How often do you bath your children?

[Jammee]

When DD was newborn we were told by HV to bathe her every two or three days. She is now 7mo and we have been bathing her every other day for the last 5 months or so.

I think she should have a bath every day now but DH doesn't agree. Other friends seem to bathe their children daily and I get the impression that DH is trying to limit it to a bath every other day because he is the one who has to bathe DD and he gets home he late so it's a hassle for him and he'd rather not have the responsibility every evening.

(We have agreed that when I stop BFing she will definitely have a bath every night before bed as part of her bedtime routine. ATM, she goes down really well every night with a bedtime breastfeed.)

I hardly dress her at home and I don't put the heating on and we have windows open but she still sweats. I've heard it is common for babies to sweat when feeding. Perhaps not?

I can't bathe DD as I have epilepsy. I can help out and join in the fun but DH has to be there, too.

Oh ok, sorry for being nosy

I would just strip wash her then with facecloth and water on non-bath nights

We purposely made sure bathtime did not become part of the bedtime routine. Sometimes it is just not possible when we are staying with friends or have friends over etc. we also stay with fil once every week or two where it would be very tricky. After food we give his whole face and hands a good clean with a flannel as I don't feel wipes get it off properly. He also get a flannel wash before bed. At the end of the day I find the last thing I often want to do is bathtime as it is such a job so often bath him in the mornings or straight after dinner then let him chill out in his pj's until bed. We bath him 2-3 times a week, more if needed. Personally I feel if you are at home so have time to do bathtime at other times it is not much fun for husband to have to do the whole bathtime routine as soon as he walks through the door when he is knacked much easier to do it at another time then if ds is awake when dh gets home he gets to have nice quality time playing with him then at bed time we just do pj's teeth story and bed which takes about 10 minutes. He goes to bed like a dream between 6-6:30 and sleeps through until 7-8 in the morning.

jamee in your case obviously bathing him yourself isn't an option so I would just strip wash on nights you need it. Sometimes we often do it in the morning in the shower. Dh leans over and holds him standing in the bath and I quickly shampoo him etc it takes 2 minutes after I have had my shower.

I would stick to every other day, and you just using face cloth in between to wipe face/ neck/ hands.

Not having a bath every night will be easier for you both as if dh can't bath her for whatever reason then they will be able to go to bed easier if it's not a set routine.

How dim am I not go consider washing her with a damp flannel on non-bath days! That would probably not affect her eczema and would freshen her up after she has been sweating!

That's also a good point, forevergreek. If bath time becomes her bedtime routine perhaps it would cause a problem if DH had to work late. I will have to re-think that one!

I bath or shower my 8 and 7 year olds every day. They enjoy feeling clean and refreshed and it is a calm end to the day. I feel grubby after a day of just being, so assume they do too.

I bath ds1 (4) two or three times a week - or more if he is mucky or been swimming, obviously. Dd2 is 10mo and she gets bathed the same amount, usually popped in the big bath with ds1. If she has had something really messy for supper like bolognese I'll give her an extra bath. I'm a GP and we still advise not overdoing baths if little ones are prone to eczema or dry skin. Babies and toddlers don't sweat like slightly older children so a daily bath is unnecessary if they aren't dirty. It's fine to have it as part of a daily routine if it helps sleep / for bonding so long as it isn't drying out their skin.

I bath my 8 month old every day. Sometimes it's a half an hour bath (when I have time) sometimes it's just a 5 minute bath. My 2 older children (4 and 7) get a shower every night bit they generally tend to wash themselves so not a problem really. I just make sure I'm close by, putting the washing away, tidying their room etc, just in case x

DS 13 months gets bathed twice a week, and has done since birth, sometimes less if we are busy, away etc.
I rarely bath DS myself as my bad back makes it difficult. My DH usually does it, when he has to be away with work, I usually manage to give DS a bath once a week.
Use a flannel on face/hair/neck after all mealtimes.

I used to bath my DS every day, not so much because he always needed it but he enjoyed the bath and it just became part of the routine - not in a slavish way, ie: if we were staying away, or camping - he wouldn't have the bath and it didn't bother him.

He is 12 now so sorts himself out but generally has a shower or bath 6/7 days.

Every night because they sit relatively quietly in one place for quite a while (till the water is stone cold!)!. I tried dropping it to every other night but my 2yr old insists, even if he's just been swimming and had a wash in the shower. They all have good skin though - if they had dry skin or eczema I wouldn't bath them every day.

Every day since she was 7 days.

Twice a day for my DSs - they seem to just get grubby.
In the morning they have a quick rinse off in the shower after breakfast, then dressed.
In the evening they have supper, bath, pjs, story and bed.
I don't wash their hair - never have done. It just gets wet, and never really seems to smell or look dirty, so I don't bother. They like all being in the bath together, and enjoy 20 minutes of them splashing about whilst I sort out clean pjs, put dirty clothes in the wash etc They like the bath in the en-suite, as it's deep and they can be submarines, but I don't like the cleaning up after them in there so much, as it's not as child friendly. Their bathroom has a rubber floor, which is easy to swish a mop over after they've finished.

A bit embarrassed about admitting this but - deep breath - once a week. As a baby we were told that that was enough for a new born. Now dd is 18 months it is about twice a week in the summer because of the sun screen, but she doesn't sweat, has no skin problems and always has clean clothes. Other than yoghurt in the hair, I don't really see why they need it more frequently.

Both every night (aged 3 and 1), but as part of a bedtime routine as much as anything.

Every day, part of the evening wind-down routine.

Bath and hairwash once a week (DD 5) Just like me in the 70's

She swims almost every day so has a quick, very quick shower after that. Literally 30 seconds in and out.

Can't understand bathing children every day, washing hair that often can't be good, surely?

I don't wash their hair every day (about twice a week), but a daily bath is not only relaxing but essential for mine, who all are very outdoors-type dc.

Short bath (10 min tops) for both DC (3.5 and 1 yo) as part of the bed time routine. I do not use soap or body wash though, just coconut oil in the water and wash armpits and co with neutral soap.
We use flannels in the mornings and shampoo is only 2 times a week.

Every day unless he's been swimming in the pm and had a shower. I think daily bath/shower habits are important!

Eeek, sorry, I think once a week for a 5 year old is absolutely grim!

DS is 20mo and he has just, and I mean 'just' as in the last couple of weeks, been able to have a bath without screaming. We bathed him twice a week and flannel-cleaned daily until now. We are more likely to bathe him in the morning when we have showers (I'm a sahm, DH works from home) rather than at night - can't be arsed, quite frankly!

Every other day sometimes every 3 days she is 5 months old.

When she gets to around 1 and a half ish I'll probably bath her every day. For routine and for cleanliness as this is when she'll be walking around herself and crawling around the garden etc so will get particularly mucky!

Plus she'll probably have doggie hairs from the carpet on her which are pretty smelly!

My girls are in the bath every day, they have their hair washed every other day.