As a parent, traveling with kids is probably one of the most stressful and exhausting experiences you can have, especially if you’re traveling with a toddler. There are tons of tricks and tips that people are happy to share, but at the end of the day, what works for one family may not necessarily work for another. This seemed to be the case for a mother named Chloe Molina.
Molina, a 25-year-old first-time parent, recently shared a travel hack with other families on how to get her 5-month-old baby to sleep in the shower while traveling. Unfortunately, her unconventional information led to a huge discussion on social media.
The mother defended her decision to put her baby to sleep in the shower whenever she travels.
“When we travel, our baby sleeps in the shower. Let me explain a little,” Molina began in a TikTok video. She explained that while it may sound a little silly and potentially dangerous, she assures viewers that she doesn’t just make her son Ezra sit on the shower floor and walk away.
Instead, she and her husband, David, put a crib in the shower so their son could sleep. Why I decided to do this is that when my son sleeps in the room with me, he smells it, he sees it, and all he knows is that his parents are there. This keeps him awake, so to deal with this they give him “a room of his own.”
“Usually the bathroom is too small for a crib and the shower is big enough, so I put the crib in the shower,” she continued. “We break open the bathroom door so he feels like he has his own room.”
Molina is also able to close the shower curtain to make sure her son is sleeping peacefully, and both she and her husband can use the bathroom without disturbing or waking him. I also pointed out that it can be used.
She claimed this was her “best travel hack.” Because not only will the baby be given his own room, but she and her husband will also not have to pay for a separate room.
People’s reactions to Molina’s travel hacks were mixed. While some praised Molina for not letting that be an issue and avoiding the stress of putting her baby to bed while on vacation, others were concerned about how unsanitary the hotel baths were.
“Personally, if I use a strong cleaning agent, like cleaning a hotel room bathroom, that’s the last place I’d leave my child breathing in that air and potentially moldy air at night. ” commented one person, while another added: I’m too worried that the water pipes will burst in the middle of the night. ”
Molina explained that her sister-in-law taught her the hack after she went on her first vacation with her baby.
In an interview with People magazine, Molina said she took her first shower during a trip to Mexico with her husband David in August 2024 and their son. Their son “stayed up all night” when the crib was placed next to their bed.
“They know if you’re two feet away, so they’ll always wake up to find you sleeping right next to them and begging for milk,” Molina said. “They can smell your milk and they can smell you, especially if you’re breastfeeding.”
After her sister-in-law, a mother of four, explained the potty hack, Molina decided to use it as a plan B the next time her son refused to sleep in the crib next to her bed. I did. As for concerns about mold growing or the shower turning on itself in the middle of the night, she admitted that she never thought about it.
“I had never felt that kind of fear,” Molina told the magazine. “First of all, I don’t have a fear mindset towards parenting. We don’t sit around and live in fear. What I’ve learned is you have to do whatever you think is best. Everyone has their own parenting style, and you can choose what’s right for you based on what you believe is right for your child.
Considering how difficult it is to make sure your baby sleeps through the night, parents sometimes have to come up with unconventional ways to catch some ZZs.
It’s clear that she doesn’t just put the baby in the shower, close the bathroom door, and forget about the baby. In fact, it seems to be working for Molina and her husband.
Eventually, my son will outgrow his crib and will no longer be able to sleep in the shower.
Parents are really just doing their best to make sure their baby is healthy and safe. There is no rulebook for raising children. Frankly, we all need to learn to be a little more empathetic and understanding. People should learn that parents are not looking for unsolicited advice or opinions unless they are actively harming their baby or putting them in pain or danger.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news and lifestyle writer whose work explores contemporary issues and experiences.
