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

[BigMommaOf4]

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.

Oh. and if children don't happen to enjoy baths or showers do we still have to make them bath everyday?

Mine have never had daily baths/showers. Not because we are lazy (although I am generally) but because it's not necessary!!!

And no, I don't shower every day. When we are camping I have been known to not shower for a week. Don't collapse in shock OP.

Yabu..and very funny

I just get the kids to roll around in some sawdust after dinner. Works a treat. You don't even have to change it until the end of the month.

Riven - the council suggested my mil get a jet stream shower for her dd (now 28). You prop her up to stand, turn on the shower, close the doors and wait.
She did not have to help washing her, as the steams would sprout water at her in all directions, and it would be perfect as sil is able to stand if holding on to something.

Creative thinking.

As to the op.
My sons showers weekly. (aside from the shower before and after swimming lessons) Unless they are dirty. They top and tail morning and evening and change into clean clothing. A 5 and an 8 year old dont sweat like adults do.

In fact, bathing daily is lazy, as it means you dont really keep an eye on whether your child is dirty enough to warrant a shower / bath, or not.

Brilliant OP- it's been ages since I've seen a thread started which has got up people's nose so definitively which hasn't been about parking or breast-feeding.

Superb work.

I like turtles.

the dermatologist told me not to bath the kids every day. twice a week is fine, and they don't smell!

if your child is hysterical in the bath - it is certainly most NOT a wind down to bed!!

oh and teeth cleaning is so stressful too - and whilst we're on it, he won't eat any vegetables either, add that to my long list of lazy can't be bothered mother!

Yeah turtles are very nice thighswide

"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"

Right. So presumably 'in the olden days' (I am assuming you mean 100yrs ago not 1500?) people didn't stink all the time? Or die of BO-related diseases? Which means that it was good enough. Which begs the question as to why we have to wash out sprogs more frequently? Is there some sort of moral dimension to this? Is it yet another sign of degenerate motherhood?

OP, sorry to spoil your gleeful 'ooh, touched a nerve there' enjoyment. I am sure you are hugging yourself with excitement about all the lazy MNetters you can now judge.

However, the reason so many people have responded is not anger, shame or indignation, but because it is rare for someone to post such a spectacularly stupid OP that MN unites. It gives everyone a warm fuzzy feeling of solidarity in the face of insanity.

My HV told me not to bath my son at all before 12 weeks as he was slow to gain weight. When he was a skinny 'un, every professional I met advised against "overbathing", suggesting twice a week at most.

I am very lazy, though.

You got me BigMomma. I am indeed a lazy slattern. My fetid children are desperate for me to bathe them more often, apart from anything else they find it so hard to relax in the evenings. Every night they bring me the bottle of radox, tears pouring down their dirt-caked cheeks, begging me to run them a bath. I can barely take my hands off the computer keyboard long enough to bat them away before their grubby fingers touch the screen.

Mind you, the upside of this is, I can always locate my children in a crowd. There's usually a big space around them and a trail of flies.

Hahahaha! Ds1 has a bath on Sunday and then showers after his swimming lesson on a Wednesday!

He has even been known to ask for a bath because he enjoys it!

My sister and I used to see who could go the longest without easing our hair, then there's the waylon Jennings tour bus shower and I'm about to put on a vest with no visible marks that I've febrezed!

I have a laissez faire attitude as you can see....I wonder if there's a reason we use a French phrase to describe our attitude to washing? ;)

btw, we don't smell!(just!)

I can't think of anything polite to say to the OP so I offer her a and another . One for each hand.

Now don't forget to scrub those hands with bleach when you've finished eating.

Riven - I've had to threaten to scrub him down myself with a brillo pad to get him in the shower at times!

How strange to deliberately strip the natural body oils away every night, then apply a cream to put them back on again.

Adults tend to wash every day as they have gone through puberty, so release hormones and will smell of BO. Having said that, washing daily is still a cultural norm, in the past in cold countries or in winter, taking all your clothes off and getting wet was a crazy thing to do. It's only with central heating and heated towel rails that it becomes desirable and not a risk to health.

Most children don't need to have a full bath or shower every day unless they like it. They don't smell (see above) and usually aren't dirty from school.

My doctor also advised me not to wash my eldest daily as she had eczema as a baby. We go for about three times a week, not sitting in water with detergents/shampoos (I rinse it off and she gets out immediately). Aged seven, she doesn't have eczema at all now. Perhaps she grew out of it, but his advice was brilliant. Swimming and constant bathing made it appalling, it improved immediately (though not cured) when we stopped. Have you thought about trying that strategy?