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 have never given my kids a bath as part of their bedtime routine and they have always been great sleepers. It's teeth, toilet and story and then off to bed. They are washed as needed with a bath or shower a couple of times a week earlier in the day. My kids never rubbed food into their hair that i can recall or rolled in mud, although they play outside a good bit. Some kids are definitely muckier than others but surely its a waste of water to bath a child when a good flannelling will do. Teens obviously need to shower more often. One thing i am always curious about, those people who bath their kids before bed, do they go to sleep with damp hair or do you blow dry it?

I just find it hard to believe that none of these tens of millions of people have realised that baths are the opposite of relaxing for some children. There seems no reason to think Spanish and Italian people are less capable than British people of understanding that children react differently to different things.

To put it politely, I find that some societies (like Spain, Italy, and Israel) are much more child-focused than others. When I lived in Britain, I was stunned by some ways in which children are standardly treated, which in Spain would be seriously frowned upon. And yes, that includes cleanliness standards.

The (sterotypical) perception here is that the British tend to treat their pets better than the children. And I have to say I think there is a grain of truth in that.

Why would you wait until a child is visibly grubby to wash them? Why let it get to that? A visibly grubby child is frankly minging. There will have been several stages of unclean before then, when you really needed to wash them.

My children really aren't visibly grubby after two days. Seriously they are not dirt magnets, well ds is but he keeps it to his clothes.

those people who bath their kids before bed, do they go to sleep with damp hair or do you blow dry it?

In my experience, children with long hair don't get it washed every day. If it gets damp, rubbing it with a towel and running around before bed usually dry hair quite quickly.

Lowdoorinthewall.....I don't think anyone has said they wait for their child to be visibly grubby? It really does depend on the age of the child......And the child itself....You seem to have toddlers....If course they get grubby, where a much older child might not. You say you lay yours in the water for three mins and wash their hair in that time...Sounds quite frightening to be honest.

"I find the excessive use of wipes extremely wasteful"

More wasteful than a bath full of water every day?

Every other day, dd's 18 months and 4.5, both great sleepers, hands, face, teeth twice a day. I think if kids only sleep better if they have a bath then there's something wrong with your bedtime routine.

I also don't get the 'argument' that a teacher can tell who has a bath daily or who doesn't? Why is what the teacher thinks important? No offence to teachers reading this but it wouldn't matter a dime to me if you can tell if my kids bathe daily or bathe twice a week.

On the other hand, ifI kids were going into school without lunches or without their homework being done and you draw attention to that, I certainly would think it is important.

distancecall again agree. A lot of people who can't be arsed are justifying a lack of daily bathing/showering routine for their kids with "I'm busy/they splash/can't deal with the stress/what a waste of water".

My two (3 and almost 2) get bathed daily. They enjoy it and it's just part of the bedtime routine, plus they're a bit grubby by the end of the day. By the time they've dug in the sand pit, poked around the garden, coloured in, dribbled dinner (really only the youngest) etc they're grubby and in need of a wash. Probably got into the habit living overseas though, where it was hot and they'd be sticky from sunscreen.

I very rarely manage to recycle any of their clothes either

Distanccall....What nonsense. I've been to Spain quite a bit and their children are definitely not any cleaner or treated any different from British children.

Yes Ellie. Clearly have a fucked up bedtime routine because a warm bath and getting into bed clean is a negative! I'm just not lazy!

Gogo....Have you ever thought what you are doing to their skin, bathing them daily?
I don't not bath my children every day because can't be arsed, they splash etc etc ...They simply don't need it.

Gogo quite

I have always bathed nightly myself ....love it.
I shower in morning too

None of mine were especially clean, but most of the time their clothes took the hit. DD1 went through a phase of pooing in the bath as a toddler and so it definitely wasn't easier to put her in the bath each night.

My 3 are all bathed every night.

The younger too won't sleep if they haven't been!!

YANBU.

Mine have gotten a bath every night from the day they were born. They don't sleep as well when they don't have one.

I'm the same. Feel grimy if I go to bed without having a shower, even if I've only worked in my office all day.

My DS hates the bath. He has hated it sonce birth. Hate hate hate.

Loves the pool and the sea

He will tolerate a shower as it is quick. Otherwise he cries and whines and fidgets and whinges on and on and on...

There is nothing relaxing about bathing him before bed or at any time.

He gets bathed twice a week (once by me, once by DH as it is one gigantic ballache) and flannel-washed in between.

Count yourself very fricking lucky if you have dc who like the bath. It is SUCH a battle (yes we have tried different toys, rewards etc.... Bugger all difference).

My kids skin hates getting bathed daily (DS1 used to, until we figured out what was causing the scaly patches on his limbs).

Like others, their hands/faces and clothes get dirty, but not much else (mine have never rubbed stuff in their hair), so clothes get changed, hands and faces washed, but the rest of them just isn't dirty (especially now they're out of nappies).

Even when I wash their bodies, I don't do much more than rinse their hair - and it's in beautiful shape - shampoo every couple of weeks is plenty (perhaps a little more in summer when they start getting sweaty heads again, but perhaps not since they'll be swimming so often anyway)

My son has perfect skin mummzypopz.
He is in a warm bath with a splash of infacare around 10 mins a day and a shower when we are in high summer. Once a week he has lovely slug of burts bee lotion rubbed in to his skin. I bathe or shower everyday and my skin is fine too! I guess if you are putting astringent crap in the bath or have a child with sensitive skin you would have an issue. In which case I would give a warm shower for 2-3 minutes with no products. It's not difficult.

lowdoorinthewall1

Ah 5cm of water, lay them in that and wash them. I see. I am thinking we are both not talking about 3 year olds here. That sounds like the type of bath for a baby that you hold in the water!

Plus he isn't visibly grubby

My dD is 7 and definitely needs a bath or shower at the end of the day. She is always quite grubby even if she doesn't look or smell particularly. I'm judging by the left over debris in the bath after her, sand, grit, fluff, sticks etc especially when her hair is washed! And even though she is washed before bed, her sheets are gritty and sandy after a week. She is obviously quite filthy, and also enjoys the relaxation and winding down time in the bath.

Also I find it hard to believe toddlers aren't grubby by the end of the day. The amount of food that gets on their face, in their rolls, stuck on their hands etc. alone is enough to make them "grubby" and a wipe over just doesn't do it sufficiently.

Mumzypopz, I'm Spanish. I have lived in Britain.

There are different standards within a country, of course, and you can find exceptions everywhere. And Spanish children get as dirty as any other children in the world. The difference, I think, is that, on average, bathing or showering on a more or less daily basis is seen as basic self-care. In Britain, someone who hardly washes and is smelly can be seen as someone more or less normal. In Spain people would think there is something seriously wrong with them and avoid them.

This goes for children too.