January is Bath Safety Month.  The bath presents different safety hazards depending on the demographic.  Most of the bath safety articles you’ll see revolve around the elderly.  A variety of physiological changes related to aging often result in a lack of stability/balance as compared to younger adults, so in this group the greatest concern is falls.

For me, and most of you reading this, the primary concern is not the elderly, but small children.  So let’s look at some of the most common risks of little ones in the bath, and some ways to mitigate them.

1) Drowning

Drowning is, of course, about the most serious risk when it comes to children or babies and bathtubs.  Little ones can drown in very little water — as little as an inch.

The best way to prevent drowning is to never leave your child unattended in the tub!  (Of course, common sense tells us that “unattended” varies somewhat by age.  I wouldn’t take my hands off my infant in the tub.  With a preschooler, I would be rather more lax, because he isn’t nearly as likely to tip over in as brief a time.  But I wouldn’t just walk off and leave him to bathe alone.)  Make sure you have everything you need before you get started, don’t walk away to get the phone, etc.  If you must leave, scoop baby up in a towel and carry him with you.

Keeping the area he’s contained in appropriate for his size and age can be helpful, too — using a baby tub or the sink for an infant, for instance, or putting an insert into the adult tub to “shrink” the space.  The less space there is to fall over, the less likely he is to end up with his head in the water.

(We’re talking about actual bath time here, but don’t forget that kids shouldn’t be unattended around water at other times, either, so make sure buckets are empty, toilets aren’t readily accessible to toddlers, pools are well-fenced, etc.)

As silly as it probably sounds, swimming lessons can provide some measure of protection — yes, even in the bath.  When young children learn to swim, one of the earliest skills they learn is blowing bubbles when their faces are in the water so air is moving out, rather than water moving in.  Do not rely on swimming lessons to keep your children safe in the water, but having some basic skills like this can make the difference in whether a child who tumbles face-first into the water is able to manage briefly so you have more time to respond.

And of course, do what you can to prevent falls (see next).

2) Slipping

Children’s center of gravity is different from ours, so they can be a little top-heavy.  And, of course, bathtubs are slippery places.

If your tub doesn’t have an effective non-skid texture built into its floor, you probably want to look into options to add non-skid texture to the tub.  The primary options are mats, and adhesive decals.  (Here’s another, less common use for the decals.)

Personally, I’m not a fan of most of the mats with the suction cups on the back because, in my experience, they get really nasty and mildewy and are a real headache to clean.  (This in-the-bathtub method is probably the easiest.)  But I’m intrigued by the pebbled one shown below, because it says it’s not only antibacterial, but machine-washable!

Non Slip Bathtub Mat – Non-Toxic (PVC- & BPA-Free), Anti Bacterial, Latex-Free Natural RubberGet ItNon Slip Bath Mat Baby Non-Toxic Bathtub Mat Pebbles Tub Mat for Kids Anti Bacterial Shower Mat, Machine WashableGet ItCompac Select Safe-T-Shapes Bathtub Decals, DaisyGet It

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Give kids something to hold onto.  Because they’re short, most children won’t have need of the special handles and balance bars often used for the elderly.  They’re short enough to hold onto the rim of the tub itself.  Or you can let them hold onto you.  Just be aware of helping them keep their balance so they aren’t as likely to slip (or tip).

And don’t forget about the bathroom floor!  We tend to remember the tub is slippery, but forget that when you get out with wet feet, the floor is slippery.  Bath mats or rugs can help.

3) Scalds (too-hot water)

The water in a bath should be no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit.  There’s rarely any need in a home for water hotter than that, so the best solution for many families is to simply turn the water heater down to this point.  (That might save you a few dollars on electricity or gas, too.)  This not only helps prevent scalds when taking an actual bath, but also helps prevent small children from accidentally scalding themselves when turning on any faucet in the house.

But some people, for whatever reason, prefer their water heaters a little higher, at around 130.  If that’s the case, you can at least be careful to check the bath temperature.

They make these little ducks that have bases that read “hot” when the water is too hot for a baby bath.  (See below.)  I don’t like them.  They’re set to read “hot” at above 104 which, in my experience, is miserably cold for my babies.  Since I have to make the water hotter than what the duck says is “hot,” it then fails to give me a true threshold of “too hot.”

Safety 1st Rubber TempGuard, Ducky

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If you don’t trust your ability to check the water temperature by feel (an elbow is often a better gauge than a hand, which is typically better able to take the heat), an actual thermometer is more helpful.  They do make floating ones designed to measure bath water.

Duckymeter, the Baby Bath Floating Duck Toy and Bath Tub ThermometerGet ItOzeri Turtlemeter The Baby Bath Floating Turtle Toy and Bath Tub ThermometerGet ItSkip Hop Baby Infant and Toddler Moby Floating Bath Tub Safety ThermometerGet ItBabylian Floating Snail Toy Bath Thermometer for Baby Bathing WaterGet It

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4) Hitting Head on the Faucet

When you’re a little kid, and sitting in the tub, that protruding faucet is at exactly the right height to lean forward or backward and knock your head against it.  Ouch!  A variety of squishy covers are available to help blunt the impact in such a scenario.

Happy Kid Essentials Ellie Bath Spout CoverGet ItSkip Hop Baby Infant and Toddler Moby Soft Rubber Bath Spout Cover Safety Guard, Universal Fit, BlueGet ItPuj Snug – Ultra Soft Spout Cover (Grey)Get It

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The most effective strategy, though, is to bathe the child the opposite direction.  Put his back against the opposite end of the tub from the faucet — and keep him well to that end.  If he’s at the far end, most small children aren’t tall enough to hit the faucet.

5) Access to Adult Supplies

If you followed the very first instruction and aren’t leaving your child unattended, then this should be less of an issue, but adult personal care supplies like razors can be hazardous to young ones.

Depending on the supplies you have, how many people use your shower, etc., you have a few options.  You might be able to simply keep these items so high they’re out of reach, either on a corner shelf, or with razors hung on the shower wall, etc.  Or you can use bins, buckets, or caddies for individual shower supplies, storing them outside of the shower and having each family member bring his in when it’s his turn.

Creative Bath Products Bath Caddy

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Keep electronics like curling irons, blow dryers, and electric razors well away from the tub.  It’s bad for anyone if plugged-in electronics fall into the water!

6) Toxic Chemicals

A less obvious bath time hazard is the bathing itself.  In aromatherapy/herbalism training — and I’d guess in medicine and pharmacology, where they also deal with dosage — we learn that the same substances have a greater impact on a baby or small child than an adult, because they have smaller bodies, thinner skin (so substances are more readily absorbed), and a less-developed metabolism.

If this is true for the medicines and remedies we want in our children’s bodies, how much more should we be mindful of this for toxins we don’t want in their bodies?

Use soaps, body washes, shampoos, etc. with pure ingredients.  Although it’s not hard-and-fast (I wouldn’t eat pure soap), a good general rule is that if you wouldn’t put an ingredient in your body (in your mouth) you probably shouldn’t put it on your body.  If it’s some weird chemical manufactured in a lab, it probably isn’t very good for human metabolism.  (Do be aware, though, that some completely organic substances have some crazy-sounding chemical names, and the FDA can sometimes be weird about what they require to go on a label, so don’t jump to conclusions.  Dihydrogen monoxide, for instance, sounds a little suspect, but that’s just water!)

Earth Mama-Angel Baby Body Wash & Shampoo Pure Castile Vanilla Orange Soap 5.3 fl. ozGet It3-in-1 Baby Shampoo Bubble Bath and Body Wash – 16 oz (2 pack)- By Lil LeonaGet ItEveryone Soap for Every Kid, Tropical Coconut Twist, 32 OunceGet It

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Also be careful of “greenwashing.”  Companies learn what conscientious parents are looking for, and use them as marketing tactics rather than real change.  So a label may declare that a product is “free of gluten, parabens, and phthalates!” or some such (which is a good start) — but when you read the ingredient list you find that the product is still made of a stew of toxic chemicals; they just aren’t those toxic chemicals.  So pay attention to ingredients more than to advertising phrases.