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Parenting

When do your children get washed?

139 replies

SaveAHorseRideAHighlander · 12/10/2020 20:05

So this is probably a strange one - please bear with me!
At the moment my children, 9 and 6, get a shower in the morning before school, and to be honest it causes problems most mornings as they stay in the shower for ages and we end up rushing to get ready on time/I end up shouting like a banshee to 'put your shooeeeeessss ooonnnnn'! Grin.
Some of my friends wash their kids at night, before bed.
So my random question is, when do you wash your kids?
If you wash them at night, I'm assuming they then put clean pants on? Do they then put clean pants on again in the morning, or not until the nighttime wash again (which in my mind is the same as them putting on clean pants in the morning then not changing them until the following morning after a wash, IYSWIM? Or clean pants night and morning? Or no pants and clean pjs every night? Confused

OP posts:
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dementedpixie · 13/10/2020 12:47

@blueberrypie0112

You must have very comfortable pants if you can sleep in them. Jeans are common in the U.S. and they are so uncomfortable to sleep in

Pants in the UK are items of underwear not outerwear
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Takemeawayfrom2020 · 13/10/2020 12:48

I shower them once a week.
I also wear pants to bed.

So shoot me 🤷‍♀️

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blueberrypie0112 · 13/10/2020 12:52

@dementedpixie thanks, I was a bit confused when she wrote not changing them until next bath time.

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blueberrypie0112 · 13/10/2020 13:01

My kids wear clean underwear (in u.s. terms and they are not boxers or anything) and pajama pants and shirt every night. They do not put on clean ones in the morning unless they need it. I like to make sure they have something on in case of an emergency like fire. Especially in winter when it gets really cold. So they don’t sleep with hardly nothing on.

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hypochondriacseveywhere · 13/10/2020 19:46

How can anyone only shower once a week never mind children especially young children. Baffled.

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Micah · 13/10/2020 19:52

How can anyone only shower once a week never mind children especially young children. Baffled

It wasn’t that long ago that showers and combi boilers weren’t commonplace in homes. The hot water tank would have to be heated and would only do one bath.

I remember as a child bathing on sundays. I’d often get in the bath after my sister, then either mum or dad after that.

That was normal. Nobody smelled.

Kids are absolutely fine washing once or twice a week. It’s not great for their skin more often.

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nickelbabe · 13/10/2020 20:00

@hypochondriacseveywhere

How can anyone only shower once a week never mind children especially young children. Baffled.

Because it really isn't necessary
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hypochondriacseveywhere · 13/10/2020 21:36

Well I for one feel dirty if I haven't had a shower every couple of days. If kids at my children's school found out they only bathed once a week no doubt the you smell comments would start. Being on your period and not bathing for a week, no thanks.

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ConfusedcomMum · 13/10/2020 22:38

I don't know if my DF was joking but he did tell me once that in his youth 'up North' it was common for entire families to bathe in the same bath water once a week and sometimes multiple households (this was usually brought up in relation to how much water he felt us kids were wasting with daily showers etc.).

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ConfusedcomMum · 13/10/2020 22:40

And the baths were made out of metal or something....

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KatherineJaneway · 14/10/2020 06:23

You're still wearing them without pants so ofc they need to be changed 🤢

Why? Confused I bath / shower, put pajamas on and go to bed. They are fine. Only change in the week if the weather is really hot.

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Zoflorabore · 14/10/2020 06:30

My Dd is 9 and in year 5. She has had a nightly bath since she was born but in the last couple of years prefers a shower. She doesn’t wear underwear to bed and has fresh nightie or pyjamas every night.

Of a morning before school she brushes teeth, washes hands and face and bits with a flannel and that’s her done. Flannel goes straight in the wash!

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Lulu1919 · 14/10/2020 06:50

Bath at night
I like clean kids in beds.....esp once they were out and about during the day .
Also for us bathtime was part of the bedtime routine
Clean pants ..pjs .....fresh pants next morning ..
Pjs changed every few days

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MagpieSong · 14/10/2020 16:15

@DappledThings

I find it easier to change underwear twice a day than wear fresh pyjamas nightly, which you’d need if it was worn without pants.
Why do you state everyone would need new pyjamas nightly? I wear pyjamas without pants and wear my pyjamas for a week. I'm only sleeping in them

To me there's a clear binary between being dressed (underwear and clothes) and not dressed (pyjamas). Never occurred to me to blur the lines!

@DappledThings Because it touches your private area, so bacteria, cervical mucus and so on are likely to come in contact with them (like pants)? To me, I'd think even though I was sleeping, they'd still smell/be dirty so I'd rather change them nightly on the bottom. The top is more dependent, if you're not sweaty then I can see you wouldn't need to change that as often. I suppose my lines are what you'd call blurred as I'd wear knickers and pjs similar to how I'd wear knickers and clothes, but no make-up and scruffier hair. Smile My night time knickers are a bit more comfy and sometimes on a film night, I'd wear my pjs a bit before bed, so maybe that's partly where the blurred lines difference is?
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