To wonder how you can not bath or shower kids every day?

[Kalitall]

I know this ones been done, and I don't think anyone is dirty for not bathing every day and I understand about skin conditions.

I just don't know how everyone gets away with not bathing children each day. Especially little ones.

My two boys seem to get filthy. They both play outside every day and end up muddy. The toddler gets really mucky eating meals, usually ends up with food everywhere even in his hair. Also often ends up with paint over him from nursery. He poos in his nappy every day and even though he's clean up is usually still a bit smelly. In the Summer they both get quite sticky.

I find it easier to run a bath or put him under the shower than to top and tail to clean all the muck off.

Like I said I'm not accusing anyone of being dirty, as an adult I could probably get away with not showering each day as I don't sweat much and don't get mucky.

Do other children just not get in a mess?

It's the same with washing clothes. I reuse my own clothes but I could never not wash the dcs clothes, because they're always covered in food or mud.

Mine have a shower daily. Sometimes twice it depends. For example, in summer when its super hot, they have two showers a day. Just like I do.

I couldn't imagine not showering my children daily. I have a shower daily so why wouldn't they?

Horses for courses and all that but my children are a part of me and if they aren't clean, I don't feel right .

Oh, and the little one has Eczema too. Lashings of his special oils/ creams are applied during/ after shower time.

Job done.

Petrified of a power shower and you don't have a bath? Heard it all now!

In the summer my toddle had a bath most days. But she would be covered in sun cream, sand, grass/mud. In the winter I only give her a bath in the evenings if she has food in her hair, we've been to the farm in the day, or I've let her to full body painting or something else that makes her really dirty.

So some weeks it's 3-4 times, some weeks it's twice a week. She's not disgustingly grubby or caked in food so I really don't see the point. Plus it's finding half an hour free in the evenings to do it.

Probably scared as they use it so rarely....

Looking back though, under the age of 18 months, she had a bath every evening because we did BLW and she was spectacularly covered in whatever she had eaten.

Do other toddlers not rub their dinner in their hair?

Mine didn't, apart from the occasional bad day.

My DCs did not have eczema and we live in a climate where summers are hot and humid. They never had any skin problems apart from mosquito bites. I used a total of two tubes of A&D ointment for diaper area issues over the course of five DCs. If they used mosquito repellent they always showered (preferable to marinating in washed-off chemicals in the tub). They rinsed at the pool showers after they swam to keep their hair from being destroyed by chlorine (a losing battle in summer for active kids). On summer evenings they used to stand under the shower and soap off a bit so as not to sleep in sunscreen.

As babies and toddlers they got really hyper after bathing, so a couple of times a week was all I bothered with until they were about 5/6, and then they started having a shower a few times a week. I occasionally let them have an afternoon bath when I knew they had time to run off the extra energy bathing gave them. Once they were 9/10 they were showering daily just as I do, and they have kept that up ever since. I have never had to wage a campaign to get teens to wash daily/use deodorant, etc..

DD3 was the exception to the non-bathing of babies and toddlers - she was only truly happy and relaxed in the water so she sat in the kitchen sink pretty much daily until she got big enough for the bathtub, and then had a soak more frequently than the others did. DD4 otoh used to scream bloody murder when she saw the sink or tub being filled, and almost had a horrible accident trying to scramble out of the bath one time.

Read my post. I said we ^didn't* have a bath. My family paid to have one installed last year. Not everyone can afford these things.

We made do. Strip washes every day.

Lovely only. They're scared because it's pretty fierce. It used to be a disabled shower so they could just run out when they freaked out.

Mygastsareflabbered - yes, regular, warm, bubbly baths with candles and silence might have helped you loose the sarky attitude and consequently had a positive impact on your marriage. It's true baths are good for marriages in all sorts of unrecognised ways. 🙂

I do ElisaV, I think warm gentle baths, soft lighting, lavender oil if you must, and fluffy warm towels give a potent message about appropriate behaviour as bedtime approaches. Followed with sleepy cuddles and stories in a dimly lit room. Heavenly.
Play baths are lovely too but need quieter finish to session or they'll be up all night.

Ah yes, lavendar oil (snorts in remembrance of what a waste of time that one was).

The problem with this idea is that you're reliant on the children involved not to consider all baths as play baths. Mine, alas, are not on board with the relaxing bath idea. Hence, up all night.

I couldn't imagine not showering my children daily. I have a shower daily so why wouldn't they?

Because adults sweat much, much more than young children. Which is why you presumably need deodorant and why your children don't/didn't.

Mygastsareflabbered - yes, regular, warm, bubbly baths with candles and silence might have helped you loose the sarky attitude and consequently had a positive impact on your marriage. It's true baths are good for marriages in all sorts of unrecognised ways. 🙂

You are starting to sound a bit weirdly obsessed with bubble baths now. Personally, I prefer shagging in the shower anyway.

yes, regular, warm, bubbly baths with candles and silence might have helped you loose the sarky attitude and consequently had a positive impact on your marriage. It's true baths are good for marriages in all sorts of unrecognised ways.

I've heard it all now. "My marriage is crumbling" "Don't worry, dear, have a nice bubble bath that'll fix it"

Although maybe the amount of time you spend away from your OH by being in the bath and not annoying them is what is actually helping the marriage.

Loving all the evangelical parents of toddlers on this thread " you must do it this way or you're wrong". Children vary, and they change, and their needs change with them. So, for example, when mine were tiny they were bathed every day, as toddlers they were bathed every day then graduated to daily showers. Then, as they got older, they didn't need showering every day so would get 2 a week and a bath on Sunday. Now ds1 is approaching his teens he needs to shower every second day (Well actually he doesn't but it's a good habit to get into). In a few years he'll need a daily shower again. And so it goes on....

I think my favourite part is the "soft lighting". Toddler + bath + candles = disaster.

Bathtime for ours is once every two nights, which is plenty, given how long it usually takes.

This thread is brilliant!

Mine see bathed daily. Can't bare the "I've been at school all day" smell

Df1 has eczema in her case it's OK to bath and I use special products that don't dry out her skin. Triggers fir her are more clothing and heat. Stuffy classrooms fir instance and leaving the sweat etc from pe would make her itch more

Obviously that's just fir her ajd other people with children with skin conditions will find other rituals work better.

But I am often on washing threads. I get skin conditions but only on MN would not bathing for a week very excused on the basis of environmental cost and yet somehow using piles baby wipes dry shampoo and enough deodorant to gas a rhino somehow be less damaging

Faffing about with wet wipes to me is far more hassle than running a bath.

But I am often shock on washing threads. I get skin conditions but only on MN would not bathing for a week very excused on the basis of environmental cost and yet somehow using piles baby wipes dry shampoo and enough deodorant to gas a rhino somehow be less damaging hmm

You're presumably thinking of adult threads there, though? I agree that most adults would need a lot of those things to not smell after several days (hell, I need a good strong deodorant to get me through one and even then it's touch and go and i usually top up throughout the day). But I think it's a rare young child who would be using all that, so this thread is a different beast entirely.

Although I always think of dry shampoo as more a styling thing anyway?

I think a big part of the reason I hate baths is the every evening bathing my parents enforced. I never feel clean after a bath, I always want to have a shower afterwards. When I bathe the kids the bath part is for wallowing and messing about (it does not relax them)I take the plug out and put the shower on to clean them.
I prefer them to shower in the morning though, they sweat at night and DC4 is still in night nappies.

No its the school uniform and kid bathing threads too

Given the number of threads about 5 6 and 7 year olds and upwards asking about deodorants because they have started to smell it's clear many parents must be nose blind at just how pongy kids cab get if all these 10 and 11 year olds are bathing on a Sunday and not using anything...

Reeeally, people are using deodorants on 5 year olds? Never seen those threads. I wouldn't have thought an anti-perspirant would be much use for someone who isn't sweating a lot.

10 and 11, yes. Junior kids can get a bit sweaty as puberty draws near. Maybe even 8-9. I was using deodorant around 9-10 years and I needed it (bra at 10, periods at 11 so I was early but not unusually so).

A nightly bath/shower is just part of our bedtime routine, after a day at school I would feel that the children would be going to bed dirty otherwise and it's only a half hour process.

Mygastsareflabbered - yes, regular, warm, bubbly baths with candles and silence might have helped you loose the sarky attitude and consequently had a positive impact on your marriage. It's true baths are good for marriages in all sorts of unrecognised ways.

Ah it's all clear now, it was my sarky attitude that broke our marriage, not my bullying, abusive partner.

Didn't rtwt but my two girls (2.5 and 5.5yrs old) get a weekly bath and that's enough (+ the shower at the end of the swimming lessons, the younger one has a weekly class, the older one a fortnightly class).
They both have sensitive skins, much better for them than using loads of 'special products'. It was similar when they were younger, we did blw for both so they did/do get dirty at meal times but get cleaned up there and then and no they don't tend to have food on their hair. Even if they play outside/with paint etc this would normally only mean hands/faces dirty (and clothes) so again why would a full bath be required? If either of them had an accident, at night or otherwise, they got a quick shower at that point. It's all about common sense surely.
When in nappies (so first 2yrs for each) they would get cleaned up at every change so can't see this affected our routine...

For the clothes the younger one does tend to need a full new set every day but it depends. The older one can get away with same top/dress for a few days but gets of course fresh underwear incl vest every day.

I need my morning shower personally because otherwise I don't wake up and I wash my hair every day (my own fault for getting to that point, will definitely not encourage my kids to do the same) and the DH needs it too as he exercises (runs etc) every morning etc. Those things to apply to LO in the same way!

dont apply to LO ...