Bath time can be fun for you and your baby but keep these safe bathing tips in mind:
Whatever kind of baby bath, bath chair or bath support you use, never, ever leave your baby unattended in the bath. Have everything you need for your bath ready in advance: towel, toiletries, clean diaper, pajamas. If someone knocks at the door or the phone rings and you feel you must answer it, wrap your baby up in a towel and take him/her with you.
- Never put your baby into a bath when the water is still running (the water temperature could change or the depth could become too high).
- Put cold water in the bath first, then hot. This will reduce the risk of scalding your baby.
- Make the family bath safe: put in a rubber bathmat and cover the taps.
- Make sure the bath water is comfortably warm (about 32-35 degrees C / 90-95 degrees F). Babies generally prefer a much cooler bath than you probably do. Baby Land has a bath spout cover that tells you exactly what temperature the water is at and indicates if it is too high or too cool with an alarm.
- Fill the bath with only five to eight centimeters of water/ two or three inches for newborns and babies up to six months old and never more than waist-high (in sitting position) for older children.
- For babies who can sit up, a bath ring suction-cupped to the bottom of the bath may provide you with an extra 'hand'. But it's no substitute for keeping your eye on your baby at all times.
- Teach your child to sit in the bath at all times.
- You don't need to bathe your newborn baby every day, once or twice a week is fine. Toddlers get dirtier and usually enjoy a daily bath. You don't need to wash your baby's or toddler's hair every day: their hair produces very little oil so once a week is plenty.
- Set your water heater to 49 degrees C / 120 degrees F. A child can get scalded in less than a minute in water at 60 degrees C / 140 degrees F.
- Do not allow your child to touch the taps. Even if he can't turn them on now, he'll be strong enough to do so soon and that could lead to serious injury.
Never leave your child unattended. Children can drown in less than an inch of water and in less than 60 seconds.
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