In terms of safety, shower curtain or shower door?

Sorry because I know this isn't the question, but the door/curtain debate doesn't matter compared to having REALLY good, well-placed, firmly-fixed grab handles - I'd be inclined to get rid of both and not have anything cluttering up the space.

I understand privacy is still a key priority for your father, though. Can he not have the bathroom all to himself when he's showering?

needtowashhair, I have a bathtub shower where I had placed sliding safety glass doors. Now that I am older, I wished I never did. A royal pain to try to clean the bathtub as for one side there is a toilet in the way, and I don't have the flexibly I once had :P Plus so uncomfortable to sit on the edge of the tub unless there is a pad under the person.

And I am finding for myself I am starting to get a bit claustrophobic with the doors closed, so I need to keep one slider open a couple of feet.

Methink, and I could be incorrect, if enough weight is placed on a slider door, it could shatter.

Jeanne, you can put a grab bar vertically at the shower entrance, even one on each side of the "door". Those are great for those using a tub too, they give you something to steady yourself when you step in and out.

Regardless of either - you need Support Bars.

We had to convert our small tub into a walk-in shower and I had the carpenter put supports to handle support rails that had to be installed through the shower walls. We have 2 bars inside the shower, 1 just outside the shower and 2 by the sink, one on top of the sink cabinet and another through the door when in an open position.

After he fell inside the bathroom and against the closed door - we now block the door open and have the bar for safety. As it's just the 2 of us living here, it's not a problem. If we have company, I can always hang a sheet over the open door. So far not needed.

So again, I think the bars are more important than curtain vs door in the tub/shower.

It shouldn't matter about what is easier for the person coming in to shower your mother - it's more important to take care of the safety issues for your parents.

It depends on how the door is installed, if they are using it instead of a grab bar would it take their weight or come crashing down?
One other thought, once they need help in the shower it is much easier for the caregiver to manoeuvre with a curtain.

We converted my dad’s bathtub/shower to a walk-in shower. Took out the tub entirely, he’d never used it as a bath anyway, and he now has a walk-in shower with full length doors and a seat. There are also very sturdy grab bars. He’d heard negative stories from other seniors about the advertised walk-in tubs that have a door, that you have to go in unclothed, sit there cold while it fills, bathe, then sit there cold while it drains to be able to open the door to exit, ugh! He’s done well since we changed to the walk-in shower

Thanks for the responses everybody.

Re privacy. It's not a matter of privacy since the shower is in a bathroom with a door. I decided to go with a clear shower curtain. Not only is it brighter in there but it's clear to my dad that it's not a wall or door anymore so hopefully he won't be tempted to lean against it.

Re tub or shower. I neglected to say that it's a walk in shower.

I've had a shower seat in there for a couple of years but no one uses it. My dad is still fit so has no need. My mom doesn't because she doesn't shower much. That's why we are trying the home attendant to help her.

Dad says he never even leans on the doors so it's not a problem. I further addressed this by putting in a bar that fits across the entryway after he's in there. He just has to swing it into place. So it's basically a handrail that's in place where the doors once were. But can be left aside for when the attendant comes.

Sounds like you found a good solution.

We had a tub/shower combination. Before scheduling my DH's hip replacement, we decided it was a good time to gut and redo the bathroom with a view toward greater safety and access as we age in place.

The tub came out. In the same footprint we had a tiled, curbless shower put in. We installed grab bars on all 3 walls of the niche-- a vertical one near the "exit", a diagonal one on the back wall and a horizontal one on the 3rd wall, where we hang the bath mat when not in use.

I decided to go with a shower curtain instead of a door-- I have a cloth curtain with a clear plastic liner. This arrangement allows for maximum access for caregivers, makes it easy to roll in a shower chair (if it ever becomes necessary), and leaves lots of room to move a wheelchair into position to transfer on/off the toilet, should that be necessary someday. (I remember how hard it was to transfer my late mother to and from the toilet when she used to visit us, even using a travel wheelchair-- there just wasn't enough room to maneuver.)

Daughterof1930, I never thought about sitting there cold while the water filled the tub. Makes sense, Thank you so much for this input. I have ruled this type of tub out.

Daughterof1930, I had that concern (sitting there cold) with walk-in tubs. A friend installed one and was wildly enthusiastic about it. Don't you get cold? No. I go in with a towel around my shoulders. The tub fills and drains faster than a normal tub. Hmm. A little later Coy saw advertisements and asked if we could get one. He loved bathes to the end. I got one with water jets. Very, very nice. Only wish I'd done it a few years earlier.

You can have a regular tub converted by installing a door. Useless. Don't waste your money. The huge value of a real walk-in tub is not only the door, but also that you sit as in a chair.