Do I bathe my child enough?

[Mel2023]

How often do you bath your toddlers?

My DS is 2.5. We’ve always had a routine where we’ve bathed him twice during the week (usually Tues and Thurs) and once on the weekend (usually a Sunday). This is a full body and hair wash. That being said, in the summer it was a lot more often due to wearing sun cream most days, and if he comes home from nursery particularly mucky or has a messy tea time we’ll bath him regardless.

I’ve recently noticed he’s developed cradle cap again (he had it when he was a baby) and it’s quite bad. Everything I’ve looked into online says it’s not unusual for toddlers his age to have it, especially if they had it as a baby. I mentioned it to a family member and she’s said it’s because we don’t bath him enough and she’s always thought this? Do we not? AIBU to think that a bath 3 times a week plus extra if needed is ok?

I've always done 3 times a week with a flannel wash on the days in between. Never had cradle cap but not sure if that was more by luck than design.

I bathed mine every night. Anything less i find pretty disgusting. They poo everyday no? Dirty bums getting washed 3 times a week? No thanks.

Every night, sets a good routine and makes them sleepy for bed.

We did daily like we do for ourselves I think kids get grubber more than adults

A doctor at the hospital told me not to bathe my baby every day as it's bad for their skin. 3 times a week is fine.

All my kids have always had a shower or bath every day and still do. I don't think it is necessary as such but at least every two days. Any less than that is too much for me. So you could do 4 days one week, 3 days the other maybe if it were to be every other day? But I think at least 4 days a week honestly, if not 5

We bathe our 5 and one year old every other night. If they need it more frequently then of course that’s what we do.

Try leaving coconut oil on your child’s scalp overnight for the cradle cap. You should be able to gently comb it off using a fine comb the next morning.

A baby every few days ok, but a 2.5 year old who goes to nursery needs a daily bath.

Every night ! Kids get dirty !
I wasn’t bathed every day as child and I remember feeling dirty at school .

I think every night is nicer. They're mostly sweaty little things & in nappies I think it's nice to have their bums properly bathed rather than just wiped,

it's a nice relaxing routine & most enjoy a play in the bath water.

but I don't think it has anything to do with cradle cap

We do every other night (unless we’ve done something messy/it’s super hot and she’s suncreamy and sweaty) and works for us. Her eczema gets out of hand if we do everyday

Get a grip

@Scallopp you sound dirty x my grip is clean x

Shitty arses, sweaty heads and dirty feet might run in your house, not mine 😁@Scallopp

Yeah we all only bathe once a month, we have shit everywhere. Oh grow up ffs, it's not "disgusting" if a child misses a bath one night for gods sake.

@Scallopp i PERSONALLY find 3 nights a week for a 2.5 year old disgusting and tbh a bit lazy.

It's entirely child-dependent. The cradle cap has nothing to do with the number of baths! t that age we did ours nightly because it was a nice routine, and they were very sweaty, generally messy children. But for another kid 3 times a week is probably fine.

Twice a week for my 2 year old. Monday and Friday. Works well for us and she doesn't need to be bathed more than that.

I think 3 times is plenty. They never advise daily baths anymore, and as long as you’re washing them down with a flannel inbetween it’s fine. Kids don’t get sweaty like teens. It all changes as they get older and then need daily showers

You're going to regret asking this OP , some people get very worked up about it.

We bathe ours two or three times a week. No they're not stinky or dirty or anything else. If you look up the official guidance there's no need to bathe them every day or anything. Some people prefer to (often because they used a bath as part of the baby bedtime routine and so it works for them), and that's fine too.

3x a week is fine. All of my babies had cradle cap when tiny. With DS, I found gently massaging the shampoo into it and then rinsing throughly helped.

I bathed daily but I don't think cradlecap is related to bathing. Am I wrong?

Dd skin gets very dry if bathed too much. Gp advised twice a week no more unless she rolled in mud. I said surely you meant to bathe every day and was told no, not for dd age. Sounds perfect op.

I have a 2.5yr old and she has a bath every day. She also has cradle cap.

I’ve always given my son a full bath three times a week, and cleaned his face, hands, and bottom daily with warm water and cotton wool when he’s not getting a bath. This is plenty in my opinion. It’s not good for their skin to bathe them too often as it can dry it out.