroom accidents occur from hot taps and water, with over half of all scalds in the UK happening to children less than five years of age. A baby or child’s skin is thinner than an adult’s and will scald very easily. Always check the temperature by dipping your elbow (not your hand, which may be less temperature sensitive) in the water. The bath should feel the same temperature as your body.

2. Prevent small fingers getting crushed. Small fingers can be easily trapped by knocking the toilet seat down during active play around the bathroom.

3. Be vigilant: never, ever leave a baby or young child alone in the bath, even if you’re using a special baby bath seat and if your baby can sit up alone - even if you’re just ‘nipping’ for a nappy or the phone. Drowning is one of the most common causes of death in babies and young children. A baby or child can drown in just an inch or two of water so it’s best never to take the risk.

4. Make sure dangerous items are out of reach. Storage is really important for keeping all medicines and bathroom cleaning products safely tucked away from inquisitive hands. Seemingly harmless adult items such as razors, scissors and bleach can pose serious safety risks to children.

5. Avoid slip ups: it’s fine to put even a small baby in a normal bath as long as you hold them up and support them fully (the water should only be a few centimetres deep) – but put a non-slip mat in the tub to keep your little one securely seated in your grip.

These few simple and easy safety measures can give parents peace of mind to relax and enjoy bath time play with their children, comfortable in the knowledge their children are protected.