At 4 I'd be in the next room folding laundry or something. Could easily hear him playing with toys and did pretty frequent checks.

Anonymous wrote:Like they're in a tub with 4" of water and you want to go downstairs to get something.

Age four for a quick trip on same floor. Age five for another floor.

Anonymous wrote:My neighbor's daughter drowned in the bathtub. She went down to the basement to put a load of laundry in the wash.

My sympathies for your poor neighbor. You do put your guard down in your own house. My kids are older now, but when they were younger, I would find a task to do that involved sitting in the bathroom or in the adjoining bedroom and not running around. I hemmed a lot of pants and folded a lot of laundry during bath time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bathe my kids together, they’re 2 and 3.5.

About six months ago I started grabbing something from the next room while they’re in the bath, but it’s literally 30 ft away and I’m gone <10 seconds. Not enough time to drown.

Even just the older I wouldn’t leave longer at these ages. I don’t mess around with water.

You apparently do mess around with water because 10 seconds is plenty of time for a child to slip and inhale a lungful of water.

It is going to be a long 25 years for you before you can let go…

A six year old boy died in the bathtub in our neighborhood. It was devastating. His three year old brother had just been taken out a few minutes earlier. I believe they think they were playing how long can you hold your breathe and maybe he tried it after his brother got out. It was utterly devastating.

3. I had her sing when I needed to step out. Was a n next room with doors open.

Around 4-5 but stayed nearby within earshot. My kids liked to linger and play. Usually took the opportunity to fold some laundry etc on the bed.

5 and nearby with check-ins.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bathe my kids together, they’re 2 and 3.5.

About six months ago I started grabbing something from the next room while they’re in the bath, but it’s literally 30 ft away and I’m gone <10 seconds. Not enough time to drown.

Even just the older I wouldn’t leave longer at these ages. I don’t mess around with water.

You apparently do mess around with water because 10 seconds is plenty of time for a child to slip and inhale a lungful of water.

PP here. A quick google actually tells me that a toddler can drown in as little as 20-30 seconds. So actually, I can be out of reach for the 5-8 seconds it takes me to grab something every once in a (long) while without my kid drowning.

Anonymous wrote:My neighbor's daughter drowned in the bathtub. She went down to the basement to put a load of laundry in the wash.

I truly can't imagine. Heartbreaking

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4 inches of water? This is nothing. Surely you are underestimating the water level

I'm not. They're not that big and any more than that is a waste of water. They just need enough to splash around. Plus anymore and it gets out of the tub.

DP and while I get this, taking a bath in 4 inches of water, even when you're little, kind of sucks because you can't submerge your body and you get cold quickly. If you are this committed to using less water, just give them showers. My DD has been taking showers (first with me, now assisted by me for hair) since she was 3. But she takes a bath once or twice a week and we fill the tub up enough that she can get her whole body underwater. She knows not to splash too big (or she'll have to help clean it up) but I also don't freak out about a little water on the floor of the bathroom.

We've been leaving her alone for short periods in probable 10 inches of water since she was 5, but I'm one of the posters upthread who mentioned having a very small home, so by "leave alone" I mean I'm less than 20 feet away working on laundry or dinner or on my computer, but I can hear her and in some cases see her clearly from where I am. She's a good swimmer and while no kid is drown-proof, I haven't worried about her drowning in the tub since she was a toddler.

Anonymous wrote:4 inches of water? This is nothing. Surely you are underestimating the water level

I'm not. They're not that big and any more than that is a waste of water. They just need enough to splash around. Plus anymore and it gets out of the tub.

About 6 and only for a short time. But we put more than 4 inches of water in the bath. Even though she knows how to swim, kids can easily slip and hit head in the bath

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:5 or older when they had basic swimming.

What does swimming have to do with it? You can't swim in 4 inches of water.

They understand basic water safety.

+1, early swim lessons aren't about swimming but water safety, including understanding how to hold your breath and push air out of your mouth and nose while under water. Once a kid can do this reliably, I feel much more comfortable around them in the bath tub. You still have to think about other issues (my DD always wants to stand up and I worry about her falling so I still keep a close eye on her), but water safety is a major milestone for independence in the bath.

Anonymous wrote:I would do things right outside the bathroom at 4-5. But it was probably 6 before I’d run downstairs.

+1