Do you think 4 year olds are old enough to bath themselves and be left alone in tub?

Question

My husband and I don’t agree. Do you think 4 year old twins (just turned 4) are old enough to clean themselves properly and be alone in the bathtub if an adult is in the next room?

Answer

I think it is perfectly fine to let your 4 year old play with toys in the bath while you are in the next room cleaning or putting laundry away (always in hearing distance) but I don’t think they are good at cleaning themselves very well. I have a 7 year old and an almost 5 year old that play in the tub while I get things done upstairs and then I go in and wash and rinse each of them.

Answer

It is absolutely not safe to leave them in the tub alone. I work with children, and they are still at risk of drowning even if they seem old enough to know better...

Answer

I haven't met a 4 year old who has been capable of thoroughly washing AND rinsing. Rinsing is the important part there.

Answer

Finger slipped; I would never leave a 4 year old alone in the tub.

Answer

Nope. I wouldn’t let them bathe alone unless they were like 8-10. The thought of a 4 year old bathing alone scares me. They can drown at any moment.

Answer

I wouldn’t just leave them to bath and clean themselves at that age. I’d clean them and then just pop in and out every couple of mins if I had too but mostly bath time is time we hang out, play and sing together

Answer

My mom fully washed my hair and rinsed me until I was 6 but let me wash my “private areas” as soon as I expressed the desire for that privacy. And I had to bathe with the door open while she was in ear shot until I was 8. Granted, I have balance issues and she was worried I’d fall and hit my head so maybe I had a special case?
I will tell you I worked in pre-school for years and we could ALWAYS tell which kids were left in charge of bathing themselves at 4-5 years old...they just don’t do a perfect job.

Answer

I dont think 4 is old enough to be left alone. I still help my 5&6 year olds in the tub. They wash their own privates but I help with the hair and such.

Answer

My son is almost 4 and plays in the bath by himself. I pop in and out to check on him and i wash him. Sometimes daddy hangs out with him but he likes to play in the bath by himself most of the time and if he wants or needs us he yells. Lol

Answer

My child is 3 and is left to play on her own while I'm in the next room and can still hear/see her. I also check on her very often. I do not expect her to wash herself tho. She can communicate very well too so I would know if she was in danger or needed me for any reason. BUT, I won't leave her for an extended period of time while I did something like cook dinner or was in a part of the house where I couldn't at least hear her.

Do you think 4 year olds are old enough to bath themselves and be left alone in tub?

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