Safety of Bath Seats?

Hello J.,

I have been using suction cup bath seats with my twin boys for almost a year! My boys are 18 months old now and love taking a bath together. I have never had a problem with the seats, but I also stay with them while they are in the tub.
Good Luck to you!!
S.

One suggestion would be a laundry basket with toys in it next to the tub. While you give one a bath the other can play.
Hope this helps,
J.
Mother of 5

If you kids can sit up I would just fill the tub up a little bit and let them sit in the tub and play. I did this with my son and he just loved to splash in the water, but at times I would use a blow up duck tub that fit in the big bath tub it is soft like an inflatable swimming pool. He loved it. It is only 10 bucks at target or walmart.

I would agree that complacency is the main safety concern with bath seats so as long as you treat them like they should be treated, as a bath aid and not a baby sitter they are fine and actually make things a little more safe as one can be sitting and splashing while the other is getting washed. I have twin girls and I had one seat and would exchange them. If I didn't have a extra set of hands around during bath time, I would bathe them then when it came to towelling off I would let the water out and keep one in the empty bath tub while I dried the other. Once in awhile I would also bring in the excersaucer or bouncer and leave one to play in there, wash and dry the other than switch. Bath time is quite the challenge with 2 soapy slippery little ones so good luck:)
K. H.

I tried a suction cup bath seat and sure enough my babies were eventually able to tip it over. Besides at 9 mos., your daughters would outgrow it immediately. I had the best luck with one of those cheap body shaped sponges and laying them on it in JUST A SCITHER of water in the tub, and now I use it for a backrest for my own bath, and my more grown up daughters use it to bathe their dolls! But at 9 months, our first daughter was actually swimming freestyle up and down the tub in about 4 inches of water! So if they are moving around that much, I would recommend bathing one at a time (until you get your courage up enough to add the other daughter) in just a couple inches of water in the tub and never, ever leave them unattended when you have a bath drawn.

I agree with the previous poster. Bath seats are perfectly safe if you are right there. While my boys aren't twins (they're 15 months apart) I have been bathing them together by myself since my youngest was very young without any problems. I stopped bathing both of them in sink by the time they were a month old and used a reclined bath seat in the big tub.

We bought an inflatable bath tub that just set in our regular tub. We LOVE it. You can google "inflatable baby bath" and see what you find. We bought ours from the kids catalog "One Step Ahead", which we love for all sorts of great useful stuff. http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
But you can get them other places as well I am sure. They have a drain plug in the bottom to let the water out, soft sided, and ours has a suction cup lip so we can suction it to the tile wall out of the way when we are not using it. Should be about $20.
Good luck.
D.

The main concern with bath seats is that people think that becuase their child is in one, the child can not drown. If you are within arms reach the whole time they are safe, however, if you are at all concerned, but 9 months, I was puting my daughter in an adult bathtub with about 4 inches of water in it on her back and washing her that way, then I would let her flip over and crawl around, this is probably a lot harder iwth two of course, but my daughter is now 3 and bathtime is her favorite time of the day, she is also a better swimmer than I am. One of my friends also bought a conversion infant bathtub when her son was born adn it has an insert that ocmes out and can be used in a bathtub with an older child, I am not eactly sure how it works, but she loves it and I know they sell them at wal-mart and other similar stores.

Maybe bathe them when someone is around to help! You could change to a morning bath schedule perhaps-it could go really quickly when there are two people around.

J.-

RUN to the store and buy the bath seat! OMG...I lov mine! I did not have one with my first son, and he was 2 when we had another litle boy. I too am home doing bath time by myself quite a bit, and I bought the seat and put him in it when he was able to sit up on his own, I think it was 6 months, so your 9 months old are the perfect age for the seats, and they will love being able to splash the water and play with toys, while having the security of the seat. This is the one I have and I think I got it at Target.
http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Tubside-Bath-Seat/dp/B00...

Good luck!

L.

When I wanted my daughter to stay put at that age, I used her exersaucer. You could move it in to the bathroom while you bathe one and then trade off.
Good luck!

I use one regularly on my 11 month old. She loves it because she's secure and within mommy and daddy's reach to play. We've never had an issue with it, but I won't even leave her alone long enough to get a towel or anything in the closet outside the bathroom.
We debated on this issue too, but we found one we liked and it's been a great addition to our baby gear!!

Bath seats are great but you cannot turn your back for a second! When my daughter Cassie was a baby I ran into the hallway to get a towell and came back she was underwater. I luckily got her just in time. But they are good for holding them up when you need an extra set of hands.

Hi,
I really like the little blow up tubs that fit inside your tub. There may be room for 2 of your girls in there at once and the sides are nice and soft to prevent hitting themselves if they slip. They can be found at Target and walmart and online at one step ahead.

Mom of 5

I used a safety seat with my daughter and for the kids I have cared for, and they are great! At one point, I had two infants in my care, and bathtime alone could be a challenge. I used one bath seat and one bath sponge support, so one baby could sit and play in the water (very low level of water in tub) while the other was laid back on the sponge getting his hair and body washed. Then I would scoot the baby on the sponge over a bit, lay the baby in the seat next to him, move the firt baby into the seat, readjust the second baby on the sponge, and let the washing begin again. As they got bigger, I used two seats. With more than one infant, the seats are a great way to safely bathe them. Most of the safety concerns I have seen with the seats are due to a lack of supervision. As long as you are right with them all the time, they can make bathtime easier. The other option is to use bathe one at a time, and use a high chair next to you for the other with some toys on the tray. Good luck, and happy splashing!

Wal Mart or Target carries these big yellow sponges, they are shaped like teddy bears and have a baby shape on them. I think they are $3 or so, you can find them by the baby tubs. They are the best thing, yo ucan run the water and put the sponge down and let your babies sit on them. Gives them a cushy spot to sit, and its not slippery so they stay put, even while you are washing them.

Cheap solution and my boys sat on them during bath time until they were well over 2yrs old!

Your kids would be just fine in bath rings. I think the problem with those things is that people think they can leave with the baby in the ring and when an accident happens there's no one there to save the poor little thing. So just use your head and stay right there with the kids and it'll be a good solution.

I started giving my daughters baths in our regular tub when they were about 6 months old. The baths seats seemed too confining and were hard to keep clean! Could you put one in an exersaucer while bathing the other?

The reason bath seats are deemed unsafe is because of the high number of neglectful parents that think they can leave the room with their baby in a bath seat. They don't get that you can NEVER leave a baby unattended. Bath seats are perfectly safe for someone such as yourself that is just trying to make it through bath while keeping your kids safe! :)
Hats of to you doing bath time solo with twin babies!

The suction cup bath seats should be fine. Especially since you're right there with them. Even if one of the suction cups popped up, you'd be there to push it back down. Simple. And it will make bath time easier and more fun.

J.,

I used a bath seat with all four of my children. The suction cups will stay down pretty well if you don't have a textured bottom on your tub. If you have the textured, "no slip" bottom on your tub, the suction cups will occasionally pop up which can make the seat tip over.

I always bathed my two littlest ones together. I made sure their diapers, towels and PJs were right there in the bathroom so I never had to leave or even turn around when I took them out one at at time. If you are worried about where one will go when you are getting the other one out, set up the bouncy seat or pack and play right outside the bathroom door (or inside if it fits.)

If your girls are 9 months, they are plenty old enough to sit in the bath with bath seats. In fact, when they are somewhere between 9-12 months old and can sit up in the bathtub without slipping and falling over, you don't even need a bathseat. You can just set them in the tub with the water filled up to almost cover their legs.

I know that there is a TON of scary information about child saftety in the bathtubs. Please understand they are talking to the moms who leave the bathroom to go answer the phone, watch TV, check on dinner, answer the door, etc. If you are in the bathroom with them the whole time and attentive, your babies aren't going to drown. Even if they did accidentally tip over with or without a bath seat, you are right there to grab them.

All four of my kids tipped over once or twice. Sometimes they got their face wet. It was unpleasant and they learned to be more careful, but no one ever got hurt because I was always right there to grab them.

Good luck,
S.

Hey J.,
Been here I too have twin girls and my husband is a restuarant manager so he works odd hours. We used bath seats that the girls were secured in. They enjoyed it and it made bathing easier and since they were sitting it was more relaxing for me as well. I think Walmart, Target or Kmart sell these seats. We used them until 16-18 months as my girls are petite. Hope you find something that works. Good luck, L.

There safe as long as you don't leave your child unattended. I used one with my daughter and felt it was a lifesaver. My daughter would slip and try stand alot in the tub this kept her in one spot.

I was having a similar dilemma a few months ago. (Although I don't have twins!) I was bathing my son in the sink, but he was getting to big to wash him properly and the bathtub itself still seemed to big. I found a big plastic tub that fits inside of my bathtub and it works really well. I paid $25 for it.My son is able to sit up if he wants to and there is also a slanted side on the opposite end where I could lay him down if I wanted to. I am not sure if they have one made for two kids at a time, but it is worth checking out. You can go online if you don't have a babies R Us near you.

Also One Step Ahead has a big rubbery bumper pad that is designed to fit the inside perimeter of your tub. If your girls are sitting up well enough on their own, you could probably use this and bathe them at the same time. Otherwise I would put one of them in a bouncy chair/exersaucer while I bathed the other child.

Hope this helps!

A.

Since my twins were TINY and newborn I have bathed them our tub with just a little water in the tub. As they go older, I adjusted water level as they got bigger. When they could finally sit up, I then let them sit... prior they layed on their backs with just a little water. Have not had any problems at all. I did not use all those various baby tub items. Always had them in the tub at the same time. My tub is not as deep as a clawfoot, so I do not have to bend over as far.

In my opinion, the safety issues occur when parents use these seats to babysit their children in the tub instead of being in the bathroom with them. It's obvious you are the kind of mom that will not leave your precious twins alone in the bathtub! I personally LOVED my bath seat. I don't even remember what brand it was, but I know I got it at Target and it was royal blue with industrial strength suction cups on the bottom, but the seat swiveled. It was almost just a plastic cylindrical frame, with appropriately placed leg holes- solid on the bottom. It had multicolered little spinner things for the babes to play with while you are washing them. It just helped to keep them sitting up- not allowing them to fall over or slip out of your soapy, slippery hand, or try to climb out of the tub- I would think this might be a concern with twins. I would never go without one once children are too big for the sink baths! Of course like everytning else, there is the potential for these to cause more problems than if the kids were not in one-- say for instance the whole thing tipped over, then they wouldnt be able to get up on their own like they might if they were not in one, but like I said, no good parent would consider leaving their 9 months old alone in the tub, so in my opinion, it's moot. Good luck!

I have a blow up ducky that I use for bathtime. It fits in the tub really nicely and your twins might be able to fit in there together - you could put one on each side I think. Otherwise you could get two of them and bath them separately. My daughter is 9 months old and loves it. The duck too quacks and lets you know if the water is too hot. I found it at Target I beleive and the price is very reasonable.