How often do you bath your kids?

[ellanatal]

I've got 3 kids (dd 5, ds1 2.1 & ds2 12 weeks) and i really dont think i bath them enough! The two older ones fight like cat and dog in the bath and then have a hissy fit about getting hair washed etc! I probably only bath the older ones twice or three times a week? am i a bad mother? How often do you all do the bath thing?

Every night and at 19mts she loves it and like her smelling clean.Only hairwash twice a week though-once after swimming and one other.

dd1: every night before bed unless we've got back late from something.

dd2: 5 weeks - only had 1 proper bath so far

About two or three times a week unless of course one of them needs more.

I've got three. I used to do every night but it's a huge operation and two are girls with long hair to wash. I have to say, they look and smell just as good as when I was doing it nightly. Agree about the excema too - their skin is much better for less baths. They have washes though in between, I hasten to add. Now they're not babies, they don't get quite so sticky.

I am very careful with hair though and am always brushing/combing and prowling through it. No-one has set up home in their hair..yet. I tie up long hair for school and spray them every day with Tea tree and lavender.

Well I don't exactly bath ds (5) at all Before you all jump on me, he does have baths, but other than getting him dry afterwards he doesn't really need/want any assistance from me and can run the bath, and wash himself and his hair for himself these days.

He usually only has a bath once or twice a week, as he has dry skin/mild excema, and too much bathing exacerbates it. On top of that he does also have showers in between baths, and after swimming though.

twice a week usually, sometimes three times is he looks really dirty or his hair needs a wash.

When I washed him more his dry skin flipped into eczema and he was miserable

Also I get in from work at 6.20pm on 4 days a week and that is too late for him to have a bath really as he needs to be in bed by 7.30pm at the latest - else he is grumpy in the morning.

dd (2) and ds (4mnths) get a bath every evening before bedtime as they both enjoy it

I have 2 DD's - one nearly 5 the other nearly 1.

I work 3 days a week so ont eh days I work they don't get bathed.

They get bathed -

Friday evening - by me
Saturday morning - by DP
Poss again Sat eve - by both of us
Poss Sun morning again if time by DP
Poss Sun eve again by me
Mon eve - by me

The resaon they get bathed in the morning at weekends is that DP likes to do it and as eldest has SN's and still wears a nappy it's a nice way to be freshened up and her younger sister is in love with having baths so they have one together.

The more children I have the less often they get bathed. I reckon it's about twice a week when I have time/remember.

Every night always have done, now it's a habit and the start to their bedtime routine.

dd 7 months - Every night, unless we are out at the pub or something and we just want to whizz her back home and straight into bed.

Actually she sometimes has 2 baths in a day, occasionally I have been known to put her in the bath 3 times in a day . She LOVES bath time so much it seems a shame to only have one a day. If she gets grumpy I pop her in .

I think she's a fish

dd gets a bath one night in three she has mild eczema which flares up if we bath her more often, especially in winter.

Every other night-ish. DD (2.9) has a shower with DH in attendance whilst I, like MaloryTowers, watch SCD with Claudia 'The Fringe' Winkle-lady. I agree that too much bathing/showering will dry the skin. It didn't do me any harm all those decades ago!

So glad i started this thread - all my close friends bath their kids religiously every night and i was beginning to think i'm weird! But tonight is bath night - my ds1 has been at nursery today and yest so weds is always bath night but my dh is on call tonight and not back till 10!!so my hate for bath time gets worse when i have to do it all on my own!i'll definitely deserve a glass of wine if i manage to get all 3 kids bathed and bed at a reasonable time!!

I'd put dd in one-long-all-day bath if I could .

She used to be a one a week girl until we realised her aquatic nature.

Two or three times a week usually (5 year old DDs) but if their pants are particularly skiddy I might pop in an extra bath .

My 3 have a bath every night - ds2 needs it for his routine as he is autistic - i will try and change this though if it makes his eczema better. Thanks for the info.

Usually every night as part of their routine.
If its late or we've been out till bedtime then we just wash them. We also miss it if they are very tired and need to be in bed quickly.
When ds was younger he hated any change in his routine, so we never missed it!! He's nearly 4 now and is fine. Our dd has been brought up in a bit more of a flexible way as she's number 2 so she's ok.

Every night, but only because dd (nearly 3) loves her bath and is much nicer/more relaxed after it. Especially when she's tired. If she was fighting with a sibling and I had a 12 week old, I almost certainly wouldn't!

My god I didn't know there were so many kids around with exczema!!

If they suffer from it then never use soap/bubble/bath/shampoo of any kind.

Get diprobath oil - prescribed by the doctor - keeps their skin really moist and then afterwards if they need it diprobase or ultrabase cream all over. That tends to keep it at bay.......

ds is 15 months and probably has a bath once a week. He loves having a bath, but does have dry skin ( so no bubbles >).
Obviously if he gets grubby or rubs too much bolognese sauce in his hair he will have a bath.
(He was put under the shower fully clothed and still sitting in his high chair the other day after he'd had a particularly spectacular and generous vomiting session!)

opinionsrus - think yourself lucky if your doctors will give you prescriptions for your kids for anything which can be bought without one. When you have to pay yourself for all the oils/creams which it turns out are only necessary if you overdo the bathing, then baths every night become a very expensive luxury.

You can get anything from your doctors that you need for your child.

That is whateveryoneis entitled to, if not you should do something about it or change your doctors.

There is no such thing is over-bathing. If you wish to bath your child everynight then you do so.

You are clearly much luckier with your experiences of your GP than we have been. What might be the case theoretically, doesn't mean that it actually happens everywhere.

For many children with eczema, my dd2 for example, water will make it much worse. It doesn't matter if I tip half the world's supply of emolient in the bath iwater still makes her skin very red and itchy after only a few mins of being in it. Sadly for her she adores baths and loves going swimming, which is even worse. When she swims now I cover her body in petroleum jelly to protect it

Hurray I'm so glad I'm not the only mum who doesn't do it nightly. I was really worried what ss would think if they caught on to the fact that I only bath them 2/3 times a week! My oldest, dd, has mild excema and so it irritates her, so she went on to less baths and I've just followed it with the ohters. I bath them more in summer, but in winter it is hassle and they don't need it.