How often are we bathing kids?

[Honeybeebuzz]

We have a 1 year old and a 4 year old, bath time is usually twice a week and they also get a shower after the swimming pool. A friend recently advised she baths her kids every night? I thought this wasn't great for their skin but now im not sure. I shower at least once a day but didnt think kids need that as they dont sweat

Sorry but children and adults who don’t bathe daily absolutely do smell. It’s a particular smell that I used to smell on some people when I was a child. I grew up and realised it was from a lack of daily showering and other things like “I never wash my legs or feet in the shower”. I once walked past a man who looked very rough and unkempt, potentially homeless but not sure - I smelt the same smell on him (although stronger) and that cemented my theory in my mind.

Absolutely! There’s no need to waste a bath full of water every single night. Mine had quite bad eczema and I was advised not to bath them more than twice a week. The other nights I’d stand them in the bath, wash them with a flannel and emollient, then rinse them quickly with the shower hose. They were perfectly clean.

Every night here, 4 and 6 year old, always have done. I’m less worried about sweat and more worried about dirty hands and faces and def bottom areas, for us they need a bath or shower to be clean and fresh for bed. Plus it’s fun for them. And when they were in nappies I wouldn’t want them sat in wee etc all day without a clean, baby wipes aren’t the same. To be fair I don’t know if they would smell after a few days, I’ve never tested this theory!

Once, maybe twice a week for my 15 month old. We top and tail her daily. Face. Hands, feet, bum.

Bath every day. 3 and 7 yr old. We've already had to get kid friendly deodorant for 7yr old. You CAN smell if it's been a long sweaty day...

I shower daily. I usually do some form of exercise so I would really smell if I didn’t wash myself. My kids have a bath or a shower daily. No one has dry skin. We all wash our hair once a week, sometimes twice a week for the kids. It’s just part of our daily routine.

When they are little (up to age 5) bathtime kills an hour and is part of the sacred "bedtime routine" that gets them asleep by 7.30.

When they are 6-10 they can get away with a few times a week.

As soon as their armpits have an odour it's back to daily I'm afraid.

Always been daily for us, part of their routine. They slept better when clean and relaxed from the bath.

Every other day, they both have eczema so I’m cautious about bathing too much. Baby gets topped and tailed with a flannel on in between days

Every day at that age and I washed hair too most days as they often had food in it, well at age 1 for sure.

My youngest is 4 now and we probably do 5 times a week. I only wash hair once or twice a week now. In summer it's more like a bath everyday as they outside more and have suntan lotion on too.

I did work with someone that said uh I have to the bath the kids tonight. I was a bit like eh what. I thought everyone bathed them every night lol. She only bathed them 2-3 times a week. It's not unheard of for sure but I think they need a little more than that.

No, the dirt hides the smell of child from a witch!

👏 especially after a day at school filled with germs 🦠

That's why you wash hands and faces every day...

Your kids chest, tummy, back, thighs etc aren't being covered in germs all day...

Every other night. Mixed race kid with dry skin. Every night means he gets ashy and then excema starts to reoccur.

4.5 yo gets a bath on a Sunday and a shower after swimming on a Thursday. She's not a dirty child so that's plenty. Some weeks one or the other gets missed and it's not an issue.
They do sweat but they don't have the bacteria to make them smell.

My toddler has a shower every morning after breakfast. Once or twice a week she has a bath in the evening too, either for fun or because she’s got in a mess with food.

Every hour on the hour else it's just gross, vile blah,blah fucking blah.

We do every other day and I used to wash her hair every time but I don't now, I think I was washing it too much, I was her hair maybe 1/5

She does have sensitive skin and always has, so I think excessive washing wouldn't help with that

7yo and 2yo boys here and they've always had baths daily. Very rarely they might skip a bath before bed if we've been out somewhere and home late but usually they bath every evening before putting pjs on for bedtime wind down. Mine are so filthy - literally both covered in mud, youngest has food all over his face (yes I do wipe him but he's a grot-bag!) and one of them will typically have some kind of felt tip pen scribbled on themselves somewhere!

Every day.

Every night except Fridays (because we're usually out for dinner) then back straight into PJs with just teeth and face wash.

I agree with this!!

I have a 1 year old and a 2 year old and they have a bath and hair wash every night. They get disgusting in nursery and it's part of their bedtime routine. Plus with the poos they do 💩 they ALWAYS need a bath. There's always food or paint in their hair and they're rolling all over the floor

Why would you not wash a small child at least every other day? They get covered in food, dirt from outside, often paint etc.

Every night. I think it's pretty lazy to put children to bed with unwashed bums to be honest. Especially if they are still in nappies. Wipes aren't a substitute for a proper wash.