If I thought is was truly important, I would just ask the child to sit or kneel and tell them why… “I am scared that you might fall and hurt yourself so could you sit or kneel please?”

If they do it, say thank you.

If they continue to stand I would ask again… “It makes really uncomfortable to see you standing up as I am scared that you will get hurt, is there a reason why you don’t want to sit or kneel?” Then if they give a reason, try to come up with a solution that works for both of you. Or make a game or show them something fun that has them kneeling or sitting in order to do it.

If they continue… “OK… I have asked you a couple times and I don’t like feeling scared that you will get hurt, so how about we move to something else”

If kneeling or sitting is the rule of the bath, and there is no way come to an understanding that works for both of you after have asked and tried to figure it out, then the natural consequence is that bath time is over. (but it shouldn’t be used as a threat nor should it be made into a big deal… it is just a matter of fact.)

Also, it is important to think of the rules in your house. Why are they there? Use that explanation when asking something of your child. Rules without good reasons are much harder to enforce because they often don’t make sense. Ask them to find a solution that will work and make them part of the rule making or ask them to find rules…

Never talk in absolutes… don’t say something like “don’t jump on the couch because if you do, you are going to fall.” If a child then jumps and doesn’t fall then the rule doesn’t work… because they jumped and didn’t fall. Kids can be very litteral like that. If you say that you are nervous that they may fall and you don’t like seeing them hurt, or you don’t want the fabric to rip because it is getting a bit old, well then say that. They can’t argue about what you may feel and the rules make more sense.

Personally, I might get some anti-slip pads in the bath if I was scared… because I know that with my kids standing in the bath can be really fun.

I would like to hear an attached parenting solution to a given situation: a preschool aged child is taking a bath with their parent, stands up in the bath, parent expresses the danger of standing in the tub and states the need to remain seated or on knees while in the tub. Child continues to stand. What would your response/action be? (I would imagine this could be a scenery that other parents have experienced.)

Thanks

Thanks and Welcome to the blog!… it took a while to put my thoughts into without it turning into a book but I am proud of how it turned out. I do hope you come back a visit again!

Thanks for sharing those thoughts. I really enjoyed reading it. It is so true. I try to share it with all my parents-friends 🙂