Being responsible for the care of a disabled child can be stressful to say the least, as even the most basic of tasks can become logistical operations. While we all know what a blessing a walk in bath can be for the elderly, or for adults with disabilities, they can also be the perfect solution if you have a child with a disability in the house, especially if they’ve gone beyond the ‘baby stage’. Far from merely being a bathing solution for individuals who have become frail and less mobile, they offer a practical option for caring for your disabled child as they grow and enter their teenage years.
While a bathing a toddler may be a relatively simple task, as the child matures and grows, having to constantly lift them in and out of the bath can not only be physically demanding for the carer, but is also stressful for the child. Not to mention that this may become a physical impossibility as they progress into adulthood. So, if you’re the parent of a disabled child, it’s wise to plan ahead and think about your child’s future bathing needs. By installing the right equipment, not only will it remove a lot of the stress for you around bath time, it will also mean that your child is less likely to be anxious about bathing too.
By investing in some kind of disabled bathing option, whether that’s a walk in bath or a shower room, you’ll be offering your child the chance of some independence and control over their bathing routine. This will give them increased self-confidence, and will make bath time a more pleasurable experience, especially as they become teenagers. Of course, the most appropriate bathing solution will depend on the nature of their disability and their age: some children may be able to bathe themselves, some will require limited assistance, while others may need total assistance, when equipment in addition to walk-in baths and showers will be necessary.
Here at Walk in Showers and Baths, we offer a range of bathing equipment for all kinds of disabilities, with some of our baths having seats that allow easy access without having to rely on a hoist or another form of mobility equipment. You’ll also find that the doors to our walk in baths open outwards and are sufficiently large to facilitate wheelchair users. Furthermore, we use anti-slip flooring to ensure that bathers don’t slip once they are in situ.
In case you were worrying about the expense of installing dedicated assisted bathing equipment into your home, you can rest assured that several of our models offer the option for ‘dual’ bathing, enabling both you and your child to use the same equipment, although not necessarily at the same time we hasten to add. Or, if you prefer the idea of a shower, we can install easy access showers or open plan wet rooms which offer complete level access to enable you to wheel your child directly into the bathing area. Of course, for extra safety, we can also install thermostatic controls, grab rails and folding seats.
If you’d like to find out more about our walk in baths and showers, simply call us on one of our three lines: For Midlands and North call 01952 457991, for the South call 0207 1019340 or Freephone 0800 612 5954.
