Baby Proofing Your Bathroom

Most bathroom safety reduces to one rule: the bathroom door stays closed when an adult is not in the room. A toilet lock, a spout cover, and an under-sink cabinet lock all reinforce that rule, but none of them substitute for it. Households where everyone — adults, older kids, visitors — closes the bathroom door reliably will see far fewer incidents than households that depend on individual product fixes.

If your bathroom door does not currently latch reliably, fix that first. A door that swings open easily creates a gap in the rule that no internal product can close.

Bathroom drowning risk is real for very young children. The toilet, the tub, and even a few inches of standing water in a sink can cause serious harm. A toilet lock is the most common product response, and it works well, but it is most effective as reinforcement of the closed-door rule.

Water temperature is the second water hazard, and it is widely overlooked. Many home water heaters ship from the factory at 140°F, which can cause serious burns to thin children's skin in seconds. Lowering the water heater thermostat to 120°F is a free, one-time change that prevents the most severe bathtub burn injuries. Check yours, then check it again — water heaters drift over time.

After water, the highest-stakes hazards in a bathroom are medications, razors, and cleaning products. Medications belong in a locked, high cabinet — not the medicine cabinet over the sink, which most toddlers learn to climb to. Razors and hair tools live on counters in many homes; move them up or unplug and stash them after each use.

Bath time itself benefits from a few small upgrades: an anti-slip mat in the tub, a soft spout cover to absorb the inevitable head bumps, and a temperature check before every bath even after lowering the water heater. Leaving the room for any reason during bath time, even briefly, is the most common source of serious bathroom injuries.