🎙️ Simple Bathroom Setups That Build Independence
Welcome to the Prepared Enough podcast, a space where we simplify motherhood, nurture our families, and design homes that help us raise independent and helpful children.
Three things in this episode:
🚽 How to setup your bathroom for independent hand washing, teeth, hair, & toileting.
❤️ Two things we find super helpful.
🙌 Four high-impact starting points for quick and easy success.
Episode Talking Points:
Areas where our children need to gain independence that we chat about on this episode:
Sink / Handwashing
Brushing Teeth
Hair and Face
Toileting
Sink / Handwashing
Setup Items:
Sturdy Step Stool
Easy-to-use Soap Dispenser
Low Mounted Hand Towel
Tooth Brushing
Setup Items:
Toothbrush and (maybe) toothpaste at kid height
Sand timer
Some type of pre measured toothpaste pump or toothpaste cap
Hair and Face
Setup Items:
Low height of all materials: washcloth basket, hair basket full of spray bottle of water, brush, comb, rubber bands, boys hair stuff—whatever it is you are using most days
Step stool
Low mirror
Toileting
The setup here is going to range greatly between potty training and regular toilet use.
Setup Items:
Child sized potty (ages 0-3)
Child sized toilet seat insert OR child sized potty (agest 3-5)
Step stool or double step stool
Reachable toilet paper
See hand washing list above
How to release control and encourage your child’s independence within each area:
Slow release to independence using the “I do, we do, you do” method.
Take one skill and break it up into many smaller skills. Take those broken down smaller skills and release control of these tiny parts individually.
Two things we find super helpful:
Morning checklist
Daily hygiene caddy
General storage and organization that supports children:
Low open bins instead of drawers.
Clear drawers is a runner up alternative if necessary.
Simplify, pair down, declutter.
Keep just one item per function. OR one container of items (i.e. tiny rubber bands).
Generally: less stuff = fewer decisions = more independence. Simple is always better and more easy to manage for a child.
Looking for a place to start without rearranging your entire bathroom today? Here are four high-impact starting points that will only take you 20 minutes to complete and will have BIG impact.
Move a step stool into the bathroom.
Get a command hook and hang a towel down low.
Put your child’s toothbrush and toothpaste in a reachable location.
Write a quick visual morning routine checklist. This can be scribbled on a half sheet of paper and hung with a magnet on the fridge or with tape in the bathroom. You might write: clear table spot after breakfast, make bed, get dressed, brush teeth, do hair. Perhaps you want to include packing a backpack if your kids go to school. If your child cannot read, draw pictures!
Independence in your children is going to be both taught through instruction and encouraged through accessibility.
Thanks for listening!
Resources & Links:
The three different rubber bands my daughters use for their hair that I swear by (Amazon affiliate links):
Cotton bands
Clear mini elastics
Colorful mini elasticsCome say hi! I really like writing to you via my newsletter!
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Growing in motherhood alongside you,
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