Opposite sex siblings bathing together

[quesyrah]

In your opinions, when are opposite sex siblings too old to bathe together?

[auroraloo]

I've wondered what the answer to this is. And I question myself on it all the time. If I had 2 girls/2boys would I even be asking? Is the question rooted in hetero-normative societal influence?

So, I have no idea.

eta: mine are almost 2.5 and 3.5 and they bathe together.

[Deleted]

Our still do at 4.5. They understand boys and girls have different parts.

We'll stop when one becomes uncomfortable or asks to bathe alone....or when they run out of room I guess haha. So far they still like playing together

[quesyrah]

Mine really like playing together but last night DD grabbed DS's penis (by accident) and then she kept pointing out her vagina.

So I just wondered if it was time to stop. They are 2 and 6

[momin2013]

I only have DS, but I think it would be when one of them starts to seem uncomfortable with the idea. I feel like it would start to be obvious when it wouldn't be "o.k." anymore?

[auroraloo]

Feb 7, 2016 19:46:58 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

Mine really like playing together but last night DD grabbed DS's penis (by accident) and then she kept pointing out her vagina.

So I just wondered if it was time to stop. They are 2 and 6

That's legit. I would just make sure they both know it's ok to ask to bathe alone and stop when they ask? 

[quesyrah]

Feb 7, 2016 20:48:54 GMT -5 auroraloo said:

Feb 7, 2016 19:46:58 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

Mine really like playing together but last night DD grabbed DS's penis (by accident) and then she kept pointing out her vagina.

So I just wondered if it was time to stop. They are 2 and 6

That's legit. I would just make sure they both know it's ok to ask to bathe alone and stop when they ask? 

I am going to talk to DS tonight and see how he feels. When it happened he yelled at her that you don't touch other people's private parts.

[lala]

When they don't want to anymore. Just noticing different parts or asking isn't enough. But w/ that age difference your DS might be done. But I'd leave it up to him.

We stopped this year more or less but it's only b/c the girls decided they like showers better. The 7 year old showers all the time now and half the time the 4 year old goes w/ her and half the time she takes a bath w/ the toddler.

[minismama]

Well when DS was brand spanking new DD pointed to his penis and we had to go over the whole anatomy. She asked for a bit and used to think his penis was soooo funny. Oh 3 year old humor. Now she is 4.5 and he is about to turn 2 and they still bathe together. She hasn't paid any attention to it in forever and I don't think he could care less. I think soon I will switch her to a shower since I did it a couple of times and she seemed to like it.

[mamaalysson]

My girl is 5.5 and my boy is almost 3. They still bathe together. There has been pointing and questions and comparisons since the beginning. That seems pretty normal to me. When one says they are uncomfortable or asks to bathe alone, we will respect that. DD has asked to shower more frequently, so we may be nearing the end. But for now, they both love playing in the bath together.

[Deleted]

Mine still bathe together at 4 and almost 2, and I don't see stopping any time soon. They mostly annoy each other and stick to their own sides of the tub. They do love getting into my bed right after a bath and often that's when they notice their different parts more.

But questions or pointing wouldn't stop me. I mean it's no big deal for them to know they are different and have different parts, to me. We've talked about it a lot, and DS is just starting to get the concept of his penis being a "private" part. To me it's actually a decent opener for some good conversations about privacy and that DS (and me and DH if we needed to help him) is the only one who is allowed to touch his penis. (This talk happened after DD grabbed DS's penis). I'd rather talk about it at home in the bathroom than out in public!

But if your DS is starting to be uncomfortable, I can understand why you might be thinking of changing it.

[nicolewi]

I'd say whenever the kids start to be uncomfortable, or when/if bathing together starts to cause problems like too much interest in and focus on private parts!

[expectantsteelerfan]

DS mainly takes a shower by himself at this point, but as a 'treat' sometimes I will still let him take a bath with DD. They usually get out of hand though so I don't do it often, and honestly they are both getting too big to both fit easily in the tub while trying to play. But I don't mind if they are naked around each other (at 6.5 and 4.5) and don't think it will be an issue for a while yet. I could see ds wanting privacy maybe when he's a teenager, but so far he hasn't cared.

On the other hand, my own personal comfort level isn't as high, so I find myself not wanting to change if ds is in the room with me. But honestly I would like my kids to be more comfortable with their bodies so I'm more comfortable following their leads with themselves.

[lala]

Yes, I guess it was never prolonged for us where it became an issue. I do know people who stopped bathing them as soon as they noticed/questioned - not because it was annoying but because they somehow thought their kids noticing was a sign they shouldn't see each other naked. That's what I think is weird.

But I detest bath time and do everything I can to make it go as fast as possible. Or I make my husband do it.

[quesyrah]

DS has known the difference in anatomy since he was 3 and DD was born. She is just learning (and loves to tell you her "pachina" is in the front and her bottom is in the back). Noticing and pointing out differences in anatomy doesn't really bother me. When DD grabbed him it did give me pause and made me wonder if there was a point that I should make them stop.

I did talk to DS and he wants to keep taking baths together sometimes but sometimes he wants to take a bath by himself because she's annoying lol

So I'll just follow his lead and we'll see what happens

[lala]

Lol at "she's annoying." Sounds like the oldest sibling!

[quesyrah]

Feb 8, 2016 11:17:04 GMT -5 lala said:

Lol at "she's annoying." Sounds like the oldest sibling!

95% of what his little sister does is, "just totally annoying." Haha!

[scattered]

We stopped when Jack was 4 and Ava was about 18 months, because she kept trying to rip his penis off. Now they can play together in the tub but I make them were swim bottoms, because Ava will likely still try to rip Jack's penis off.

[CrazyLucky]

Mine are 5.5 and 3.5. We used to bathe them together. So much easier! DS decided he didn't want to anymore about 6 months ago (he was 5 at the time) and we didn't push it. If he was still willing to do it, I would have no problem with it. It's not like either one of them is modest. They funniest thing in the world right now (besides saying poop or fart) is making the other one look at their butt.

[junebugmom01]

Ds(almost 2)& dd(4.5) are bathed together and I don't see us stopping any time soon. Dd points out his penis and talks about it and we simply don't make a big deal out of it saying "yes, he's a boy and boys have a penis" and leave it at that. I suppose we will stop when one of them wants privacy.

[megster20185]

My son is tall and our tub is small.  At 4 and 2 they could no longer fit in the tub together.