[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ll parents want their kids to use the bathroom without any help, but they are too scared to leave their kids alone in there for a good reason. The bathroom is an accident-prone area. It’s filled with many potential hazards, such as household chemicals, sharp objects, and slippery surfaces.
It’s natural to fear for your kid’s safety, but you shouldn’t let it get in the way of teaching them to become more independent. Instead of worrying endlessly and restricting your child, you should create a bathroom safe for your child to use at their current age, as well as designing a bathroom for your lifestyle. Here are some useful tips to help you with that.
Dangerous and potentially harmful objects should be stored out of your child’s reach. Examples of hazardous objects are bathroom cleaning supplies, household chemicals, razors, and medications.
Kids are curious little creatures, so it may not be enough to put these items in high places. It’s better to keep your potentially dangerous paraphernalia in a lockable cupboard or cabinet.
Also, remember to explain to kids why they shouldn’t be touching or playing with any of these items. That will make them understand the importance of following your rules (and, hopefully, be more amenable to following these rules).
Keep Harmful Objects Out of Your Child’s Reach
Place Their Toiletries Somewhere Accessible to Them
The opposite of what you did above, ensure that your child’s toiletries are all organized in a separate basket and placed somewhere they can easily reach. There are fewer chances for your little one to rummage through bathroom cabinets and drawers and stumble across something dangerous if they have quick access to their stuff. Plus, assigning a designated place for their toiletries helps them be more organized.
You want your child to bathe themselves without your help, but you don’t want them to get accidentally burned by hot water. Use child-safe bathroom fittings to make sure your child can shower or use water without getting scalded.
For example, install a thermostatic shower valve with an antiscald cutoff device that will let you control water temperature. You may also want to add locks and guards to make sure your kid doesn’t accidentally or unknowingly turn up the temperature too high.
If possible, always check the water temperature first before letting your child use the shower or faucet.
Keep Water Temperature Consistent
Add Lower Towel Holders
It’s best to teach your child to clean up after themselves as early as possible. It will be easier for your child to learn if you set them up for success, and that’s one compelling reason to add reachable towel holders and organizers for them. Giving them their shelf in the bathroom cabinet will encourage a sense of ownership and will create an opportunity for you to teach them about taking responsibility for their own space.
Using the toilet is perhaps one of the biggest challenges of a young child’s life. It’s a tough thing to keep yourself from tipping back when you’re too small to sit correctly on the toilet seat and your legs are too short to reach the floor. Hence, the need for a potty-training seat and steps.
If you’re using a toilet with a macerating pump, you can install a child-friendly toilet for your kid and connect the drainage to the pump. Now, you won’t need to remove then return the potty-training seat and steps every time you need to do your business. You can also build a kid-height sink and link the drainage to the macerator pump.
Make Your Toilet Child-Friendly
Prevent Slippery Surfaces
With their inherent clumsiness, kids tend to be less assured on their feet, which makes slippery surfaces more dangerous for them. Prevent accidents because of wet floors by using antislip bath mats in your bathroom. You may also want to cover the tub edge with a soft, waterproof, nonslip pad to prevent accidents and injuries.
Household accidents are some of the most common reasons children get injured and taken to the hospital. Kids, with their still-developing motor skills, can be quite clumsy and easily bump into things, fall, and get injured. Making sure your home (especially accident prone-areas like the bathroom) child-safe is one way you can reduce the risk of household accidents and injuries.
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