How often do you bath your DCs and wash their hair?

[Undercovamutha]

I bath them almost every night, with the exception of saturday night (don't know why - just mine and DH's way of seeming like we are having a night off from the grind I guess!), and occasionally we don't bother if we are back late, have visitors, or if DD is beyond tired. We wash DD and DS's hair once a week - mainly because it is such a debacle with DDs long locks and feisty temperament!!!

I know some people who are religious about bathing the DCs every night without fail, and others who are a bit more chilled out. However I can't help feeling a bit bad when I decide not to bother for a night!!!!

Due to eczema the older DCs have a bath every other day (suggested by the dermatologist) has really helped. Hair wash - at least once but usually twice a week. My youngest has a bath everyday as she just gets sooooo messy!

Also DS never gets dried out skin, ive never heard baths can do that?

I do moisturise him though, only because i do it, he loves to copy me so i give him a splash of bio oil or nivea and he rubs it everywere lol.

i do think once a week is too little, unless your having a top and tail aswell.

OTT baths can exacerbate some skin conditions

DD (4 months) has a bath every night as part of her bathtime routine. She loves it and it calms her. I wash her hair every other day atm with cradle cap wash. I will only wash it every 3 days when the cradle cap clears up.

I used to bath DS1 every night, then DS2 came along and it went down to every other night, then I became a single mum and it got less and less.

Now they're older with homework/DS/tea to have between 5 & 7 o'clock we manage twice a week we do top and tail washing though in my defence.

BoysAreLikeDogs really, i didn't know that, luckily DS has never had any skin problems to date.
why does it make things worse? maybe its because DS has tepid water on him, its not too hot, i always turn it down whe he gets in after me.

Every night, except Fridays - my 15 month old adores baths, it's her favourite time of the day, and I get to sit on the side and chat to my husband with a glass of wine, what's not to like?

If it was drying out her skin I'd notice, and change routine. It's not.

Hair washing only a couple of times a week unless she rubs egg yolk into it, or something. She has curly hair, it goes frizzy otherwise.

DD alternate days. Her hair is so fine and tangly that if it gets beyond two days it's impossible to brush. she is a bit of a soap dodger though and doesn't like the washing part. Last night she decided she wasn't going to wash her bit, just pick the cheese out [vom]

Ds(3) has a bath every night. Wash his hair whenever we can bear the hassle it needs it

Riven- i think it depends on the child, like your dd, dd2's bottom gets washed/wiped every day due to nappy changes. Dd1 never really gets dirty, she washes her face and hands and i bath her once a week. Dd2 gets a bit more grubby as she wipes food in her hair so i sometimes bath her twice a week. Some children get dirty easily (playing in the garden, or eating messy food) so may need bathing most days.

We aim for once a week... sometimes it slips a little . Baby gets a proper bottom wash with plain water virtually every time she's changed.

Bathing every day is a terrible waste of water and energy and can be very drying for the skin. Plus you run the risk of making your children learn to "feel" dirty when they're really not - so they then carry the bathing-every-day thing on into adulthood - think of the planet! .

its perfectly reasonable to bath/shower everyday in adulthood smilehomebirth.
I am also thinking of the people around me, i do not want to offend their noses with my au natural odor or a lashing of perfume! lol.

As a child i only had a bath 2-3 times a week, but when i reached puberty i could feel the grim and dirt from the day more and have since 11-12 had a shower everyday.

think of all the dead skin stuck to your body that only gets cleaned of after a good scrub, yuk! and we sweat 2 pints at night, i do not like starting the day without a good wash. it makes me cringe sorry

So, now we know about the kids, how often do we all shower and wash our hair? I do it every day, and can't remember the last time I missed a shower... think it was a year or so ago when we had no hot water for a day!

Smilehomebirth - you obviously don't wash every day - don't you feel, well, a bit grimy on your days off?

Mine have a shower/hair every other day exept DD4 who has a bath every morning (about 10cm water so I do not feel I am wasting too much) because she wants to(hair every other day).

DD1(11yo) is getting at a stage where she asks for showers even on days I do not ask her too.

My three have a bath or shower, and wash their hair, at least every other day. The boys (5 and 7) are usually covered in mud from playing football etc, and DD (4) is usually covered in paint and play dough!

Riven, I know about your dd and I know she is in nappies (I have been on Mumsnet more than 3 years), I am talking about older children without your dd's special needs.

Just wanted to clear that up.

If I showered my 2 in the morning we'd have to get up at 6am! It's a bit of a miracle that they even get clothes on and food in their mouths - imagine the extra nagging and tantrums to fit a shower in as well!

I tend to have mine when I get home from the school run - luxury of working from home

I have a shower everyday, haven't had a bath except for honeymoon ( double bath! )
since i was 11-12, i too do not like the idea of stewing in my own filth lol.

in the summer its quite common for me to have 2/3 showers a day

I must add though that this is a habit ive not lost from working in a hot kitchen all day doing labourous tasks and smelling of foods, so it was really a must then and now i just feel dirt easily.

wash my hair everyday too.
and i wash my hands and face probably 4-5 times a day aswell, :S maybe i have a problem lol!

I generally shower every 2 or 3 days. Occasionally I'll push it to 4 - but only if I'm staying in with no visitors . The hair's the main thing with me - goes yucky and greasy after a while doesn't it!

Maybe I'm lucky in that I don't sweat much. I probably smell mostly from cooking smells picked up on my clothes and hair (is this going to lead to a "how often do you change your clothes" thread?).

Nobody has ever complained that I smell. My husband has the same wash habits as me, and (most of the time) I don't find he smells objectionable either.

What I do object to is when I pass other people and find myself engulfed in a waft of perfume - sometimes I reckon it's not even perfume but more the smell of their washing powder! I'd rather have a (hopefully much fainter) human smell off them.

Would be interesting to know what people really thought of my "waft" as I pass them though!

smilehomebirth, if your not being active etc then i suppose it doesn't matter if you don't feel in need of a shower.
I doubt going 2/3 days without a shower most people would waft lol.
but i have a very sensative nose ( helps in my profession! ) and i can smell the grease and grim on my skin/hair, it makes me wretch.

Im not used to wearing perfumes, and only have one favourite that i wore on my wedding day, and wear it only on sepcial occasions etc. i too find strong perfumes overpowering and can if used to cover up bio still tell if someone hasn't washed that day :S

My dh is a labourer and does very manual work in a hot environment and therefore really does need a bath every day, sometimes the water is black and i suggest he needs to rinse himself and the bath afterwards lol!

ds1 and 2 have a bath together every night. not because they are smelly but because all 3 of us really enjoy it. they both absolutely love splashing around and i love watching them play in the bath and then wrapping them up for big cuddles in their towels. neither of them has remotely dry skin, if they did i would reconsider our bathing strategy. i suffer from psoriasis so am more than aware of skin conditions.

hairwash, on the other hand, is a real rarity as they both absolutely hate it.

i shower and wash my hair every morning. feel very grouchy if for any reason i can't.

"can if used to cover up bio"
Ugh, yes that is the worst thing!
Reminds me of when I picked up my daughter from nursery and lots of kids had just pooed their nappies in a pongy way. One of the staff got some air-freshener out and sprayed it liberally around - talk about choke... I'd rather've just had the poo smell on it's own thanks. Mixed with the perfume made it 5 times worse.

I'm reaonably active - I cycle 8 miles in total on a work day - and I don't go that slowly either. Like I say, I don't seem to sweat that much.

I still maintain it's mostly what you are used to. If you are used to showering every day, then of course you'll start feeling grimy sooner than if you lived 200 years ago and had a bath once a month.