At What Age Can a Child Be Left Alone in the Tub/ Outside

A., this is not a good idea. You said you know that she can't drown - a child can drown in just a couple inches of water and I assume you bathe her in more than that. Just sit tight and enjoy watching her play time. She'll be growing up too soon anyway.

I have triplets who are 4 1/2 and I still won't leave them alone..what I do is bring stuff in the bathroom with me...Like my shout and spray the clothes in there so I am there but still able to do things...

A.,

I would say 4-5 years old for only a few minutes at a time, but within ear range for the tub.

I would say 10 years old for being outside alone.

You can never be too safe with a child. Don't hover, but be part of the scene.

Take Care,
T.
Mom of 4

I agree with the others who said "you know your situation best". I personally feel tghat 2-1/2 is old enough to be left alone in the bathtub for very short intervals, like 2-3 minutes at a time. But I would suggest the following:
1. Make sure you remove all items which can cause harm, like razors, soap, shampoo, etc.
2. Have some type of non-slip bathmat or those stick-on nonslip appliques that you put in the bottom of the tub.
3. Do not bathe her in more than a couple of inches of water.
While a child this age CAN drown in a very small amount of water, it is usually (although not always) because of a slip or fall that resulted in unconsciousness, or disorientation. If this happens and the child falls face first into the water they will drown. Also, if your child has a history of seizures the same can happen.
However, any healthy child of this age who has not been injured in some way is extremely unlikely to drown in such a small amount of water. Human nature and survival instinct will prompt them to get their face out of the water before they drown, as long as they have not been incompacitated in some way.

As far as playing outside alone, even in a fenced in yard... Can you put a lock on the gate? Are there things she can climb on in an effort to climb over the gate? What kind of things are in the yard that she could get hurt(not just a bump or scrape, but REALLY hurt) playing on or around? If your situation is ideal, then I would say about 4 years old. But like the bathtub situation, you still need to keep constant checks on her. My older children are 6, 7 and 9 and even though we live in a rural neighborhood with a fenced in back yard (with the gate locked) I STILL check on them every 5-10 minutes to see what kind of mischief they are getting into (which is usually ALOT) LOL

Well I commend you for asking. I had the same concerns when mine were toddlers. I do think some of the parents that say its never ok at that age because kids can drown in a small amount of water, are going a bit overboard. The reality is anyone can drown in a tub of water if they slip and fall or something, but we eventually take baths on our own.

I wont lie, I stayed with both mine for a long time, but now that my youngest is 4 I do know that bad things can happen in water. So I leave the door open and stay near buy. I check on them regularly, and play with them for a while. They have both bathed together for a while so if I don't hear them playing or bickering I check to see if something is up. If someone slipped and bumped their head I would hear it, and so would anyone in earshot. I would just recommend you stay in the next room if you need to do something, so you hear and can quickly look in on her every few minutes.

I see no reason you cannot get up and do a few household chores as long as you are nearby, can hear, and look in on them. Yes things happen, but they can happen at any age, they are just more at risk when they are young.

Outside, in the back yard with very high fence, I allow them out on their own. I just check on them very frequently, and usually try to stay were I can see them. Fortunately my back yard can be seen well in the dining room, kitchen, and living room. The front yard I only let them in when I or dad are with them.

I think you have to do what is right for you. Be careful and safe, but still let them have some freedom. Or at least let them feel like they have some freedom.

I think your daughter is too young and although you have taught her the bottoms down rule, the moment you step away that will be forgotten. Kids are innocent and they think innocently, she don't see the danger of it and although you are in the kitchen, it is still a no. It does not require a lot of water to drown a child.

Even for the backyard, I would not leave her unattended, maybe I am extreme, but the way the world is today, I don't want to drop my guard. I would just plan my work around her playtime. For the bathtime, I definately would not leave her attended. I don't know if I am qualified to make those decisions.

When my kids wanted to play I called their names or had my kids call out to me ever so often just as a check that all is well. It's sad because I remember just running off to play with my friends and then coming back when it starts getting dark or dinnertime. That is so much harder even if you have a fenced in yard. Evil is becoming bold. I don't want to evoke fear, but I just would rather be on guard. If you had to question your decision or you feel uncomfortable don't do it.

I have three children, the youngest is 2 years, 5 months. I did not allow my oldest and second daughter to be alone in the tub until they were AT LEAST 5 years old and even then, I only filled their tub slightly but I never left them unattended the whole time. I never used their bath time as a chance to catch up on housework. Instead, I used it as an opportunity for me to sit down on the bathroom floor while they played and I read a magazine or book. Yes, you do need to be in the bathroom non-stop. I would never trust that an accident won't happen. They do and you don't want to beat yourself up for the rest of your life because doing the dishes was more important. Stay with your daughter while she plays. Soon enough she'll be old enough to sit on her own but not until she's at least five. That is my opinion.

As for leaving a child alone outside, I would never do it. Even with a fenced in yard. It's never a good idea to leave a child alone for even a second. My oldest daughter is going on 9 and she is not allowed to play outside alone. She has asked me when she would be allowed and I honestly do not know. I'm not comfortable with the idea of any child being alone outside. And, I would not go by a child's "maturity." A child is innocent, naive, and inexperienced with a lot of things. Instead of focusing on the maturity of the child, you must instead ask yourself, would my daughter know what to do if a stranger approached her? What if it was someone she knew, would she go with him/her? What if a stranger plucked her up from over the fence? Now, you may be wondering if these are far fetched scenarios. They are not. Children get abducted and horrible things are done to them once they are in the care of a stranger. I never let my children out of my sight. Never. It's a chance I am not willing to ever take and I don't care if people say I'm being overprotective. At least I'll know my children are safe. I think I was 11 when my mom allowed me to play outside without her supervision but I had strict rules to follow. For example, if I went in back of the house or down the street, I had to tell her. If I was going in our gangway, I had to tell her. Sounds silly to you? Maybe to some, but my mom always knew where me and my sister were and at any given time that she peaked out the window, she didn't get a sinking feeling in her gut. She knew where we were. Yes, it was a pain to constantly go in and out of the house to tell her where we were going...but she always knew where we were. Play it safe with your precious daughter. Don't let her out of her sight.

OMG! Please don't leave her alone in the tub at this age. They can drown even in a few or less inches of water. They could even try to get out and slip and fall. I don't have an exact answer as to the age but I would think at least wait until the child is over 5, mature and knows how to swim. They could slip and fall or anything of that sort. Sorry to be so worrisome.

No way, would never leave her alone in the tub. Would you leave her alone in the pool?

Hi A.,

My sister worked for child protective services for 15 years and their guidelines are around 4 or 5 years of age for a child to be left SEMI-alone. It only takes seconds for a child to aspirate a small amount of water and this is where I agree with CPS. When my girls were old enough to get embarrassed with me being in the bathroom with them, due to their modesty, is when I left them alone, and I was still close by. My best friend's little brother died at the age of three from drowning. He was left alone.

With this question, I'm on the side of overprotection.

M.

Hi A.,

Well, you have gotten some interesting advice, so I will throw mine in too! With my children I let them start bathing "alone" somewhere between three and five depending on their maturity and my proximity to the tub. Currently I have a four year old who bathes with the door open and I can see her from outside the room. My biggest problem with her is she will dump or slosh water from the tub until the bathroom is covered. The outside thing, well even my one year old grandson goes out into the backyard without us. It all depends on the safety of your backyard. We can hear the children from anywhere but the master bedroom when they are out back, we have a tall privacy fence that is locked at all times, no gardening tools or anything they can hurt themselves on, and lots of yard toys. We check on them from time to time, mostly when we can't hear them because that's when they are up to no good (digging a hole and pouring the dirt over each others heads, etc...) Use your best judgement. You know your child better than anyone else, and best of luck to you.

J.

Wow, my oldest is 3 1/2 and I still won't leave him alone in the tub, not even for a minute. You never know, he could turn on the hot water, or could slip while playing around and get hurt. And yes, she can drown in a little as two inches of water. I don't know, but I probably won't be comfortable leaving him alone until he is 7! Will be interested to hear what other moms have to say. I do let him alone in our fenced yard (we have safely locks on the gates that he can't undo), but ONLY if I am in the kitchen where I can see him out the window, and I always leave the door wide open so I can see/hear everything that is going on, and I check on him frequently. And, if little brother (23mo) is out there with him, so am I.

My question is...how do you know she can't drown? What if she tried to get out, slipped on the edge of the tub, fell hard enough to knock herself out and landed facedown in the water? I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but kids have a way of getting around all of the safeguards in the world. Play it safe.
When my daughter was nearly 4 years old, she slipped when she was getting out of the tub and ended up landing on the edge of the tub, hitting her chin. The cut to the underside of her chin required a trip to the emergency room and numerous stitches to close. I was standing right there with a towel, ready to dry her.
Why don't you put a basket in the bathroom with some things you and your husband can do while you sit there? Maybe a book, crossword puzzle, stationery and pen, to-do list.

Your daughter can drown in the bathtub. Take a book, laptop, or paperwork in the bathroom with you (of course it may get wet!) Another option is to just spend that 30 minutes playing with her. I know that is tough with so much to do, however. She is nowhere near old enough to be left unsupervised in the bathtub.

I would worry leaving one that young alone, but would worry more about all the communicable disease she could contract by not vaccinating. I know many feel that is not necessary and the immune system will take care of everything. With that said it is so sad to see a child die from a preventable illness. Yes it does happen; measles, whooping cough, mumps are all still out there and can be very dangerous. With more international travelers we have more exposure to things that we used to rarely see. Think about it.
Karen

We just recently started leaving Gracyn in the tub by herself to play. She will be three in a few weeks. She is very good about sitting down and we make sure nothing if available for her to get into, shampoos, razors, etc. I go over the rules with her each time. " You can play if you remember to sit on your bottom and only touch your toys. If you stand up or spill water out of the tub, i will come in and take away your water and your play time will be over. If you want to play, you must sit and play with only toys, ok?" She plays for an hour sometimes. Of course I check on her every few minutes and it helps to have "noise" coming out of there. If she gets quiet, I run and check. It helps to put a CD on of her favorite sing a longs in there turned way down, so you can hear her singing, and if the singing stops, go check. It's a personal decision. Of course accidents can always happen but we can't make out kids live in a bubble either. Also, about the backyard, If I had a fenced, safe ( no chemicals, ladders, dangerous objects) yard, I would let her play out there on days I could shut just the screen door.

A.,

In some cases you may feel it is okay to slip away for a second or two to put something away while she is in the bath but I wouldn't be gone longer than that. Children tend to get overly excited and have a lot of fun in the tub. You may enforce the idea of being on her bottom in the tub while you are there, but when you walk away for more than a few minutes, what happens when that toy gets tossed out of the tub and she wants it and doesn't call for you. She is going to think that she is a big girl because she is being left alone for what seems like and eternity to her but only mere seconds to you and in that time something could possibly happen. So as a mother to 3 boys and I didn't start leaving my oldest two alone until they started bathing themselves. My suggestion is don't do unless it is for just a second or take her out if it is going to be any longer than that. Better safe than sorry. The same thing for being outside. It only takes the blink of an eye. My boys are 14, 6 and 3. I will let my 6 year old outside by himself but not my 3 year old. He just isn't ready.

I hope I have helped.

S.
35 y/o SAHM of 3 boys

You sound like a great Mom. I have 4 children,( actually one is an adult), I was overlly protective with the first two. I am protective in a different way with my little girl, I give her way more freedom, like bath time, backyard playing but I dont let anyone watch her( like a sitter or even my family). I never not know what she is doing and consistentantly am talking to her when she bathes. She is independant! So I give her some space. Now my boys never wanted space and are too careless and destructive to be left alone anywhere anyways.

A.~

Ya know I am not to sure about the bath tub age, but I have been letting my son who is 16.5 months play in the tub semi alone for about a month. Golly as I read that it sounds so horrible but By that I mean from his room I have a clear eye shot to the tub. I usually put his clothes away and straighten up things in his room that he tried to put away during the day so I may only really be out of the bathroom 5-10 minutes of his 30 minute bath. Although he is alone in the bathroom, I can see him so well, so I feel comfortable being mort than 5 feet from him. I don’t think I could go around the corner just yet but as long as I can see/hear him I feel ok with it. Sometimes I will sing to him if he gets fussy over me not being there. Now another reason I am comfortable with him semi alone with the water is because I have done ISR with him (Infant swim resource) He has an amazing respect for water in general (pools beaches, canals). I have seen him stand up in the tub and slip in the tub and immediately roll over before I could even grab him, although that was when he was much younger so I was sitting right there, but I know he knows what to do, in an emergency or the 5 seconds it may take me to get to him. Now for me the back yard is another issue and I cant wait to hear what other moms think...lol…my son will be 13 and I will still be sitting out there…lol!!!

It all depends on the child and the situation. That being said...I still sit in there while my 3 year old plays and for that matter, most of the time my 5 year old is in there too.

Don't delude yourself into thinking that they won't stand up and fall or that they can't drown...It only takes a cup of water to drown.

Leave the dishes and spend the time w/your child. jmo

Hi A..... If you have to ask or question yourself if your child is ready to be alone in the tub, that's a clear answer of a NO. What really concerned me was that you said your daughter won't drown. If you truly believe that, I urge you to research the statistics of tub drownings. I'm sure you are a good Mom, and that you requested advise on this subject is a testiment to that. Hopefully, this will reach other Moms who might have the same question as you. My son could swim by himsef at 3 years old (he's 5 1/2 now), but in no way did that warrant any alone time in the bath....Sometimes people under estimate the power that water has.

M.

I think my children were about that age when I allowed them to take a bath with the door open. I had a small house so I could hear everything that was going on. A child can drown in an inch of water, so it is still possible. Like I said, my home was small, so I left the door open so I could hear & then peaked my head around the corner every couple of minutes. As far as outside, that is a hard one. It depends on your area I think. I don't think my kids were allowed outside by themselves until they were about 5 or 6. At that time we lived in a safer environment than we do now. I am one of those overprotecrive Moms though, that I realize anything bad could happen at anytime & I don't want to let my guard down too much & pay for it by losing a child.

Yes you do need to be there while she is wet, playing and under 21 yrs old!:) Besides, it only tales a split second for them to do whatever they've been told not to.
Not to scare you but bathrooms are probably THE most dangerous room in a house. Children can and have drowned in less than 2" of water. Yes, we all want to multitask, but 2-1/2 is a top priority.
About letting them play unattended in the backyard, probably when they learn to scream at the top of their lungs. If there is silence, you know you need to check. You like painting and crafts; do these while she plays outside.

well, i still stay in the bathroom with my children and they are 4 1/2 and 2 1/2. even if you enforce a bottoms down rule, there could still be the issue of your daugther getting out of the tub to come and get you since she is used to you being in there, and having her fall and hit her head and into the water, and drowning is possible in a few minutes time. however, having said that, i will allow that i walk out and get something that i forgot and come back in. but if you can't hear her, it's not safe, definitely. also with the backyard, you might not have to worry so much about her as you do someone coming into your backyard and getting her. now, i might be a little paranoid (i am) but it's better to be a little paranoid then sorry later.

In my opinion, 2 1/2 is too young to be left alone in the tub. Accidents happen and it's really not worth getting a few chores done to take a chance with your child's safety. You may think you'll just do one thing and then check on her but something might distract you. Also, no matter what we teach them, children tend to be a little more "creative" with what they'll do when we're not around. I totally understand the need to make good use of your time. Instead of feeling restless about getting something done, maybe you can use that 1/2 hour of time to read to your daughter or to read your favorite magazine while she plays or paint your nails or something you enjoy. It's such a short period of time in the big scheme of things and SO worth it to make sure your child is safe in the water. - Mother of 4 who has experienced a toddler drowning

I don't know about the outside thing, although I imagine when they are old enough to start school, they should be old enough to play in the backyard without Mom or Dad hovering...

My daughter is 3 and since she turned 2, we give her some time to play in the tub by herself while we clean up the kitchen and bathe and dress her baby sister. She does fine and I just yell "How are you doing?" every few minutes. (She yells back, "I doing good!" :) So I think you daughter would be fine, too. If you are uncomfortable, just start with a minute or two and build up the time. That way you both have time to adjust to her being alone in the bath.

My daughter was around age 2 or 2 and 1/2. But my house is small and like another poster said, I leave the bathroom door open and I can hear her playing regardless of what room of the house I'm in. She's 6 1/2 now and I still do the same thing. If I don't hear her playing / talking I just ask her if everything's ok and she says yes. When she was younger I think I probably just would check on her about every 2-3 minutes and poke my head in. I'd be walking around cleaning up anyway. When she was 2 seems like AGES ago!

As far as playing outside. I live on a culdisac and there are alot of kids always playing outside. I think she was about 5 when I let her start going outside w/out me constantly watching her. BUT, even to this day. I literally am walking outside every 5 minutes to check on her. Most times her and her friends are right outside in the front. And I have huge windows in the front of my house so I can see her playing. Plus with the weather so nice I have the windows open and I can constantly hear them playing outside. My family will be over and they always tease me about how much I "check" on her. Like I said, never do more than 5 minutes go by and I'm not checking what she's doing. She has rules. The rules are, no going in friends houses, no going in backyards, no playing in the road and stay where I can see you. She has them memorized! ha-ha. She just had a meltdown the other day because I wouldn't let her ride her bike around the block with her friends. I am not ready for that yet!

Hello! Well about the bathtub situation, what I do when I let my daughter play in the tub is have her sing whatever song she can come up with and as long as I hear her I know she's ok. When I don't hear her sing I call out her name and ask her what she's up to and tell her to continue singing.

I am very watchful of my 4 and 2.5 yr old boys when they are in the tub. I am always in the bathroom when they bathe and have a stack of unread magazines and the mail to go through while they bathe. I usually start to drain the water and take the 2.5 yr old out first and as I am putting on his PJ's in the connecting room, I will leave the 4 yr old in the draining tub but have him sing or talk to me until I get back to the bathroom (so I know he is not drowning). He knows he must stay seated and I can usually tell if he gets up by the sound of the echo in the bathroom. If he stops singing or talking, I FLY to the bathroom to check on him. Then I take my 4 yr old out of the tub. So really, I rarely leave my 4 yr old for more than a minute or two unattended in the *draining* tub but super cautious about it. I think your daughter is too young. Find some things you can do while she is bathing so you feel you are getting things done. My mail works for me, but find what works for you.

Hello. I have a 2 and half yr old son that I have let play in the tub without me or my husband being there. I just am ALWAYs checking on him. I'll go and get his pjs then go back and check on him or do something that takes only a second then back to check on him. I started out when he was 18 mths old. As long as I can hear him I feel its ok. Some mothers would flip out and say NO dont leave a child unattended but I think its what you think is good. Your the mother. I have never had a problem with him trying to get out or turning on the water. As long as he has tub toys and bubbles he is just fine.

The outside thing I'm not sure of. I would think when they are old enough to understand dont talk or go with strangers then maybe. We have always lived in a complex or a house that didnt have a fenced in back yard. Plus we only have one child that is only 2 so I'm not ready for him to be left alone outside just yet.

Good luck with everything.

I'm 27 yr old, mother of a 2yr old son. Just moved to Wellington FL 7 mths ago. My husband is GREAT man who works hard. His job requries us to travel alot.

It's interesting reading all the answers. So many people are so frightened to take one eye off their child for one minute. I'm not that kind of mom. I remain nearby and am able to help in times of need, but my children will learn to be independent. I've got 4 and we've had no big incidents. I try not to live very stressed and worried about all the what if's that could happen. Those could happen if you're right there or not. You minimize the risk, but you live and you let them live.
It really depends on the maturity of your child. And how many children you have. If my 4 year old is in the tub and my 2 year old needs a new diaper, I'm going to change his diaper. But I know that my 2 year old is not ready to be left alone yet. He's more crazy than my other kids. Daredevil so I leave him in his crib longer and try to monitor him much more closely. I will let the 4 year old go out back by himself. Because there's nothing he can get to that would hurt him and it's fenced in and locked all the time. I keep the windows open so I can see him clearly and I do keep checking on him every 5-10 minutes.
The one thing I thought was that it really depends on what you're trying to get done while she's in the bathtub. My kitchen is also just around the corner and I'll do a few chores. But I don't do anything like run the water in the sink, turn on the dishwasher, run the vacuum cleaner, etc. Because those will impair your ability to hear if something happens. So do the quiet things and peek in often.

Hi A.,
I know this is a late response, but I would urge you not to leave your daughter alone in the tub for a few more years. A friend of a friend lost her child to a drowning incident in a small blow up pool (you know one of those that is only about 10 or 12 inches high and you only fill with about 6 inches of water). The little girl was 2 1/2 y.o. and was in the backyard playing and the mother hadn't heard from her for a few minutes. She went out side to check and the little girl had fallen in it and drowned. I hate to sound alarmist, but you can't trust a 2 1/2 year old to obey the rules. They still don't completely understand yes and no and they definitely don't understand the why's of yes and no. They are also at the age when they will start to push the limits. I have a 5 1/2 year old daughter and she still doesn't understand the why's and is most definitely still pushing limits:-)
Not sure about the other question. I am still wondering about this since we don't have a fenced in back yard.
Good luck.

I think my older children were about 3 when I started leaving them alone longer. But because I always had a child who was older (I have 4) I would give the younger child a bath with the older one. My son who is 2 now, always bathes with my 4 year old. That way, if I have to leave for some reason, I tell her to help me for a minute and yell at me if there is a problem. Other then that, I stay in there and read a book or even fold laundry in a basket. When he's 3, I'll probably leave him alone more too. Even then, sometimes I have my 4 and year old bathe in the bathroom off the kitchen and leave the door cracked so I can hear her. Like someone else said, she sings, so if she gets quiet I ask if she's okay. And we have only ever filled the tub up to the belly button. I think my oldest son was 7 before we let him fill it up to the height he wanted- or just take a shower. He wants privacy anyway. If I am in a hurry, I will have my 2 year old take a shower with me. He thinks it's fun and doesn't throw too much of a fit when it's time to get out because I am getting out too. Sometimes I just have them all take showers instead of a bath when I need them in and out quick or can't stay right there the whole time. I still stay close by though.

This seems to be an old post but I just now ran across it. I signed up just to answer this cause it horrified me. I am not over protective by any means. PLEASE DO NOT leave you toddler in the bathtub alone. They CAN DROWN. For any parents reading replies saying yes. The answer is no. 2 1/2 is too young. Toddlers are impulsive. Many parent journals say not to leave your child alone. I was surprised to even see this. I thought it was common knowledge. You dont need to do your dishes that bad they will be there later. Its not worth harm to your child. Its about them, not you. If you have to ask...then dont do it. I do not mean to be austere but this is scary.

I'm a dad. Fortunately for me (in a way) I had an accident which forced me to stay home and I spend all my days with my boys (4 and 2) for the past 18 months. There are times I would like to run out for a second or need to do something and feel I can check up on the kids in the bath every 2-3 minutes and it would be fine. I understand everyone's opinions and it does depend on a child's personality. I personally wouldn't leave my kids unattended for more than two seconds. The question I ask myself before wanting to leave is: What if something does happen? Chances are nothing will probably happen. Same chance as getting hit by lightning.... But it does happen. Will you be ok if it happens to your child? Can you look at your child after a small, large, or potentially fatal injury and say to yourself it's ok because I was only gone for 2 minutes? I couldn't. If you feel you have something you need to do that is more important than ensuring your child is safe in the tub, either bring it with you (like one woman said she brings her shout in the bathroom to spray laundry) or wet the child, wash them and take them out and leave tub playtime for another day when you can stay with them. Even if you teach a child to stay seated, they are children. I pray a bug doesn't come near them, power goes out (I live in Florida, happens often), a scary noise outside doesn't put the child into a panic, stands up, slips and is killed from an excessively hard impact. If you are there close and attentive, you can prevent it from happening. If you are more than arms reach away, I pray you can forgive yourself and I hope everyone else can forgive you as well.
I know my opinion is a bit extreme, but that's just 1 caring dad's point of view. Be prepared for the worst and you're ready for anything.

A.,

You sound I lot like me. A very good mom. My girls are 4 1/2 and 2 1/2. They are usually together in the tub or outside. I do go back and forth to the bath when they are in the tub. I will go to their rooms and get pjs really and straight their bed. So I am not gone for more than a few minutes. We have a big fenced in backyard and I do let the girls play outside there and I will be in the kitchen/dining area. The slider door connects the back yard to the kitchen so I can see and hear them because I leave it open. But since you just have the one I would still stay outside with her for now.

Hi A., I'm sure you are going to receive a lot of responses on this one. First of all you sound like a very nurturing Mom who is always wanting what is best for your angel. Actually, toddlers can drown in a tub that is only 2 inches deep. When my girls were in the bath I looked forward to that 30 minutes of time with them to watch them play, while I read to them or sang to them or played with them. It was a wonderful time that I used to forget all the other chores I needed to complete. Then I started showering her with me to gets both showers finished to allow more time for play before bed time. As far as playing alone in the fenced in yard, you are probably the only person to determine when she is ready for that. Only because you know your neighborhood. Is your fence a privacy fence? Do you have a pool? Do you have any pets? Is she playing on a swingset or just running around with toys? You see, you know your situation better than all of us. It will all come in time. Keep up the good work. As you already know, there is nothing like being a Mommy and it goes by so fast.

I'm gonna keep this short. Yes, she is too young to be left alone in or around any water. Is that 1/2 hour really worth the chance you could be taking? I know it isn;t so just do your dishes or whatever before hand and hang out in the bathroom and be with her to ensure she is safe.

Hi A., I would not leave my child in the tub alone under 6 yrs. old. People slit and fall all the time and you can drown in 3 to 4 inches of water. My nephew "in his 50's" slipped and broke 5 ribs. Good luck, and take care. M. H.