Anonymous wrote:4 but our house is small and the only bathroom with a tub opens into the kitchen with what we pretend is a hallway in between. Even if I was at the stove to stir something, I could see her and keep talking to her.
(Embarrassing setup for dinner and overnight guests, excellent setup for safely bathing a preschooler!)
+1, teeny tiny house. The bathroom with the bathtub is right off the living room -- we can be in the living room reading or watching TV and be able to hear DD even quietly splashing or humming to herself. I've been leaving her for short periods since she was four and had basic water skills (i.e. had learned to blow bubbles and submerge her face in swim class). Like a minute to go grab a towel from her bedroom, or to go get a glass of water from the kitchen. And then just extended that little by little.
She's 6 now and still prefers baths to showers and also still needs help washing her hair (it's long). So now usually we wash her hair and then leave her to wash her body and soak on her own for 15 minutes or so. She can drain the tub and get out on her own without our involvement.