To wash my kids once a week?

[HuckleberryBlackcurrant]

I have 3 DC, DS 6, DS 4 and DD 4 mths.

When my first child was born, he had eczema and sensitive skin, we live in an extremely dry climate with weather extremes, so our Dr recommended bathing once a week.

We do not have a bathtub, only a baby one we put in the shower for our daughter now. The boys have of course outgrown it.

As our other children have come along we have kind of stuck to this schedule.

We of course wash them any time it is needed, for nappy blowouts, when they are ill, if they get extremely dirty or sweaty, or if they request a shower.

But barring any of these, a weekly bath it is.

Recently I was spending some time with my sister, she commented that she needed to bath her daughter. I said oh really, I thought you only bathed her yesterday! My sister said she bathes her at least every other day.

My sister lives in a different climate than I do, we were at my parents' for a visit.

My sister was shocked when I said we only bath/shower our children weekly, and brought up that they wouldn't be used to regular showers when they hit puberty. I replied that that is a conversation we will have at that time, but for right now they aren't producing BO and there is a lot of research to suggest that excessive washing dries out the skin and depletes natural oils.

Myself and my husband shower every other day unless we have been sweating a lot.

My sister said that she thinks this is a bit 'grimy'. I'm feeling terrible now that maybe we are bringing our children up with bad hygiene habits?! I never notice them smelling bad, apart from my 6yo who is learning how to wipe, and if this occurs of course we have him shower.

We of course wash hands and face daily, as necessary.

Suncream. Chlorine. Mud. Paint. Food. Cuts and bruises. Mine always needed baths/showers!

Just to clarify, we do wash them in between times if they get smelly, very messy, cold, sweaty etc.

It's just not scheduled.

Five times a week here. He only doesn't have a bath when he has activities. I grew up in the 80s where it was a bath on a Sunday night only, but I do love to see DS all clean and nice smelling in fresh PJs.

Quicker to dunk them in the bath then rubbing them down with a flannel. Mine are always grubby by the end of the day.

If that's the case I think what you are doing is fine.

Are they wearing clean clothes every day ?

Mine are similar ages to your older two - we shower them every day. We used to do every other day but they really are a bit grubby otherwise.

It might depend on how active yours are and how much time they spend outside - mine are outside a lot and very active, older one does a sport or other activity 6/7 days a week.

Bathing once a week could be ok as LONG as they have daily washes?
but I think only a wipe down with wipes is a bit grim

@Mylovelygreendress

Yes, every day apart from hoodies and coats, jumpers.

Wipes won’t cut it, you need a flannel/cloth daily for young children’s genital area. I assure you other people will be noticing the smell. I agree don’t need a daily bath as part of a routine but a daily wash certainly. As an adult I find every other day too long!

Well I think it's pretty grim, but each to their own. But then as an adult I also couldn't imagine showering every other day.

Sorry I think adults need to shower daily- and kids daily unless eczema but even so once a week is gross. Good hygiene is taught!

We were similarly weekly due to eczema unless particularly muddy, but with spray soap for bum cleaning morning, night and after a poo, plus a face wash most nights. Full moisturiser after any wash. It worked fine until about age 5, now he's wiping himself he can need a bit more so he gets washed twice a week plus morning/evening spray soap. Once he can do his bum better and we stop, we'll probably move him to showers every other day. On the bright side, we haven't seen any eczema since 3mo old, so it's worth it.

Yabu. My kids both had body odor by 6. I do miss days but it's at least every other day and after all sport.

100% agree all this faff with a flannel
and wipe wash- just stick in a 2 min shower

We give DD a quick shower everyday, but she’s always got glue, chlorine food etc on her and theres only 1 of her. We skip a hair wash twice a week due to time on those days. I would probably say at least 3 times a week full hair wash as well would be reasonable.

The kids tend to spend time outside every day, but we don't have mud per se here because it's so dry. It's more like dust. Currently the ground is snow covered and will remain that way for months. So they don't get as filthy as you would think.

Our DD who is 1 only baths once a week. Every time I bath her, her dry eczema skin flares up. She is washed with wet wipes everyday during nappy changes.

She absolutely can't be washed with soap, only water, her entire body becomes inflamed if we use any soap.

I think it depends on the child/person - but daily washing with soap is bad for everyone's skin tbh. I think most dermatologists agree on that

I think all children are a bit smelly at the end of the day as they are too young to be hygienic and their toilet habits leave a lot to be desired.

One of DS’s friends doesn’t shower regularly enough and I’m sure his parents think he smells fine but when he comes round, we can smell him. I really think once a week isn’t enough. It’s not just their genitals, it’s the whole body that needs washing. When you have a shower, do you only wash your bits and pits or do you soap up your entire body?

My 3 year old has a weekly bath- she doesn't need one more frequently and quite frankly it's not a relaxing experience for anyone! We had weekly baths growing up until we hit puberty.

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

I have psoriasis and my skin really struggles if I shower every day. We have air vents for heating and it really dries my skin out. I sleep with a humidifier next to me and I use moisturizer 6 times a day. My skin literally couldn't handle being washed every day.

Also unless they have long hair it’s not that bad, DD’s shower takes about 5-10 minutes tops but then I have to dry her hair after which is a faff. If they have short hair it can’t take more than 10-15 minutes to have shower, teeth brushed, pj’s on.

Honestly I think it's neglectful.

@GreyhpundGirl

Our kids get SO worked up when they have a shower. So weird.