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.

I know this will be unpopular but every small child I have ever come across who wasn't bathed daily smelt. They just did, usually of stale milk, often with crusty hair and skin as well. I hated it on my own kids so they were bathed every day. My friend's son was bathed once or twice a week and I am sorry but he was smelly and I would approach him carefully as there was always some unpleasant substance to avoid. Wet wipes don't do the job, then the child just smells of stale milk AND wet wipes. I think people who deny this are kidding themselves because they don't want the drudgery of Baths daily, but your kids won't smell fresh and clean, they just won't.

But how do you know MrsGame? You can hardly know the bathing habits of every small child you've come across so maybe some of the ones who didn't smell aren't bathed every day. And why would a 4/5/6 year old smell of stale milk?

My DD told me that she bathes her two children once a fortnight! They seem fine and fit to me.

Why would a 5 yr old smell of stale milk? The obsession with daily baths is ridiculous.

And actually it is starting to be quite offensive.

Plenty of five years olds spill cereal down their jumpers... stale milk right there if it's not changed

Well you take the jumper off then. That doesn't mean they need a bath.

I give her a rinse every day because she just gets sticky and dusty. It isn't a proper wash though.
If I don't her genitals go red and she gets a rashy eczema looking rash on her face.

Works if it's just on the jumper.

Not of its dribbled down the chin and down the shirt collar.

Why not bath instead if finding out two days later you missed a bit

The problem with that msgame is that you can only smell the ones you can smell. You have no way of knowing why you cant smell a child who doesn't smell, and the idea that you can vouch for the bathing habits of every small child you encounter is inherently implausible. Unless you only ever see a very small handful of kids I suppose, but if that's the case, your sample size insufficient.

Plenty of five years olds spill cereal down their jumpers... stale milk right there if it's not changed

Then you change the jumper and wipe up any milk. If my kids had a bath every time they spilled anything, we'd have to evolve to being aquatic overnight and live in a giant bathroom.

Love how the bedtime bath has progressed from 'just' 5 minutes to now 'just' 30 minutes, for those looking to kill half an hour. I must 'just' be a bit shit that I haven't so much spare time in the evening that I need to find ways to fill it.
Oh, and 5 cm in the bottom isn't a bath for an actual school age child, it's a damp patch.

I'm astonished at some of the attitudes on here, I think you'll find Sanctimummy medals being given out that way>>>>>>>>>>

I had an op which meant I couldn't bath or shower so I had to strip wash at the sink. Weirdly (or not) my skin was less dry, and the bumpy skin on the back of my arms went completely

Do you want some salt and vinegar for that chip on your shoulder OhGod?

8yo DD is still in that inbetween stage when she's old enough to not have the poo/mud/food issues that toddlers have and puberty not yet set in - so she's a 2 to 3 bath/shower a week girl. She spends half her time in the swimming pool anyway, and I count that as an extra bath :)

In between (tut tut!)

I just don't understand how people with two or more little ones who won't bath together manage it? If I bath ds (18 months) then that's fine, but if I bath ds (4y) after, the baby tries to get back in! They won't bath together, too much wrestling over toys and the baby wees in the water, and it's just so blooming stressful. So mine only both get a bath if dh is home before 6, or the baby gets a bath. Ds (4) gets a wash if he's grubby , or if he's particularly filthy he has to stay up later and wait til the baby has gone to bed.
It's chaos I tell you.

at somebody keeping track of the bathing habits of every child they've ever come across (do you peek in at their windows every evening?) and relating it to how smelly they might or might not be. If you seriously know how often all the dozens of children you encounter have a bath/shower, can I suggest that you get a new, more exciting hobby?

Why would children smell of stale milk?
if you were raised in the 70's you didn't shower or bath everyday, especially children.
School uniform was washed once a week and you had one uniform.
We are obsessed with cleanliness these days, it's ridiculous.
If your kids are mucky then wash them, same for clothes if they are smelly.
Otherwise a quick wash and sponge of uniform is fine.
The stink that came from the 70's were men wearing awful polyester shirts on a night out, now that was a pong to avoid.

I know this will be unpopular but every small child I have ever come across who wasn't bathed daily smelt.

Rubbish. I must have sniffed hundreds of babies and children over the years through working in playgroups, nurseries and schools as well as having my own children, nephews and nieces.
They smell of all kinds of things from the pleasant e.g Mum's perfume or shampoo to the unpleasant e.g pet dog or cigarettes, I still couldn't guess who is bathed nightly, who is washed with baby wipes or who is showered once a week.

After all the clubs, homework, other life things, I don't really find there's time for a bath for my three every night. Not if I want to get the youngest to bed and everyone have reading time plus a decent nights sleep. They are all school age anyway so a few nights with a flannel wash only isn't going to kill them, it keeps dds sensitive skin problems at bay as well. I'd rather they had fun at clubs and learned to read and got good sleep than be startlingly clean all the time.

My dc don't smell. They have a bath once or twice a week.

Of course you can tell the ones that aren't washed regularly, their hair especially doesn't look clean and doesn't smell fresh. And I meant toddlers and babies when I said "stale milk" seeing as so many have fastened on that. But even with older children you can tell.

My children are 10 and 14, the 14 year old showers every day, the 10 year old every other day. Any longer than that and their hair looks and smells greasy and it kind of clumps together and they look unkempt. I don't like my children looking like that.

Someone said earlier that saying this is "offensive". No it isn't it's an opinion based on my own experience, if you find it offensive then it makes me think that I probably have a point.

And by regularly I mean daily or every other day. Just to clarify as I know what constitutes "regularly" is subjective.