If your kids have had a bath the previous evening .....

[sandyballs]

...... do you feel it's necessary to give them a thorough wash in the morning? I think not, but DH thinks they should. How can they possibly have got that dirty overnight, unless of course they wet the bed, that is obviously different, or if they are still in nappies, but my DDs are 4.5 and if they wake up dry I don't see why they need another wash.

Another question, while I'm on this subject.
Mums with girls - how thoroughly do you wash their genitals (I hate that word!) in the bath? My DDs like to do this themselves now they are 4 and I feel this should obviously be encouraged, but I'm sure they don't do it that well, i.e. they are not soaping up the creases etc, just the outside so I should probably re-do it for them properly but they don't like me to, they say it hurts even though I try and be very gentle.
I'm just curious what other mums with girls this age do.

I have 2 boys and they only ever get a face wash and teeth clean in the morning

and I only bath them every other day.

they have clean clothes every day though

You should only wash the outside of the vagina anyway, so you should be OK letting them wash themselves. Don't try and wash inside, it's self-cleaning and you could do more harm than good if you try to clean inside - especially if you're using soap.

I don't re-wash dd in the morning, except for round her bits and bottom, because she's still in nappies. If she's leaked and is wet then she'll have a shower, but otherwise no.

My dd (5.5) has a bath in the evening and I wouldn't say she needs a good wash in the morning.

On the subject of their genitals, My dd does it herself with a flannel and I think that is sufficient. Firstly how dirty can they get in that area at thier age and secondly it's supposed to be self cleaning isn't it - so just sitting in the soapy water is probably enough to keep them fresh.

Message withdrawn

IMHO too much washing is bad for ther skin

No - I just wash faces and hands to remove remains of breakfast.

DH and I think no. MIL thinks yes. Agree with wwb about not cleaning inside. Soap will upset the ph as well.

Mine have a bath at night (they are 4 and 1). In the morning they stand on a step together (very precarious but DD insists) and clean their teeth with my help. Then I run a basin of water and they dip their hands in, put liquid soap on and wash them. This is supposed to be educating them in how to wash their hands. I then wash their faces with a flannel. Do the teeth first so that I can also wash off the toothpaste.

we do bath night alternate nights anyway so our two don't even have a bath everyday. Are we filth?

Doc advised us to do it for dd1 due to her excema and we have just continued it.

No, I'm with you on this one.

However it's not a good idea to use soap as it can irritate the delicate skin of the vulva, water on its own is fine.

Ds gets a swift tooth brush, face wiped with a flannel and hands washed. That's it. Your dd's do not need to 'soap up the creases' - just sitting in the bath is enough IMO.
Children are lovely and sweet smelling, unlike adulds.

No not little uns. dd (21 mnths) has a bath most nights with me and I dont use soap on her just porridge oats to keep her skin soft. I use a very bare minimum of soap myself and never use it on my vulva at all. I thnk at 4 they should be able to manage all the cleaning it needs themselves

Once they get older and their sweat glands develop then you can start the daily 'have you washed properly' battles. trust me the longer you can stave them off the better

Thanks for replies, very reassuring. I will leave them to it

One wash in 24h seems absolutely fine to us, and we don't even use soap on the children unless they are actually grubby (paint or mud, or salt from the beach etc).

I would never ever use any type of soap on a girl's genitals! It is completely unecessary and can cause active discomfort or even thrush or BV by disturbing the normal pH of the vagina. It's not necessary to wash between the external labia, as our internal organs have their own self-cleansing mechanisms, and interfering with that can cause problems.

Hands, face and teeth.
I remember my mum being rather vigorous when wshing me; soap can really sting if gets inside. I let dd (4.6) wash herself first and then I finish her off.

No !!! We do teeth , hands and face in the morning. Occasionally I'll give dd a quick shower if she wet the bed, say, or I use a baby wipe if she didn't bathe the night before. I just let dd soak in the bath and we pat her dry. ds showers 3 times a week at school anyway.

Out of interest, all this talk about it being self-cleaning. To what age would that apply then? Surely as adults you all use soap or something other than water down there?

I don't use bubble bath and just give them a quick rub with a bar of baby soap in the bath. Only really use soap on their hands. They look clean afterwards. Wash hair twice a week using a small amount of shampoo. We are still using shampoo MIL bought when DS was born. He is in reception.

bath every other night, 'top and tail' in the morning. We don't use soap, just a wet flannel.
No soap in girly bits either.
If she has wet her nappy overnight, a half body shower, otherwise she smells like a nursing home.

No, no, no! Even as an adult you should never use soap inside your genitals. The vagina is completely self-cleaning, using anything like soap alters the pH and can lead to soreness and infection. Water is entirely sufficient.

I've always used soap on myself without any adverse effects, surely you'd get smelly with just water, what about after sex for instance?

No, you don't get smelly (thanks for the insinuation ). The vagina really is a remarkable thing and it keeps itself clean without you having to do anything to it. Soap doesn't do it any good at all and it really can lead to infections.

Mine only wash their face after breakfast in the morning.

And regarding the dd's and genitals, Dd1 washes herself, and I was Dd2 but just wipe over the outside. As others have said, it is self cleaning.

I wasn't suggesting you smell WWB . I'm just fascinated. Thank God for Mumsnet, I can't imagine having this conversation with my friends.

Surreal, isn't it