to be shocked at how many parents don't....

[formerbabe]

bath their children every day!

Following on from the thread about a poster not changing her children into pyjamas, I was surprised reading the responses how many people say they only bath their kids a couple of times a week.

I bath mine every night before bed and always have done, bar illness or something catastrophic happening in my day. On the rare occasion they have had to miss their bath, I have done a quick wipe down with a flannel, but they never seem clean after it. My kids seem to get filthy during the day, mud/food etc.

I know those kids who have excema cannot always have a bath everyday, but for anyone else it just seems like pure laziness to me.

My DCs all had or have infantile exzema, so I have always been advised to bath once or twice a week at most. More than one medical professional has told me that no child needs to be bathed every single day. Although, obviously, if it is part of your routine and you want to it's not exactly harmful .

All three were/are cleaned up with baby wipes (sensitive skin ones obviously) many, many times a day. I suppose if you are not cleaning your DCs up at all during the day then they may well be filthy by bedtime!

Either way, it's not really something to get your knickers in a knot about .

Seriously? You are really bothered about this?

My kids get washed each night, but I don't have the time or inclination to stand over them in a bath EVERY. BLOODY. NIGHT.

Not to mention the sheer waste of water. We have little enough of it as it is here.

I find a flannel wash doesn't work that well. Then you're not doing it right, op!

Its the sticky hands and faces for me! A flannel wouldn't take that away. what?? Wth some water & soap it works wonders. How does a bath full of water work better than a flannel?

or redo my make up in said bathroom in preparation for my dh coming home from work Seriously? I find this more shocking than anything else said here, tbh.

When kids have been running about they smell like puppies Is that a bad thing?

matildasquared I'm sorry for your experience, but not bathing our children every day isn't the same as your experience.

So they need a bath every time their hands get dirty? Eh? I bloody hope not, my 5yr old would have to live in the bath! Don't worry, op...she goes to bed nice & clean, with out the aid of a tub full of water.

I just do it because when he leaves for work, I am still in my dressing gown, no make up, hair like a birds nest stage, so I like there to be at least part of the day where I'm not looking a mess!

I find this quite sad, to be honest. You are doing it for him, not you.

I look a mess when I get up & when dh goes to work. I look my best during the day (don't wear make up) and usually look a mess once dh gets home.

He doesn't care & with all I have going on in my day, the last thing I want to be bothered with is dolling myself up for dh each night.

Differentname...my dh doesn't care. He wouldn't be bothered if I had no make up on...I do it because I like to feel good about myself.

but you know what they smell of? Child, their own smell, not some chemical you just washed them in

I was thinking about something similar the other day. I was following a woman down the street (not a stalker, honest) and got nosefulls of her perfume the whole way. It was so over powering. It was not attractive.

I am not saying that we shouldn't wash/be clean/smell nice, but people are so scared of their own scent & smelling even slightly, that they wash in over-scented chemicals, wash their clothes in over-scented chemicals & then douse themselves in more over scented chemicals. And it ain't attractive.

Formerbabe

Ditch the makeup you don't need it to feel good! Seriously.

He wouldn't be bothered if I had no make up on...I do it because I like to feel good about myself.

Still find it sad that you have to cover up your skin to feel good about yourself.

I just stand DS in the garden when it rains and squirt some shower gel at him.

Also, to the poster who said you become immune to the smell of your own child when it gets dirty - what a load of shit!

my boys have very sensitive skin anything more than one bath a week and they get eczema i wash them i just don't bathe them

i will reserve my shock and dismay for actual child abuse victims

My skintone is uneven, I have lots of sun damage from my stupidity when I was younger! Also, because I always wear it, people are used to it and when I don't wear it, many people have asked if I am ill or tired mainly passive aggressive sil!

But, I digress...

I don't bath my LO everyday, you may need to sit down when I tell you i grew up in era where baths where on Sunday only! We was well turned out as my dad was strict on appearances.

As for those that think you can only have a bedtime routine that involves a bath, good grief! Your world will probably end should you ever have a power cut or bursts water pipe. Ffs

www.independent.co.uk/environment/drought-of-1976-brought-standpipes-and-shared-baths-478513.html

there are more but this was one i remember my mother had a picture of me in the bath with my dad and sister we had one bath a week in 5" of water it wasnt child abuse then it isn't now

You do what works best for you.

I had three little ones close together, they would be out all day getting mucky in the garden. I used to pop them all in the bath together for a bit of a play, then we'd all snuggle up on my bed for stories. Then they all slept together in the same room. All out like lights. It worked for us.

Late arrival DC4 had just stood in the bath for a quick hose down every other day since he was tiny. Hates baths and excema makes them a bad idea anyway.

It is not lazy not to bath your kids every day OP. Bathing kids every day is completely unnecessary, wasteful and bad for their skin actually.

My dcs have a bath once a week. They are clean enough. I am happy for other people to make other choices.

Missed the makeup thing... You are bloody mental op...

Kids come home smelling of school, it's a bitter unpleasant smell, a few hours at home and it's worn off and they smell like mine again - anyone else notice this?

Also brought up with a bath of Sunday!

With the weather being so rubbish, DS isn't out to get muddy of anything. He's a once a weeker. If he did get shit high then he'd have more. I wipe his bum (he's 3) so don't have to worry about that. Anything that gets dirty is wet wiped.

Quite surprised by this thread. Mine bath every day- as do all of my friends' kids that I know about.

They do it for the fun of it at least as much as to get clean. I feel like a meanie on the odd occasions I'm too tipsy concerned about water usage to run one for them.

Slack I noticed this when DS1 started school. Then I realised he was actually smelling of cheap school dinners. When he started taking a packed lunch he smelled like my boy again.

The older dc (teens and pre-teens) need a quick shower every day, little ones in nappies could do with a shallow bath but tbh I never made ds have a bath every day after he was out of nappies.

YABU. Each child is different, some kids play outside in the mud, others prefer staying in and playing with toys and stay cleaner.

OP, do you redo your make up before or after getting DHs slippers and pipe ready?

I must be awful - I NEVER wear make-up, and the DC don't get bathed every day- in fact maybe once a month - but they shower 2-4 times a week - DS usually x2 except in the summer when he's dirtier and stickier, DDs, now they are older, whenever they want to - but not usually more than 4x a week. There is no need.

Are all the excessive daily bathers on water meters or not? I do think too much drinking water is wasted on washing TBH.

Slack: yes! There is a definite "school" smell. It clings to their jumpers. Not particularly pleasant.

Its the smell of institutional catering...I can smell it on my kids too!

I bath my children every morning and night.

It would not occur to me to NOT bath them for school or for bed.

Babies get sweaty regardless of what people say. Their bodies and hair needs washing regularly.

As for toddlers and children, they get grimy, muddy, sweaty, do not always wipe themselves properly. They need bathing!