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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think people who don't bath/wash their DCs every night are lazy?

365 replies

BigMommaOf4 · 18/10/2010 22:11

I am shocked by the amount of people on here who state that they only bathe/wash their DCs once or twice a week. OK bad cases of excema accepted, I just think that's soooo lazy. No one IRL I know leaves it that long so is it just a peculiar Mumsnet trait because they are too busy MNing?

DTS1 has excema btw, I just cover him in an emollient before he gets in the bath and it does not exercerbate it.

I mean, come on, babies and toddlers in nappies, older Dcs not very efficient at bum wipeing - how can people leave them to fester for days?

In the 'olden days' when tin baths had to be got out and water boiled in a copper pot, obviously it was not possible every day but nowadays that's not the case.

Also my DCs love RELAXING in the bath/shower. It's not only for cleanliness. They love feeling warm, clean and comfortable before getting into bed. Even my 12 week old starts getting excited just from me taking him upstairs of an evening because he knows he's going in the bath and he adores it.

Do all these people, who only bath their DCs twice a year, have a bath/shower every day themselves? Bet they do! Feel sorry for the poor DCs.

OP posts:
AnyFuleKno · 18/10/2010 23:03

conspicuous cleanliness - it's so silly. Some people think don't feel clean unless they smell opressively of fabric conditioner and soap.

BigMomma, my dd goes to bed "clean and comfortable" on her non-bath night as well. I wouldn't want her to be so freaked out by dirt that she'd demand a bath after getting back late in the evening.

showmewine · 18/10/2010 23:03

I cannot get DS (2yrs old) in the bath now for love nor money he screams the place down

suggestions mumsnetters? and yes one mum has already told me to force him into the bath how the h*ll do you do that without injury?

and no need to be stroppy in your replies please thanks Shock

BadBettyBlue · 18/10/2010 23:04

She is the one who called herself big!

JoBettany · 18/10/2010 23:04

My DS would definitely smell less than fresh if he didn't shower or bath every day.

I can tell immediately when he has been at his dad's over night and hasn't bathed or showered. It's not BO but just a slight mustiness. My Scottish friends call it 'foosty' (no idea of spelling) which is a great word to describe the smell. He's just not quite fresh and very slightly sweaty.

I always think it is more comfortable to be freshly showered or bathed.

montoyadiary · 18/10/2010 23:05

YABU

my kids skin gets dry if they're bathed more than 3 times a week. bathtime's fun but i prefer the other nights, they get into pyjamas and we snuggle up and read for half an hour. it's much more of a rush on bathnights.

Imarriedafrog · 18/10/2010 23:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Joolyjoolyjoo · 18/10/2010 23:06

How funny- it would never occur to me that laziness is the reason behind people not immersing their children bodily in hot water every night!

But here's a question for you, OP: I, being a good and tireless mother do bathe my children every night (it's so laborious to turn on those taps and then turn them off again, but it's part of their night-time routine, so I endure it) However! I bath all 3 of 'em together! Now, does this make me skankier than the 2-3times a week bathers, or can I sit in virtue up on a nice high horse?

Tryharder · 18/10/2010 23:07

Well I wouldn't describe anyone who didn't bathe their kids daily as "lazy" but I do bathe all 3 of mine daily in the evenings and DS1 has a shower in the morning as well before school.

So shoot me Grin

sodacrystal · 18/10/2010 23:08

Show me wine - a bowl of warm water on a towel on the floor? Plenty of splashing about getting hands clean, then allowed to stamp in the bowl for getting feet clean? Lots of small containers and funnels and spoons etc for playing plus a tea set to use, you do a quick flannel wipe down whilst he plays. Don't force the bath issue - plenty of other ways to get clean - will he go in the kitcehn sink? Or in a baby bath in front of the TV? Lots of children find the bathroom cold, echo-ey, slippery etc.

LadyFantastic · 18/10/2010 23:09

YABU
Constant washing is unnecessary for young toddlers.

Children can have a quick wash and wipe, then have a bath every other night. DS is 3, uses the potty and comes home from nursery smelling perfectly fresh - except maybe his feet sometimes which can be cleaned without running a whole bath.

I, on the other hand, Need a daily wash to smell fresh.

petisa · 18/10/2010 23:11

BBB doesn't give you the right to be nasty and bigoted.

izzywizzywoowooo · 18/10/2010 23:11

My lo probably has one around 3 times a week in between that she has a wipe down, the bath seems to irratate her eczema.

She doesn't smell of anything just baby! lol

BadBettyBlue · 18/10/2010 23:12

How am I being bigoted?

izzywizzywoowooo · 18/10/2010 23:13

Also i would be worried if I passed on any sort of OCD to my kids I mean if they see us obsessing then they might end up doing it too. I dont wash my hair everyday, I wash it every other day as It is pontless washing it everyday it just strips the natural oils out...

showmewine · 18/10/2010 23:13

thx sodacrystal i was doing the baby bath by the TV thing in the summer might have to resort back to that....i think he does it coz he doesn't like having his hair washed

he loves the water though and he loves the swimming pool but he freaks out at bathtime now in fact he has started saying 'bathroom sleeping' canny lad eh?!!!!

he always smells delicious regardless :-))

mathanxiety · 18/10/2010 23:17

YABU.

Never bathed mine nightly, especially when they were little; I did all of them together, as well as trying the one after the other routine. It was a recipe for disaster any time I tried. Once a week did just fine. Topping and tailing daily (flushable wipes keep the rear ends fresh, faces washed morning and night) and washing hands frequently worked out well. I washed their feet every night in the summer/sandal months.

The more you wash the more you interfere with the natural oils of a child's skin and scalp. They were never the least bit smelly. Two of the DDs just use conditioner, never shampoo (me too) as we have very curly hair and detergents in shampoo mean a very bad hair day.

Once they get to 9 or 10 a daily shower is a good idea, imo. They do that themselves, thank goodness.

sodacrystal · 18/10/2010 23:18

Show me - all mine went through a 'no bath! no bath!' shrieking stage, it does go away after a bit, but i think forcing him will make it much worse. Love 'bathroom sleeping'! that's a classic! (confession - i only wash my DS2 hair aless than once a week - shock horror. Also I never brush or comb it!! I just fluff it up with my fingers cos then it looks all curly and lovely. But I am right lazy of course, what with my 3 DCs and my fulltime job...Grin

hellymelly · 18/10/2010 23:19

I do bathe my dds every night,but more for the relax/play/bedtime routine ,than for cleanliness.DD2 would not tolerate a bath at all until she was over a year and she was always clean.I was a toddler in the 1960's when no-one bathed every day,and when I went to boarding school we were allowed one a week! I don't think its lazy to bathe your babies less,and its certainly greener.

zombishambles · 18/10/2010 23:20

I find it a bit odd that people who openly admit to being a bit OCD about washing will then willingly pass that on to their dcs by insisting they bath/shower everyday andusing words like 'fresh' etc - why would you do that?

Kids under a certain age generally dont smell - and if they dont smell of poo and wee etc then they just smell of themselves - of humans - thats no bad thing surely.

twirlymum · 18/10/2010 23:20

Is this for real?
You can feel sorry for my dc's if you want, they have 2/3 baths a week. Feel free to judge.
Btw, a friends son attends Great Ormond Street for severe eczema, and the consultant said he wishes people would learn that lots of bathing is harmful to young children's skin. Not just kids with eczema, all children.

allhallowsandwine · 18/10/2010 23:22

jesus i was give you a wee jammy dodger untill I realised how many posts you got on this. Grin

I bath dd 2 to 3 times a week more if can be arsed Wink but i have jut read up on aqueose cream and im mortified i have used this to wash dd since she was a few weeks old. and i have been using it since i was a teenager Shock.

SkeletonFlowers · 18/10/2010 23:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RockBat · 18/10/2010 23:24

Agree about BBB, that was out of order and you don't actually know anything about the op. She could be 6ft 4. That was an unnecessarily nasty post.

shubiedoo · 18/10/2010 23:25

YABVU... waste of time and hot water! Mine have more than 2 baths a week just in summer, when they actually are playing outside and getting dirty.

Otherwise twice a week, that's it. We only had one bath a week as kids.

MaMoTTaT · 18/10/2010 23:27

My DS's get a bath every other day.....usually.

DS1 and 2 wash every morning - I can't remember the last time I had skid marks in pants - ie they wipe their bum

DS3 - I wipe his bum still

DS1 has recently started washing his feet in the evening as he noted the other night "urghh my feet smell when they've been in shoes all day at school mum"