Occupying Babies/toddlers in Order to Take a Shower

Hi S.,

I had the same problem for awhile. After the Jumperoo, I did the Pack'n'Play, and then I was like, "Now What?" So, now I actually bring my son in the shower with me. He's 15 months and I've been doing it for a few months now. I just sit him in a corner with a toy and do my thing. He likes the water and to be with me so it works for us. Now when he gets a little older, I have no idea what I'm going to do. But for now whatever I can do with as little screaming as possible is great. Hope this helps.
S.

When my kids were that age I started taking them into the shower with me. I'd plug the drain after the shampoo was out of my hair and let him play. Got everything out of the way at once. I was clean he was clean and I didn't worry about what was going on while I was in the shower. I works great... I did it until each of the boys were old enough to be trusted to watch a movie unsupervised for a few minutes, they were probably about 3.

I have a two yer old and a 5 month old and they each go in their cribs while I shower. I started thiswith my now 2 year old when he was a baby and he is very used to it and gets excited to choose his books and toys for playtime while I am busy. So far it works great... I am hoping to keep the pattern when we move him to his big boy bed in a few months.

Hi S. - I've used the following techniques with my babies - I have a 2+ year old and a 8 month old. Currently I put my toddler in the shower with me and when the shower is done I draw a bath for her and she plays in the tub while I do my hair and makeup. The baby is either in the exersaucer in the door of the bathroom - in his crib with toys or on the floor on a playmat with his favorite toys around him (he doesn't crawl just yet so that works at this moment. It always seems that a technique only works for a while and then I need to figure something else out. The clear shower curtain was my saving grace when my toddler was younger - if she could see me she was more apt to "behave" while I was in the shower - Good Luck!

Funny you should ask, my neighbor and I were just discussing this yesterday. My husband has been deployed my daughter's entire life she is now 17 months. Every morning that she is awake when it's time for me to get ready before work, I put her in front of Baby Einstein in her jumperoo. I have 1/2 hour to get ready, as she usually doesn't hang much past the end of the show. That is the only time she watches TV and I think 1/2 hour of Baby Einstein 3-4 times a week isn't a big deal. We have done this since she was about 5 months old. I am more comfortable with the jumperoo then I would be the Johnny Jump up as the jumperoo sits right on the floor. Good luck, give it a try.

I use both the crib and the pack and play for my 13 month old. When I put my son in the crib, I make sure it is a lot different than nighttime. I give him toys and make sure to leave his light on and door open. He seems to know the difference and has not had problems going to sleep at night or at naptime.

I would bring my son in the shower with me when he was younger. I'd be able to clean him up then let him sit on the shower floor and play with bath toys while I cleaned up, so I was killing two birds with one stone -- not to mention he absolutely LOVED showers.

I used to put my daughter in her room with the safety gate up. Putting her in the crib wasn't such a bad thing until the toys all fall out then it got tricky (my daughter was a climber).

The high chair idea works well, I used that one a few times but closer to when she was about 2.

Good luck!

I have an almost 3 year old in August and an 8 mo. old and if they are sleeping I leave them sleep and I take a shower. If my 8mo. cries it won't hurt her to wait until I can tend to her. Sometimes my oldest wakes up but she is such a good child and just comes into the bathroom with me and sits quietly or will lay on the floor. When both are up then I have them both in the bathroom with me and I put toys on the floor. My oldest will sometimes get toys or books from her room and bring them in the bathroom. I seem to be able to complete my shower and finish everything before the youngest cries. If she cries before I'm done I finish my stuff and tend to her.

I have a two year old and a 5month old. I strap my two year old into his high chair and give him a pile of books or put in an Elmo movie. I strap my daughter into her car seat and set her next to the shower. If I'm quick it all works out. Good luck and happy showering.
A.

I didn't read all the responses, but it looks like you got some good suggestions. I just wanted to mention that I've read in some baby books that it's good to let your baby play in their crib during the daytime. It gives them a positive association and makes them more comfortable being alone in their crib (even at night). Just make sure the lights are on and maybe some lively music is playing so that baby understands the difference between playtime in the crib (bright lights, lively music, lots of toys) and night-night time (dark, no music or soft music only, no toys only his lovey). Good luck.

I just brought a couple of toys in the bathroom, and put my daughter on the floor to play with them. The door was shut so she couldn't wander around. She was curious about the shower, and played nicely in there. It worked with my son as well.

I only have one daughter (23 months) who is not very wild and plays with her toys well alone. So I just tell her that mommy is going to take her shower now, and then do it. As soon as I'm out of the shower, I open the bathroom door so she can come in if she wants, and she knows this.

For a time she used to watch as either my husband or I showered, but she would get wet from the spray, or would try to bring toys to hand to us. For a while I would also use the baby gate to keep her on the upper level with me, and she would play with our dog up there while I showered. She also went thru' a period of wanting to sit on the counter to watch me put on makeup; she's less into this now, but it was fun for her to handle mommy's makeup items, look at herself in mirror, etc.

Probably the biggest piece is that I would go about my business (cleaning, on phone, etc) while she played from the earliest age, going from room to room and therefore leaving her alone in a room for brief periods of time. So she can handle herself alone in a room for a brief period of time and not freak out, scream for mommy, etc.

Also, I know that when you have 2 or 3 kids, this might not be an option any longer! Good luck!

My 18 month old son goes into his crib with some books and toys and my almost 4 month old comes into the bathroom with me in his bouncy seat or sits in the doorway in the excersaucer.

I get up before my daughter in the morning to shower, but if she is up before me, I just let her play on the bathroom floor while I shower. Otherwise, I will take a bath with her.

I stick my 18-month old in his crib with some toys, keep the shades open, and he does really well. I leave the bedroom door open, as well as the bathroom door, just so I can hear him crying (hasn't happened yet...). He doesn't get confused with naptime b/c I pull the shades down to make it dark, and obviously there's no toys. As your child gets older, videos work great too! My kids tend to get into trouble when they put their heads together, so I have to separate them when I need a shower. It might be a time of trial and error, but I wish you the best!

I actually have 2 kids 4 years and the other is 19 months. I have been in your shoes. I used to take my oldest into the tub with me until I knew she'd watch a show or knew she'd fall asleep if I laid her down. I didn't want her to get into the garbage, toilet, or anything under the sink. I wanted to know what they were doing and that they were safe.

Mine went from the bouncy seat to the exersaucer to the high chair. Our bathroom is right next to the dining room so I put them in high chairs and then pull them into the doorway. I would put their breakfast cheerios on there and they could eat while I showered and I could peek at them to see how they were doing. Now I have 4 kids and I usually take a shower before my husband leaves but if I can't I just put the babies in the high chairs and the older kids on the couch and they watch toons while I shower. I always leave the door open until I'm out. You can always put a monitor next to them too if you can't hear everything with the water on.
J.

Am I the only one wondering why your husband doesn't watch your son for 30 minutes so you can shower? Unless he is working there's no reason he can't. It would be good father/son bonding time for them.

You could put your son in the pack and play and turn the TV on, or simply lay him down for a nap before you shower. Get a toilet lock and lock the drawers and cabinets and let him play in the bathroom if you don't want him in the shower with you. I was a single parent when my daughter was little so she sat in her bath seat playing with toys at the back of the tub while I showered at the front of the shower. She loved it!

I have a very active 11 month old who loves to try and climb on/out of things (he actually managed to climb OUT of his bouncy seat while I was showering one day, even though he was strapped in!), but he has been fine in the Pack and Play with a few toys while I shower. I leave the bathroom door open so he can see me and I can hear him (the Pack and Play is in my bedroom, about 10 feet away from the bathroom).

I took a shower at night while she was sleeping. Or, if I had to take one during the day, I would put her in her room and lock her door. Her door was turned upside down so the knob was higher than normal.

Good luck!

I plan my showers at breakfast time. I prepare breakfast for my 17 month old, pull the highchair by the bathroom door and let him eat breakfast. I also turn the TV on so he has something to watch. This way, while I am showering, I can peak through the curtain to make sure he is ok, not choking, or making a huge mess.
I have not tried putting him in his crib, and I once let him "play" in the bathroom, I thought I got all the "danger" items. Well, I missed my husband razor and he was holding it, never got hurt, but it was scary to see him walking around with a sharp razor. I haven't let him "play" in the bathroom since.

Is your bathroom off of a hallway where you can use two gates to block off a space so that your son can crawl in a see you or just play with toys. Otherwise I used to take showers with my now 3 1/2 year old ( when she was your sons age) daughter. I have a corner whirlpool tub/shower that has a bit of space, she played in one corner and I showered. When I was done I filled the tub with some water and I finished getting ready. Then number two came and when he was a baby I just left him in the car seat, when he was too big for the Johny Jump up I then would either put him in the tub with my daughter while I showered and she played or I would Drap the high chair in there and let him play with toys that stuck to the tray or gave him little treats to snack on. I also had a clear shower curtain that helped a lot they could see in and I could watch and keep an eye on what they were doing. Good luck finding something that works for you.

my tricks are either i call my mom that lives down the street to come over while i take care of my business or i just put up the baby gate and leave her in the living room, making sure that everything she cant have is put away. she will usually stay by the baby gate and babble away yelling for me to come back. sorry if that doesnt help you out.

Do you have an excerciser that you could put him in. Or a baby gate so that you could put him in a "safe" room where he could play but you would not worry? Those two ideas are the ones I used with my two boys.

My hubby travels for work and I work fulltime so when he's gone, I have to find something for my daughter (20 months) to do while I shower. I do not feel comfortable leaving her in another room without me so I usually bring some toys in the bathroom, close the door and let her play while I shower (We also play peek a boo with the shower curtain). The last time, I left the door open to the master bathroom but closed the door in the bedroom so she could watch some tv if she wanted.

But our absolute favorite thing to do? I bring her potty seat in my bathroom and she sits on the potty seat reading books while I shower - she almost always has success on the potty seat in those circumstances!!!!

My daughter still fits in her exersaucer so I stick her in that in my hallway so she can still see me in the shower and I play hide and seek with her behind the curtain. Or I take my shower before my hubby gets out of the door.

I still put Oliver in the bouncy seat. We actually have a rocker type seat that he sits in and he does ok. I think when my daughter was older, I'd have her in the bathroom with me and she would sit on the floor and play with stuff. Just make sure dangerous things are out of reach and shower fast! ;-)

Have you thought about taking showers before you go to bed at night? That's what I've started doing. Then in the morning, all I have to do is dunk my hair under the faucet, dry it, and style it. After about 10 minutes I'm ready for the day! At any stage in the process it's easy to stop and tend to the kids (3 yr boy and 6 mo girl).

My son is 18 months and if I have to bring him with me to take a shower, I just let him play with his bath toys and the washcloths and towels. He's usually pretty good about just hanging out in the bathroom (although there was the toilet paper incident once.. ha ha). Otherwise, I do it while he's napping (whenever that may be).