Safer Bath Time for Babies and Young Children
For babies and young children, bath time is often a special part of the day. It can be a time to play, splash and enjoy one‑to‑one time with you, or a calm and soothing routine before bed.
While bath time can be fun and relaxing, accidents can still happen if children are not kept safe. Sadly, some accidents have had very serious consequences, which is why clear safety advice for parents and carers is so important.
Reviews of infant and child deaths between 2015 and 2023 have highlighted bath seats as a particular concern. Research from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) shows that around one in three accidental drowning deaths in children under two involves a bath seat. Bath seats are not safety devices and should not be relied on to keep a child safe in the bath.
Below you’ll find trusted sources of safer bathing advice to help protect babies and young children. This information can be shared by any professional working with families, not just health professionals, to help ensure parents and carers have the guidance they need to keep children safe at bath time.
NHS – Washing and bathing your baby
The Partnership have developed key safety messages for parent/carers when bathing their baby or infant.
