# RO: So what were you doing while your 13 month old son was alone in the tub drowning to death? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 20, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342 "2011-01-20T16:49:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/41 "2011-01-20T23:49:50Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Good question, though I did get rounded upon thoroughly once here for admitting that I had used the kitchen sink to hose off one of my goddaughters who just had had an amazing attack of the runs … [though I honestly do not understand what the big whoop was. If the water temp is proper, you support the critter while hosing her off, dry her off and rediaper then you clean the damned sink. I don’t know what other people clean with, but dish soap is a perfectly good surficant, and fer jebus sake you will grab a sponge and wipe up something on the floor that the dog yacked up, so what is the big deal about some baby-processed used milk products.] I have regularly used the kitchen sink to bathe my goddaughters when small enough [back damage makes kneeling on the floor to bend over and do anything pretty much impossible] and it works out fine. As long as the sink is cleaned before bathing and then cleaned after bathing, big whoop. Seriously? Are these people chopping onions in their sink or something? All sorts of gross things hang out in my sink - way grosser than babies, that’s for sure. _Cockroach_ babies, for one. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/42 "2011-01-21T00:32:19Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Technically, it only takes an inch of water for anyone to drown. True enough, but there’s a difference between a 13 month old and a 31 year old in the tub. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/43 "2011-01-21T00:39:06Z")
Meh. We bathed the Ogreling in the kitchen sink regularly when he was a larva. He bathes in the tub with mommy now, but he was fine. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/44 "2011-01-21T01:52:58Z")
My sis and I took baths together in the kitchen sink. Her on one side and me on the other. I just hope my mother didn’t use dishwashing detergent. That stuff burns your va-jayjay something fierce (and I know this because once she DID give us bubble baths with dishwashing detergent. It was fun for like 7 seconds.) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/45 "2011-01-21T02:11:54Z")
> [@ShelliBean](#): > > Duh. She needed all those friends to tend her crops. She loves her crops. Treats them like her children. ---
**Author:** ![xoferew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e9a140/32.png) [@xoferew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xoferew)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/46 "2011-01-21T02:54:44Z")
Even if the unattended baby didn’t drown, it could easily whack its oversized head on the hard surface of the tub, much like an intoxicated xoferew did some years back. I’m scared of slipping in the tub to this day. Please watch your babies. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/47 "2011-01-21T02:56:16Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > True enough, but there’s a difference between a 13 month old and a 31 year old in the tub. 🙂 I’m aware of that – I’m just sayin’. I remember when I was about three or four and my cousins and I would be playing at my grandmothers – if we got all filthy, we’d get baths in the laundry tub down in the basement. That was fun. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/48 "2011-01-21T06:11:14Z")
There’s [an article on Yahoo](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110121/ap_on_re_us/us_fea_lifestyles_distracted_pedestrians;_ylt=AvABFnQpYi8i8gXixgzxgG9I2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTNmNXNkaGp1BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwMTIxL3VzX2ZlYV9saWZlc3R5bGVzX2Rpc3RyYWN0ZWRfcGVkZXN0cmlhbnMEcG9zAzIyBHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3NtYXJ0cGhvbmVzZg--) right now about “Smart phones foster dumb habits among pedestrians” about how with smart phones, people aren’t watching where they’re walking while they’re TEXTING. In other words, it has nothing to do with smart phones whatsoever, but ordinary cell phone distraction is no longer news. ---
**Author:** ![Tinkertoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@Tinkertoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinkertoy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/49 "2011-01-21T08:36:37Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > True enough, but there’s a difference between a 13 month old and a 31 year old in the tub. 🙂 That depends on the amout of alcohol involved. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/50 "2011-01-21T09:14:12Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > True enough, but there’s a difference between a 13 month old and a 31 year old in the tub. 🙂 The 31 year old tends to struggle more, for one. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/51 "2011-01-21T09:52:26Z")
Either way, drowning is easy. COMEDY is hard. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/52 "2011-01-21T13:37:43Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > (Although now I kind of wonder if there are any kids who are exclusively sponge-bathed in infancy and early childhood, and how well that would work for hygiene.) The last Weleda news or similar had an article about what’s necessary to keep a baby clean, and they stressed that baby skin is thin and simple, and that a lot of parents far overdo it with too much bathing that removes oils and then adding a lot of lotion. Sponge baths are certainly enough for hygiene, given that adults can also go for ages without immersion-baths, just sponge baths or showers. However, the warm water is very pleasant for the babies, and can be a nice way for the mother to spend quality time with it. But if you don’t have time for that, a quick sponge-down is certainly good enough. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/53 "2011-01-21T15:59:06Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Yet another reason why babies, from a design point of view, are crappy. It’s more that the design hasn’t been updated for society changes in the past 10,000 years or so. Daily bathing is a pretty new concept. Joe likes the new concept, though ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/54 "2011-01-21T16:15:44Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > and fer jebus sake you will grab a sponge and wipe up something on the floor that the dog yacked up \*What?! \*Fucking gross. Who the hell uses a dish sponge for anything but dishes? Especially anything on the floor. Ick ick ick. The reason people reacted to you washing shit into the sink, by the way, is mainly grossout factor. There are plenty of things that are probably perfectly safe and wouldn’t run the slightest risk of getting anyone sick, but they still squick people out. For hundreds of millennia, people who didn’t have a hard-wired aversion to getting feces near their food probably didn’t survive long enough to pop out many kids. > [@constanze](#): > > However, the warm water is very pleasant for the babies, and can be a nice way for the mother to spend quality time with it. Remember kids: only mothers can bathe children. So soap up your vagina and get to scrubbin’ 'em with it. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/55 "2011-01-21T16:19:39Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Remember kids: only mothers can bathe children. So soap up your vagina and get to scrubbin’ 'em with it. I’m sure our scullery maid or the tavern whore could also clean my kid. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/56 "2011-01-21T16:22:54Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > \*What?! \*Fucking gross. Who the hell uses a dish sponge for anything but dishes? Especially anything on the floor. Ick ick ick. As long as that particular sponge is never used on dishes again, assuming it ever was, what’s the problem? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/57 "2011-01-21T16:34:11Z")
Sponge?!? Who uses sponges in a kitchen? I just use dishrags that can go in the bleach load in the washer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/58 "2011-01-21T16:56:37Z")
I am told that in the mid-60s I wandered off as a toddler and was found down by the irrigation canal. This in spite of the fact that my mom was hyper-paranoid because TWO of my cousins (out of like 30) had drowned. Apparently, prior to social media, mothers had to resort to doing stuff like cooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening and slipping off to speakeasies to neglect their kids. Yeah, I was literally on a leash after that. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/59 "2011-01-21T16:57:16Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > As long as that particular sponge is never used on dishes again, assuming it ever was, what’s the problem? The sink is re-used for cleaning things you eat off of. If the sponge isn’t also re-used for cleaning things you eat off of, it isn’t analogous and there was no point to bringing it up. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342/60 "2011-01-21T17:14:48Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Sponge?!? Who uses sponges in a kitchen? I just use dishrags that can go in the bleach load in the washer. 🙂 My sponges can go in the microwave. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-so-what-were-you-doing-while-your-13-month-old-son-was-alone-in-the-tub-drowning-to-death/568342.md?page=4)