My 8 y/o loves baths,
but often times we just don’t have time and she needs to take a fast shower
instead. Whenever I run a bath, I close
the door so that no one will accidentally fall in and drown. I have always instructed her to wait for me
before she enters the bathroom with the tub running and I never leave her alone
in the bathroom if she is in the tub. If
she is in the shower, I may sit in the adjoining bedroom, in case she needs me
for anything.
When I run the shower, I
always check the water first to make sure it is not too hot for her. This past
weekend after playing outside all afternoon, we came home to clean up and
shower. While I was cleaning up
downstairs, she went upstairs and started running the water. I was surprised, because she has never showed
the initiative before and I figured I’d go up and check the water temperature
before she steps in. I was quite
surprised when I went upstairs and found her sulking in her room with the door
closed and the Bathroom door was also closed, but the tub was filling up. I got very upset and had to explain to her,
while remaining calm, that she cannot run the water on her own. She needs to ask a grown up for help. I explained that I do not want her to get
burned, or to fall in and drown and that we need to keep an eye on the tub so
that it does not overflow and cause a flood!
She does not know to check the lever in the tub to see if it is up or
down, or what that even indicates!
We walk such a fine line
between fostering independence and hovering over them at all times, trying to
keep them safe. I am grateful that I
caught the water in time before anything bad could have happened to her, or to
the house! It just reminds me that she
is still young and still needs supervision.
Also, I know that it
only takes about an inch of water for someone to drown. Here are some home safety tips around water
from Safe Kids. http://www.safekids.org/safety-basics/safety-resources-by-risk-area/drowning/home-drowning-prevention-tips.html
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