Bath time - how often?

[Twinmumessex]

Hi all, silly question - how often do you bath your bubas? Thanks

[Ecureuil]

Every day, because they enjoy it and it is an ‘activity’ which kills some time before bed. They’re 3 and 2 now and not sure they’ve ever missed one! It’s not necessary though.

[gallicgirl]

Twice a week. My DD gets eczema so more frequent baths would irritate her skin. They get extra baths as required if they've done a messy activity.

[Anatidae]

Daily.

Mumsnet is split between those who wash daily and those who wash once a year and are utterly convinced This is fine and they don’t smell.

We had a similar question on a fb parenting group I’m on recently. Again, the answer is either ‘pretty much daily’ or ‘once a week, water is bad/I dont smell’ one or two said e dry couple of weeks. Their poor kids :(

[Friolero]

Mine usually have a bath every other night

[1DAD2KIDS]

One a week unless they get messy somehow. I don't think too often at a young age is good for their skin

[Jenala]

3 or 4 times a week. With frequent hand and face washing in between.

I think I'm considered disgusting by many on here. My mum certainly think a I'm disgusting

[Anatidae]

The recommendation to not wash was changed recently - water is fine for their skin. The recommendations from dermatologists for most kids with eczema is a short lukewarm bath daily with no /no harsh products, to reduce the build up of bacteria and dead cells.
You dont need harsh products when they are tiny, just warm water.

[megletthesecond]

Depends how old they are too.

Mine are 9 & 10 and shower approx 6 evenings a week. They had a bath every night as babies and toddlers.

[KalaLaka]

anatidae that's really interesting; thanks for that. Good to know!

[Orangebird69]

Ds is 2.1yo. Every night.

[Kragghooooooullllll]

4 year old has one every night, she just likes to splash about in the water for 20 mins before bed. The baby (7 months) once a week at the minute but she is baby wiped every meal time anyway grubby little thing!

[Pennywhistle]

I have 10 year old twins.

As babies we bathed them every evening before bed.

Now they have a shower every evening before bed.

[KatharinaRosalie]

Mumsnet is split between 'a few times per week/depending on how dirty the get' and 'OMG if you don't scrub them every half hour your children are minging dirt covered stinky flea bags'

For me, depends on how old 'buba' is and what they have done on that particular day. Most pre-teen children really don't get smelly if they are not washed for 24 hours.

[BillywigSting]

Every other day for eczema prone ds. We tried every day but despite being slathered with various ointments, creams, lotions and potions, including steroid creams, his back becomes so dry and flaky it bleeds.

I'd much rather he went 48 hours without a bath than have him howling because his back looks like one big graze and is in agony. I have it too so I know how much it stings even before it gets to that stage.

He gets hands washed as and when needed (before eating, after toilet etc) and a damp flannel on his face morning and evening to gently wipe away any visible dirt.

He's four and he doesn't stink. When he's older and starts sweating like an adolescent he will be washing every day like me and his dad.

[Twinmumessex]

Thanks everyone! I have two newborns and have only given each of them a bath a couple of times since we got them home 3 weeks ago and wasn’t sure if that was ok or not! I’ve been using Johnson’s baby wash cloths on them every evening instead of a proper bath as properly bathing 2 newborns every night is out of my capabilities at the moment ha!

[jammiecat]

I'm also a twin mum although mine are now 3.5. With our first born we used to bath him every other night but once the twins arrived it slipped to about once a week, although we did also give their bottoms a wash a little like you describe with the wash cloths. There just wasn't enough hours in the day for baths on top of all the feeds. And we were both exhausted. Now they're older we tend to bath them all about twice a week. And I wouldn't worry about whether anything is OK or not. If it works for you and your family then it's fine in my view. Just keeping two newborns fed and happy is enough to worry about in the early days!

[Newtothismumthing1]

Every night- mine is 3months old now. In addition to keeping clean i think it helps with establishing a night time routine

[CompletelyUnknown]

Daily as I have the messiest baby in the world. Apparently dinner isn’t properly enjoyed unless you rub it in your hair.

[user1493413286]

Every other day now for my 6 month old but on hospital advice we didn’t bath our newborn preemie until 4 weeks old then were told only weekly as she was so little her temperature control wasn’t good and she got cold so quick and hated it

[hazeyjane]

I ensure they are constantly immersed in Dettol infused water in a large bubble, otherwise they will be UNCLEAN and my poor poor children will be objects of pity for all the righteous, fresh fragranced clean people.

[BrioAmio]

I zoflora mine daily...

Every other day ish unless there’s a particular shit storm.

[peanut2017]

Only bath our 6.5 month old once or twice a week- also has eczema. Top and tails done twice a day. That’s good enough for me. As
my mother would say ‘it’s far from daily baths you were reared’. He certainly doesn’t smell

[Prusik]

I don't think Ds had a bath until he was about six weeks old. These days it's daily, generally, to wash away the grime from food built up throughout the day. If he's relatively clean we skip a bath

[silkpyjamasallday]

DD is 13 months and has only recently started having regular baths, probably every other day now. She used to scream and cry when we tried when she was little so I would just wash her with a flannel and warm water from a bowl. Now she screams when we get her out, and gets very annoyed if DP or I are bathing and don't let her join us! I don't think you need to wash everyday, but everyone is different.

[MrsBriteSide]

DD is 6 months and I bath her every other day. Although now we are weaning I might end up giving her a bath every day as food gets everywhere. When she was newborn I'd only bath her twice a week as it dried her skin out. I do a wipe around with a flannel on days when she doesn't have a bath.