idle slatterns opinions only please - how many nights between baths?

[Cappuccino]

for potty trained children natch

if they have not been painting insanely/ running around in mud etc

if they are doing civilised indoor pursuits such as web surfing and jigsaws

About 3 maybe 4 times a week and hair once a week/10 days.

Ds wears a night-time nappy so I use a baby wipe every morning otherwise he will reek of stale wee.

What do you mean tasja?

When I was a kid the bathroom was an old outhouse and it was blardy freezing - not sure how often we used to bathe but know we used to 'pretend' we were as often as we could. It was the only time my brother and I agreed on anything .

I would imagine the 'real' baths happened once a fortnight/ 10 days when Mum checked up on us and we all survived and lived to tell the tale - kids are bathed far too often these days - criminal waste of natural resources if you ask me

1-2 a week normally. sometimes more if they want one.

but why "potty trained children, natch"? nappied babes only need one or two baths a week if you top and tail them with a flannel.

Mmmm think mine could do with less also.

They have a bath or shower and hair wash every night.

I have two boys though and their heads always smell sweaty.

oh hello idle slatterns

capp, id like to ask a question of you all, now that you seem to be gathered in one place, if i may... (asks question anyway)

i hardly ever shampoo the boys' hair. i cant remember when i did it last. they bath everyday and it gets wet now and then... and it never looks dirty and they hate washing it so i dont do it much.

my question is this: have just noticed that ds2 (3.4) seems to have loads of a sort of oily crust on his scalp, which picks off easily, but thats annoying for him. you cant see it till youre parting his hair and looking for it, like. so what do i do? does it mean i have to wash him more? or would combing it out with a nit comb suffice, or indeed work?

any ideas?

once a twicw aweek with hand and face washing ibn between

once a week bath and hair wash for 5yo dd.. to be honest I used to bath her once a night but her skin gets dry and she doesn't need it.. I think ideally I'd bath her twice a week but can't be arsed and neither can she.

dd gets bathed once a month cos we don't have a bath. Social services have supplied us with an enormous SN bath but it is such a faff to fill and we have no hoist to get dd safely in and out.
A downstairs bathroom is being built this summer. Apparently.

Under 10's don't smell. My 14 yo showers daily but my 12 yo probably about once every 3 weeks.

Snappy - it could be cradle cap, ds still has some.

I put some olive oil on his scalp a couple of hours before bath time. I then dampen his hair and use a fine comb. It should come out fairly easily. I then wash his hair.

May take several attempts (and some shouting)

they are all bathed on a sunday and again either wed or thurs, depedning when i can be bothered, unless theres any bedwetting etc in which case more often.

once or twice a week, DD2 has excema so can't be bathed too often, but even if she didn't I think that is plenty

twice a week if she needs it or not, hair once, it takes 45 mins. hated bathtime when a baby, now i put her in my bathroom with all her toys a little bottle of shower gel then i read the paper or watch tv in my bedroom.

Yep. DD still has cradle cap. I do as Mercy does.

Once a week here too, for DD (8) and DS (4). More often in the summer, as they get sweaty and dusty, and skin is more exposed to dirt.

Thank God for this thread, I thought I was the only lazy slattern around, well actually its DH because I work evenings. In this house its 3 times a week max, and hair wash once, maybe twice when I am home. What about showering ourselves...don't think I can answer that one

my 12 yo still has cradle cap. Getting fed up with it. Thick yellow flakes too.

once a week, with hands, face & bum done with facecloth / babywipe everyday. Poor thing says 'Mummy can I pleeease have a bath tonight'

Feel strongly that too much soap / bubbles etc very bad for skin. Also can't be bothered by that time of night comes.

tasja, please elaborate!

Could be weeks in this house

[Snappy - another vote for olive oil for cradle cap - just rub it in (may have to repeat several evenings in succession) - don't pick at it - especially if it looks red anywhere or you risk infection, wouldn't use nit comb - just keep rubbing a little bit of oil in every evening then the whole thing just lifts off ...]

ah!

thanks for cradle cap advice. i remember being recommended same approach a while back (and, um, cocking it up by getting solid oil and that not working. obv.) so have just 'done' him with baby oil and a nitty gritty comb.

was a piece of piss! took about 10 mins, while he watched cbebees and didnt make a sound. and now its all gone! marvellous. should have done it 3 years ago, really...

i was v gentle with the comb. and it was all fairly loose, and no redness anywhere. thanks fellow slatterns!