Mom with dementia has started turning the water on in the bathroom sink and leaving it. Any ideas?

I don't think she was trying to wash her hands. whenever she does something like this she says the baby did it..:). This is getting harder each day, not just because of the water but the journey I am taking with her as she loses her mind. Very sad and very stressful.

It seems like a lot of people go through different stages. At one time I did not dare set anything small on the table because it would go in her mouth. I do like the idea of the automatic faucets.
If you have had any occupational therapy you can get your doctor to order a home visit by a therapist. They have a whole lot of ideas of things that can be done.
A couple of the things I have done is to get lever style openers instead of door knobs on the door because grasping and turning the knob seemed difficult. Another thing was changing the switches on the lights so they come in when they enter the room.
One of the next things I have planned is removing all the carpeting and replacing it with laminate because it is much easier to keep clean.
As far as turning off the just turning off the faucets, what happens if you are outside, or in the basement, and can't make it back for a time, or something plugs up the sink.
Good luck to you.

I just go turn it off and gently remind FIL he left it on. At least she's washing her hands....I just had a 5 minute discussion about the absolute importance of wiping ones behind and washing ones hands after ever bathroom visit with my FIL. *sigh*

My Dad also did this with the bathroom sink faucet. After it happened several times my Mom took the handles off the faucet so they can't be turned. They lay next to the faucet and could just be slipped on and off when necessary. Now she's put them back on as he seems to have lost interest in them. You could also turn down the flow to the faucets instead of turning them all the way off beneath the sink, or wherever the shutoff valve is. That way she'd have just a thin stream or trickle of water instead of a gush.

I like the automatic faucet idea, lots easier than crawling under the sink to turn off the water!

Yes she lives with me. Someone suggested a automatic faucet...I'm going to look into the cost of these.

The water mess is one concern, her fall risk because of the wet floor is a probably a bigger concern. Does she live with you or independently? If she lives with you, you could turn the water off with the shutoff valve by the wall and turn it back on when needed - kind of a hassle but so is mopping up wet floor. I hope someone has a better suggestion as I'm thinking mine is sort of lame.

My Mom did this too, in the beginning of her dementia... and overflowed the kitchen and into the family room... we needed professional dryers.

Your Mom is needing help with food prep..