standing in tub

ladylisalt · May 2013

The last 2 times we put DS in tub he would only stand. He usually loves the water and I am not sure what this is all about. He is 22 mos. Is this just a new stage?

aboynamedbarry · May 2013

A new phase that shouldn't be allowed... at least it isn't here. If she stands, I tell her to sit. If she won't, I make her sit. If she resists, well bathtime is over. However we've never gotten that far

mommymegan831 · May 2013

what's the problem with standing? DS will be a year next week. He used to stand alot, not so much anymore. I find it alot easier to wash and rinse them when they're standing.

aboynamedbarry · May 2013

Well for washing obviously that does make things easier which is fine. I meant that for us standing in the tub is no good because she is unstable on the floor of the tub and I don't want her to fall.

lkm2006 · May 2013

DS1 stands his entire bath. I have skid mats down, he's never unattended.. I don't see a problem with it.

CindyRelluh · May 2013

I don't see an issue. Dd stands and sits because she thinks its funny, plus we have a mat and she's never unattended.

chardonnay24 · May 2013

My son has been standing in the tub for well over a year. He also takes showers on occasion, so he obviously stands for those. I don't really see the big deal. We have a mat down and I am there the whole time. He has slipped a couple times but never seriously.

blu-eyedwife · May 2013

aboynamedbarry:
A new phase that shouldn't be allowed... at least it isn't here. If she stands, I tell her to sit. If she won't, I make her sit. If she resists, well bathtime is over. However we've never gotten that far

We're the same way, and we have ended bath time. But DH, my brother, and I have have had to go to the ER for falling in the tub. Only my brother had to have stitches. DH and I just have little scars.

noahchristopher · May 2013

Could he have a sore bottom for some reason? Maybe diaper rash or something bothering him under there and he doesn't want to sit in the water all of a sudden?

We don't let our son stand either. When he tried several months ago we were adament about having him sit. Now he won't even try to stand up. The mat doesn't cover the whole bottom of the tub and it's too slippery in there.

CheezeFace · May 2013

DS loves his bath time and he's really active and all over the place...he likes to go swimming (on his belly), "float" (laying down in his back), sit, stand, etc...

I just bought a bath mat and some duck traction thingies. It's a $10 investment that has saved me a lot of battles. I don't want bath time to become a power struggle - he loves it and I'd like to keep it that way.

I don't see it as a big deal to let him stand. I'd say if he's enjoying himself find a way to make it safer for him.

ladybugpjb · May 2013

The last time I gave DS a bath, he did the same thing - he didn't want to sit, only squat or stand, and I have no idea why. We hadn't done many baths recently, only showers because we'd been in a hotel and with family for awhile while moving. I don't know if he just wasn't used to the bath anymore or what, but he wouldn't sit down. The standing was an issue for me because DH was gone and I am pregnant - so I was really afraid of him slipping.

Now we stick with showers in our big shower stall. It took him a little while to get used to it (putting his head under the stream of water), but he loves it now. That doesn't resolve the standing issue, but I can maneuver better kneeling by the shower stall than I can by the bathtub.

lageorgiapaperie · May 2013

DS doesn't do it so much anymore, but he used to stand all the time in the bath. We just have a "house rule" that if you stand in the bath you have to hold mom or dad's hand. He's good about following it so it's NBD.

If you want to discourage it I'd recommend getting some new toys that will keep LO's interest while sitting.

preggersin2011 · May 2013

LO showers with me. The couple of months after she learned to walk I had to hold her a lot more in the shower because she was trying to walk around. She learned how to get her balance and now she stands when she wants to & knows it is a little slipper and sits down on her own too. At the gym after swimming LO sits on the bench w/o any issues and doesn't try to stand either. The few times lately LO has had a bath since she needed a quick dip at night, she stood and I just let the water out of the tub and pulled the shower head off the wall and gave her a shower. I wouldnt push it until cognitively they are older and can under stand things better.

Netty_3 · May 2013

This is new for us as well. It usually begins because we have to take his train away so it doesn't get ruined in the tub. He doesn't end up playing because he's just standing there crying over Thomas, while I try to hold onto him and clean him.

I have new bath toys I haven't introduced, but was going to to try and get his interest in playing so he'll sit down. LO doesn't just stand, he also tries to dance...which is cute...but not safe. It makes me nervous, so I can understand where you're coming from. Also...looking for Thomas the train bath toys.

Karen1998 · May 2013

lkm2006:
DS1 stands his entire bath. I have skid mats down, he's never unattended.. I don't see a problem with it.

We have skid mats, too, but a very busy child. If I had a calm, easy child, standing wouldn't be an issue. However, since I don't, it's an issue because he falls while being a maniac in the tub.

OP, DS went through a standing phase. I employed the sit down or we're getting out tact and he learned quickly. He also fell a couple of times while screwing around during this phase and it scared him. He learned that standing in the bath is not a good idea and is his ticket to a short bath. However, he does stand for cleaning his privates. It's easier to do that way and he's completely cooperative with it so long as we ask him to stand on his own. He loves the bath, so he's very amenable to doing whatever allows him to take as long of a bath as possible.

Karen1998 · May 2013

Netty_3:
This is new for us as well. It usually begins because we have to take his train away so it doesn't get ruined in the tub. He doesn't end up playing because he's just standing there crying over Thomas, while I try to hold onto him and clean him.
I have new bath toys I haven't introduced, but was going to to try and get his interest in playing so he'll sit down. LO doesn't just stand, he also tries to dance...which is cute...but not safe. It makes me nervous, so I can understand where you're coming from. Also...looking for Thomas the train bath toys.

There are Thomas bath toys. I found a cute Thomas bath book at Half Price Books. It was new. LO loves it. It floats really well, so we often use it as a "base" for his stacking cups.

OP, it may also be time to try the shower. Standing in there is different than standing in water. You still need to supervise, obvs, but he may prefer a shower over the bath at this age.

melissa0726 · May 2013

When she was a little younger, I would give her two warnings, and then take her out of the tub if she didn't sit. She was very obviously doing it to challenge me, though. Maintaining consistency is really important if you really don't want him to stand.

Now that we take showers half the time, I don't make as big of a deal about it. She is pretty good about not standing during baths, she knows we usually end the bath if she starts standing.

quietlyexpecting · May 2013

noahchristopher:
Could he have a sore bottom for some reason? Maybe diaper rash or something bothering him under there and he doesn't want to sit in the water all of a sudden?

this is our issue here. She doesn't want to sit in the water because her butt is soooo sore from teething. Yep...her butt gets super red and sore and she spikes a 103 degree temp every time. WE have a mat that is the length of our tub and I hold onto one of her arms at all times. Bathtime is very short needless to say. I'm hoping these teeth finish popping through soon and she'll sit in the tub and enjoy playing in there again...and i can enjoy it again too...

Good Luck!

ladylisalt · May 2013

Thanks everyone,

Some great suggestions. I have a package of unopened Thomas toys. I will see if that will be a start. Like some of you said, standing isnt the worst thing but I worry about slipping,etc. and I like sitting next to the tub interacting with him and cleaning him rather than being worried about him slipping. Also, cutting his bath short on it may not matter to him and then I will be left with a filthy child. Also when he sits he soaks his bum and all the dirty in his fingernails.

Maybe it is just a phase. I havent tried a shower with him yet, but could. I guess part of it has been that I enjoy his bath time and feel like he has the rest of life for showers. Just when you have them on a routine, they have to go and change everything.:)

ladylisalt · May 2013

noahchristopher:
Could he have a sore bottom for some reason? Maybe diaper rash or something bothering him under there and he doesn't want to sit in the water all of a sudden?
We don't let our son stand either. When he tried several months ago we were adament about having him sit. Now he won't even try to stand up. The mat doesn't cover the whole bottom of the tub and it's too slippery in there.

No, he dosent, but good suggestion.

ladylisalt · May 2013

Netty_3:
This is new for us as well. It usually begins because we have to take his train away so it doesn't get ruined in the tub. He doesn't end up playing because he's just standing there crying over Thomas, while I try to hold onto him and clean him.
I have new bath toys I haven't introduced, but was going to to try and get his interest in playing so he'll sit down. LO doesn't just stand, he also tries to dance...which is cute...but not safe. It makes me nervous, so I can understand where you're coming from. Also...looking for Thomas the train bath toys.

Try walmart or Target, I think thats where mine were from. Also, have you tried an Amazon search?

LuckyDad · May 2013

We have a slip mat, but I prefer DS not stand up in the tub. When he does I normally ask him to "Please sit down"... he puts his butt down, then stands up again, giggling. It's often a sign he's done in the tub. But he's also a bit younger (13 mo).

homediva · May 2013

My son refused to sit in the tub for months too! I finally just got him to sit and I did it by filling the bath with only about one inch of water and telling him it was a puddle bath! Now that he is finally sitting again I can slowly increase the amount of water.

ladylisalt · May 2013

No luck with trying new bath toys....onto the next trick I guess....

namara5532 · May 2013

When DS started standing in the tub, I just made it safer for him to stand. I put a mat in the tub and a rubber cover on the faucet. He sits more lately because I've introduced a strainer in the tub, and he has to be close to the water to play with that. In general though, we don't consider it a big deal as we stay at the tub with him to catch him if he does lose his balance.

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