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.

Quick bath is easier and less messy than a wash.
My toddler is grubby by the end of the day no matter how many face and hand washes she has had. She often whiffs a bit of old food and wee. I don't want her going to bed like that!

I guess other people's DC must not sweat as much as mine. He runs around/ races his bike/ plays football with his mates and is always damp with sweat. His friends are the same- I know as they will all bowl into one house looking for toys or scavenging for food and they are all rosy cheeked and have damp hair. I know kids don't produce the enzyme that makes sweat smell, but as far as I am concerned it still needs washing off.

He also swims 4 times a week, and those days the chlorine needs thoroughly washing off.

Yanbu. My two DS's have a bath every night, whether they need it or not. It's part of their routine and settles them for sleep. They often do need it though, paint, mud, food etc!

We get away with just topping and tailing DS3 every night. He doesn't really need a full on bath more than once a week. We don't have a garden and the garden at his nursery is paved so not that muddy. It's usually not that hot here in UK either so he doesn't get very sweaty. He is a messy eater but mainly hands and face, sometimes a bit on his hair which can be washed off in a sink.

I've made a point of not bathing mine. Being an eczema sufferer myself I'm aware of the drying effect washing daily has. He goes to a forest school and baby wipes do us nicely.

Breathedeep it is actually quite hard to imagine toddlers being that different ye.

It would be lovely to have children that stayed clean.

My toddler doesn't intentionally rub food in his hair but he's always got mucky hands which naturally spread it around.

He's must have exceptionally smelly poos too.

Like I said I am not saying anyone is dirty, just for me it feels more effort to wipe all the muck off than to just dunk them in water.

I cannot fathom why ANYONE wouldn't bathe their kids every evening. It's part of the bedtime routine, and an absolutely essential part of the wind down process before bed IMO. Takes 5 minutes.

Because for DD it meant she became more alert and overexcited and what not and it took hours to settle her back down. Oh and then we had that stage when she hated the water,and i had less injuries from bathing the cat than bathing her. So we just got into a different wind down process before bed,as you do.

My.kids 9 and 10 bath every other night

How can you not understand what a wash without a bath or shower is?

Mine are 7 and 9 and mainly prefer showers now. A shower takes a good 15 minutes...they scrub all over with body wash and a scrunchie including underneath feet. Give their bits a good wash, shampoo their hair and put conditioner on. Also use a mild face scrub which they like.

That's a couple of times a week. In between they have a wash. Flannel and warm water at the sink for face and hands. They don't need to scrub their back and thighs and armpits every day which is what a shower or bath is to me.

'I cannot fathom why ANYONE wouldn't bathe their kids every evening. It's part of the bedtime routine, and an absolutely essential part of the wind down process before bed IMO'

Really? You cannot understand why people may do things different to you? My daughter really doesn't enjoy baths unless I get in with her and I'm not doing that every night! For us reading Stick Man is an absolutely essential part of the wind down process before bed but I understand that it's not everyone's!

My daughter is 2.5. She gets a daily wash. By that I mean she gets washed all over with a flannel and body wash. I usually bath her once a week and wash her hair. We do that on her day off nursery and have a long splash in the bath together. She likes to be clean and asks to wash her hands numerous times a day and we will do an extra bath if poorly or particularly muddy. She doesn't get grubby though, even though she spends a long time outside at nursery in all weathers. They tend to dress them up well- her coat and wellies are always muddy.

DS (7) has a bath 3x a week most weeks because his excema flares if he bathes more than that. Sometimes he has a quick shower if he really needs it but then he needs extra cream to settle his skin.

His clothes always need washing every day, but he was never a particularly grubby child even when younger.

Mine have both liked baths but hated being wiped so I suppose baths are easier for us.

If my eldest skipped a bath it wouldn't really matter, though he does seem to get very muddy.

They both sweat a lot too.

If I bathed DC3 everyday his eczema would be uncontrollable and would bleed profusely. He has a bath once a week with wet flannel washes invetween

Hands and faces are washed with flannels after each meal and before bed. Rest of body is covered by clothing so it doesn't get dirty in winter so less baths. More in summer as bare arms and legs.
Not all kids find a bath relaxing - mine think it's exciting and will tend to be wound up rather than down by one.
A bedtime routine is just a regular set of activities - there is no rule that one of those has to be a bath

My kids never got food all over themselves. Bums were cleaned thoroughly with wipes. Bodies/face/hands would need a quick flannel but that carry them though

Oh and she enjoys baths now,hair is still a bit tricky but the shower is a scream fest! Too hot,too cold,too fast!

My dd's consultant advised me that it was better to bath her every day with eczema.

National eczema org says

Why is bathing so effective?
When your skin is dry, it’s not because it doesn’t contain enough oil. It’s because your skin isn’t doing a very good job of retaining its moisture (water). Wind, low humidity, cold temperatures, harsh soaps and too much washing without the use of a moisturizer can lead to dry skin, which can irritate your eczema and even make it worse.

The most effective way to treat dry skin is to give it the moisture it needs. Proper bathing and moisturizing are important for this reason — especially if you have eczema. The best way to replace moisture in the skin is to soak in a bath or take a shower and then moisturize immediately afterward.

When DS was first weaning I used to bath him every night.

When he was a toddler I didn't becuse he hated it and he didn't really need it. I don't know, his hair just didn't seem that dirty. I would wipe his face and hands and his sweat didn't smell so he didn't need a bath.

Now he is 8 and he gets really sweaty and does need to wash every day.

Mummabear poor thing.

I wonder this. I'm a childminder and it really upsets me when I change a little ones nappy and they smell of wee even once clean. I always try and keep the children clean, so they go home to their parents with cleaned faces, washed hands so no dirty nails, brushed hair etc so no evidence of food in it but a lot of parents think this means they don't need a bath when in reality they just look clean.

I agree with you. Ages 4 months - 9 and they all get bathed or showered every day. It takes minutes to shower them (wash hair, conditioner etc included). They are whiffy and grubby if they aren't. Ten minutes and I can shower all 5 children, obviously longer for a bath as refilling it etc. Not sure where the clean children are but mine certainly need fresh uniform, fresh pjs and a shower/bath daily!

www.google.co.uk/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/36652282

Five minutes to run bath, bath kids, dry kids... Yeah right!!!

DDs aged 11&9 are showered daily and always have been

Takes minutes. Wash hair every other day though
To me it's just a hygiene thing - wipes just wouldn't cover it for me, it's just not the same.

My toddler is borderline OCD. She threw a fit earlier because she got some food on her top. She gets so hyper when she has a bath as well that it takes an hour of wind down time before I'd even attempt to get her to bed.

She also has keratosis pilaris, very dry skin, cradle cap etc which if I bathe her more than every other day (even in just water as we are hard water) gets really sore and can get weepy.