At What Age Did You Start Letting Your Child Bathe Unsupervised?

At her age I would leave the door open and quietly read or fold laundry in the next room so you can hear everything. I listen to the humming or splashes and know that everything is fine. When I hear silence, I just call in "How ya doin'?".

I tell her to pull the plug when she's done, then I know to go in and help her step out.

I have a 6 1/2 and almost 5 yr old. They are each allowed "privacy" for some portion of their baths/showers. I tell them to get their robes, jammies and put their dirty clothes in the hamper while I get the bath started.

Usually they each get to play for awhile, then I give them a 2-5 minute warning until I'm coming in to help them wash. I have found that if they wash their own hair, they don't do a good job. After I wash their hair, I tell them to use the bubbles to wash their other parts - which they do, but I supervise. Then I help/supervise the rinsing. Once they are rinsed with fresh water, they get out. I don't let they stay and play in "dirty" water as I've read that doing so depletes their skin of oils and can cause irritation/drying. Also, I still help them dry off.

My daughter was born in June 2003 and I JUST allowed her to take unsupervised showers. She calls me to help her scrub her back and rinse her hair out thoroughly (she has long hair) other than that, she cleans herself up pretty well.

Around your daughter's age. Two of my three girls shower completely independently. They are 11 and 8. My 7 year old still needs help washing and rinsing her hair, which we do at the end of her shower, but we don't come in until she calls us. And if she takes a bath without washing her hair, we don't come in at all.

I think it depends on the child. My 8 year old was always a wild one in the bath. We let him be unsupervised but he put too much water and splashed a lot and usually made a big mess in the bathroom. The only thing I would worry about is when she has to get out of the tub. Maybe you can draw the curtains closed half way to give her a little privacy. You know your child best. I would say it depends upon her personality and history. If she usually gets out okay and is not likely to horseplay too much then I would say that it's probably okay.

My son was about 7 or 8 when he started bathing solo. I always made sure the water was not too hot, and only a little bubble bath was used. And until he was this old, a lot of times he didn't think of washing the dirt off much. A lot of times as he got older I'd sit near by and read to him while he washed himself. Why so old? Well, let me put it this way, when I was 5, I got a hold of my Moms safety razor and shaved off my sisters eyebrows. Because a younger child might not have to sense to wash thoroughly, not flood the bathroom, or fill the room up with bubble bath suds. If a child slips, falls, hits his head, they could drown, even at five, and waiting till you heard silence is NOT fast enough to respond to it and soapy water in the lungs is NOT good at all. A little prevention is worth a ton of mess (or water damage) or injury. The most dangerous rooms of the house are kitchen and bathroom. I'd much rather err on the side of safety.

I'm in agreement with many of the other moms-at 5 she can be partially alone, but leave the door open and check in on her. Don't be very far away obviously.

i believe my daughter was about 5 when I started to let her do most her bath alone. Just leave the door open, check on her, and provide assistance as needed. She's growing up quick, isn't she??

At around 4 I let my daughter start being alone in the bath. I wash her and her hair then let her play alone for a while - I left the door open and poked my head in periodically to make sure all was well.

my 6 yr old started doing her bath all on her own about 5
she has long hair and can wash and condition and brush it out all on her own she does both bath usually at home and showere after swim lessons

My daughter is almost eight, and when she takes baths I still check on her every few minutes, and make sure I am within ear's shot. I feel like they still don't have the judgement not to stand up/reach/goof around and could fall!

Hi M.,
At 5, I get my daughter started - I shampoo and rinse her hair and make sure she washes herself very good with the towel. After that, I leave the room. But Every minute or two, I will either put my ear to the door to listen to her or, if she is playing quietly, I will call out and ask "Doing ok in there?" She usually plays loudly with her bath toys, sings, ect.... So I try not to bother her. But I make sure I only do quiet chores (like laundry folding or dusting) so that I can listen to her. I wouldn't put on the vaccuum or be on a different level in the house.... Let your daughter have her alone time - it's prefectly natural and at her age, it's safe as long as you can keep checking on her.
E.

Funny I was just about to post this same question thanks for asking!

I did but but we lived in a small 4 room + bathroom house and I would just leave the door open and I could hear him playing and splashing with all his bath tub toys.
My son looked forward to his tub time. He would say "I need a tub".
If you live in a larger house you could put a baby monitor in the bathroom and carry the other end with you and just stop by ever little while.

My daughter is almost 4 and she's been playing in the tub alone since she was probably 2! She does ok with washing her body with my guidance, but I wash her hair for her. Usually I either bathe and wash her hair first, then leave her alone to play, or I'll let her play a bit and come back to wash.

I always leave the bathroom door open, and I'm just in the next room so I can hear her if she needs help.

My daughter has been doing it since age 3. We are in the room right next door and can hear everything she's doing...she's quite loud. We help with her hair but let her play on her own. It's her calming time...and ours!

If she wants privacy, how about just pulling the curtain. That way you are right there if she needs you but she still has her own space.

I don't recall the exact ages my kids were when I started letting them bathe by themselves but I know that by 5 they were definitely doing so. As long as stay close enough to hear what's going on and check in periodically she should be fine. It's so hard to watch them grow up and want their independence but it should make you feel proud at the same time.

I definitely agree that you should always let her play first and then get her hair and body washed. Let her know that you are there if she needs your help but let her do as much of it as she can on her own to help her grow into a strong, independent woman. I always make sure that they know to wash their hair first so that any dirt or product that may have been in it doesn't run all down their clean bodies. Happy Bathing!!!

At about 3 or 3 1/2 I started letting my kids bath with the door open while I was within earshot doing something else, checking on them every few minutes. I definatley think she is old enough to be in there by herself. I am pretty sure by that age my kids were filling the tubs by themselves.

Can your daughter swim? I think if she's had some swim classes that makes a difference - also the size of the tub. I let my 6 year bathe by himself - but I am generally in the next room where I can see and hear him. We have a really big tub so it makes me really nervous to be out of earshot. With the smaller tub I think the other kids were around 5 − 6 when they bathed alone - with a couple of "checks" to make sure they were OK.

OK, this is one of those areas where others would probably consider me a bad mom. With all 4 of my kids I've always left the bathroom to do other things while in the tub. When they were toddlers I used the suction tub ring until they were pre-school age. My youngest is 4 now and I usually just run the bath and leave her be (with the door open). As I'm doing things around the house I walk back and forth past their bathroom many times and say "how's it going?" and she says "I'm playing!" or "I'm ready to get out". Then I stop what I'm doing and go help her wash and dry.

Our daughter takes a bath by herself (since 5), but the door is open and we are in the next room (it is our quiet time for reading, folding clothes, etc.). We go in every 5 minutes to check on her, but since she is washing her hair and then playing she is fairly loud. So, as long as we can hear her playing we know all is good.

We leave the door, open but my five year old has taken an "alone" bath for quite some time. Maybe since she was three. Mind you, my daughter plays so loudly that there can be no question she is doing fine. And we fill up the tub to her belly button.

We still wash her hair for her but she soaps up on her own.

My daughter is 4 1/2. I let her play in the tub alone. I am usually in the next room and while she is playing I listen for splashes and other sounds. If it is too quiet I will call out how ya doin in there. If I don't get an immediate answer I go and check on her. Then after some play time I go in and help her wash her hair. She washes the rest of her body. Then I watch her get out of the tub to make sure she doesn't slip (our bathroom has hard tile that gets very slick when wet) and help her with her towel.

As a side note: Our ped. told us girls should not be in dirty water. If they want to play in the bath that is fine, but do it at the beginning of the bath with clear water. Dirty water or even soapy water can lead to infections easier in girls. (I think like UTIs and things like that)