How often do you bathe your kids?

[DirtyDuckCleanDuck]

Finally got a call today to say there’s space in a class for DD to start swimming. Except the class is on our only free week day evening. I’m trying to get it all sorted out in my head, but between football/dance/swimming/cubs, there’s only time to put them in a bath or shower twice a week now. Is this too little? They jump in the shower after swimming, but it’s always a crush and it’s too much to wash long hair etc so it’s just a rinse not a full clean.

Two children, both primary school age, is two baths or showers a week enough?

Sorry don't know where that tag came from

I am intrigued to know how you know the primary school toilets are covered in wee by playtime though. Wasn’t aware parents spent a lot of time in school toilets

No they don't the lucky bastards.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

I bath mine every night - but mine (2&5) are night owls. They don't sleep until 8.30 and 9 so bags of time. In fact the bath is a time filling tactic!

They get a full strip wash morning and night

Sounds more like a prisoner of war camp!

We were bathed about twice a week max decades ago and we didn’t really sweat or smell at all pre puberty. We did use moist toilet tissue in our family so I guess that helped.

Sometimes the shower is busy in the morning and it’s easier to use the sink in the bathroom. Sometimes the shrieking of “nooooo not my hair” is too much to bear so the sink is easier. Sometimes I don’t like hearing the shower running £££ down the drain for 15 mins and a small sink of water is less water wastage.

surely as long as children are clean it doesn’t matter if it’s a sponge wash, bath or shower?

My 7 year old has a long bath and hair wash twice a week. In the summer she showers also as gets sweaty and sun cream needs to be washed off.

Twice a week fine!!

My son was bathed daily from a baby - plain water. No skin issues. 12 now and showers daily.

I bathed my children every night. It was part of their bedtime routine since they came home from hospital. I don't understand that you don't have time. They didn't get home from school til well after 4pm, one night a week netball, another Brownies , but swimming was on Saturday. Matches Saturday and Sundays.

@adulthumanfemalemum I have no way said that you have to wash with various different soaps. My kids get washed everyday. My daughters hair every other day and she has very long thick Asian hair. My son gets his hair washed everyday as he's a active sweaty toddler that took after me with thin hair.

I'm actually against layering different soaps washes and lotions.

And I think not washing did contribute and if it didn't then obvs around me was very unhygienic so I correlate unhygienic parents and homes with not washing their children daily.
I would be relieved on Sunday after bath time because I had clean fingernails and temporary relief from a itchy arse.

Mine are bathed twice weekly plus a shower after swimming, so 3 X a week total. Their hands and faces are washed twice daily (and arms and legs in the summer). They aren't filthy or smelly.

I'm a social worker, I've met many, many smelly kids. It's not simply frequency of washing that causes it.

I shower most days, but I also hike and camp, so do occasionally go without showering! But not in normal everyday, going to work life.

Yes this is MN where people seem to have skin problems when they wash daily

@Peacepudding Head lice prefer clean hair.
Fallacy dreamt up to make people feel better.

Headline have no preference for clean or dirty hair. By regular washing and conditioning and combing you are more likely to disturb the live lice which are not as robust as the eggs. Wet combing conditioner through is an excellent way to keep them under control. Not washing hair often allows them to breed unnoticed until the dc is infested. Frequent washing means you are more likely to see lice earlier

You do know now that they tell you not to wash your newborn now until the umbilical cord has fallen off (roughly 12 days old) because the vernix on their skin protects them against infection. That's why you don't bath your baby in the hospital anymore before going home. So with your reasoning the baby must stink, or you'd wash yours even if it was bad for their health?

Then for the first month it's only plain water, again with your reasoning they must stink? It's not recommended you wash a small baby daily, it's straps their skin of its natural moisture.

And how ridiculous your saying these same people wouldn't brush teeth at night or read stories, it's sounds like you'd be that mum tbf.

Admittedly I bath my toddler most nights but it's more for her nightly routine, she doesn't need it, she always smells amazing.

You do realise we're talking about bathing? The OPs kids are still washing daily. I despair with some bellends on here!

DD1 has very frequent baths as a baby and her skin was awful for quite a long time till I made the connection that the frequent washing was exacerbating her eczema. She's grown out of it now and can have mostly nightly baths again but for a while she was very sore. Poor stinky DD2 has 2-3 baths a week at most and her skin is beautiful.

It's so weird how ANGRY people get on here about other people's habits. I find it quite entertaining One PP in particular has gone totally unhinged about it.

And yes weekly baths as a kid were the norm for me and my best friend at least, and I imagine quite a few more kids at school. No one ever said I smelled, and god knows kids will tell other kids when they smell! I look well groomed in photos. It was literally never an issue in my life as a child 🤷‍♀️god bless the internet.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/does-your-child-need-to-bathe-every-day-202109202598#:~:text=Really%2C%20bathing%20two%20or%20three,activity%20level%20and%20deodorant%20use.

https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-basics/care/child-bathing

Some better resources than angry people on MN!

We do daily bath. But also I limited extracurriculars ( we used to do 3 and was way too hectic).

Proper bath, once a week (more often in summer). Bum/feet washed daily.

There are a lot of very tightly clenched people of this thread.

😂

It might be worth remembering that our kids generally smell good to us because they are our kids!! Nature wouldn't be doing her job if we were repulsed by the smell of our own offspring.
Other people can smell an unwashed body whether it is a child or not.
In my opinion a strip wash on none bath nights is better than nothing but just washing hands and face is not enough.

Do people also wash their hands, face, armpits and bits with plain water too?

My ILs don't believe in soap either and the children are not clean after. Just whyyyyy?

You definitely need to wash their hair properly after swimming, unless they are wearing a swimming cap. There are a lot of chemicals in public swimming pools. My friend has a little boy who hates having his hair washed and after a summer in the pool in Spain with only a rinse with water most of the time, his blond hair turned green!