How often do we really need to wash our kids???

[Bunny10]

So I read today that Vivienne Westwood only has a bath once a week to keep her looking young and to save water/help the environment. It got me thinking - how often do your kids have a bath or shower? I'm in the habit of giving my little ones a bath every night although they probably don't need it. It's just a habit/part of their routine. But I keep reading about how we need to stop wasting so much water in the home as water levels are low and am feeling guilty. Any tips on keeping kids clean without a nightly bath???

I rinse mine every day to get rid of the stickiness and dust.
And once or twice a week a really proper scrub down.
When they cannot wipe their bottoms they need a good wash down there.

cauli

Cauliflower if the children where you work smell that bad surely that’s a sign of neglect and needs addressing?

I don’t think a bath is necessary every single day for a small child but I think every other day is about right. I do give ds aged 5 a bath every night (small one) as he has autism and isn’t too good at wiping himself yet despite having help at (special) school there’s been a few times he’s been a bit sore and sweaty otherwise. I have a shower myself every morning.

DD6- 2 times a week I think
DD9- about the same or maybe one or 2 times more if he has had football training/match.

2/3 showers a week, kids are 7 and 10. The 10yo sometimes needs extra ones if he's been active.

A bath or shower everyday.

5 and 3 - give them a bath every other evening.

i know he doesn't need it but i do bathe DS every day. he likes it, I like it.. i'm not a clean freak by any stretch he's just happy when he's in the bath and i would love him to get 'the routine' that I have. if i have to stop that at some point I will but while the going is good..

WHat's the diff between a shower and a bath?

6x a week with hair wash 5x a week.

They’re 7 and 4 and get utterly filthy during the day. They LOVE bathtime, lots of play and splashing whilst I clean up from dinner. Works perfectly.

DC 10 and 12 bath/shower once a week and shower with hair wash after swimming once a week. I do hope that I will be able to smell it if they start smelling ;)

I shower daily and have maybe one bath a week. Hair wash every other day.

DD 22mo has a couple of baths and a couple of showers a week - she comes in with me for both in the morning. Other mornings and at night just a quick wash with a flannel. Doesn't seem to smell.

If there's been a poo disaster or particularly painty nursery day then I might plonk her in the bath and shower the worst off her at bedtime but this doesn't happen often.

DS is going on 13 and I force him to shower every day.

He is a proper soap dodger and wouldn't bother at all if not forced in and handed deodorant on exit .

DD is 8 and has a bath and hair wash on Sundays, and a shower twice a week after swimming. Will encourage her force her to up to it to daily shower once puberty hits.

Vivienne Westwood looks young? Since when?

I wonder if it depends on where you live.

I am in London, and the thought of going to bed with city pollution on skin actually creeps me out. I know everyone goes on about hygiene phobias etc, but it isn't that. It isn't sweat or other secretions from human skin.

The outside world -here at least - is very dirty and not with real dirt like earth or soil. It is full of petrochemicals, chemicals, other pollutants and even room surfaces are covered in cleaning products and god knows what. I wouldn't want my children to lie overnight still covered in that. That includes baby wipe residue btw.

However I have to say that my kids loved having a bath or shower, and never at any time showed the slightest desire to not have one every day once they were old enough to make their own choice. I wonder what makes some children dislike it.

Used to wash DS1 daily but at around 2 when his eczema was getting worse and worse and oilatum baths/diprobase/hydrocortisone use was ever increasing a go suggested we Bath him less and when we dropped to twice weekly baths his eczema virtually went (apart from minimal back of knee area). So when DS2 & 3 came along, they followed the new pattern. Interestingly, both also had minimal back of elbow/knee eczema which flared when bathing/showering daily which happens when swimming daily for two weeks every year on holiday! Now DS1 washes most days aged 12, DS2 is 9 and baths 3 times a week and the 4 year old 2-3 times a week.

a go = a gp

We bathe 13 month DD once or twice a week and one of us gets in with her and stays in after so water is not being wasted. Otherwise I just wash her with a flannel and warm water if she has got grubby when eating. Until recently she absolutely hated baths so she was washed with a flannel the majority of the time with an attempt at a bath occasionally. Little ones really do not need daily washing, can't be good for their skin.

DS7 - bath three times a week, flannel around face and privates each morning.

Used to wash dd daily in the bath, her eczema got very bad and like you beach the dr suggested reducing baths right down to 1-2 a week and only washing her with water and emollient, flannel washes in between baths. Her skin has really improved (along with regular slathering on of emollient) and she doesn't seem to smell or be dirty so that's what we do!

Mine have always had a bath every other day, but dd is 12 and I'm about to start getting her to shower every day. She'll whinge though!

DD is 4, she has a bath every other day and an open sink wash every night before bed and uses a nail brush to clean under her nails.

Surely the amount of water it takes to have a bath once a week, Vivienne Westwood would be able to have many short showers?

Dd1(15) showers every day, washes her hair 3 times a week.

Dd2 (10) is really anal about cleanliness. She will usually shower twice a day, she washes her hair about 3 times a week too it's to hard to manage doing every day as it's so long. She's constantly washing her hands and face too, she likes a relaxing bath on a weekend too but usually showers after it

Dd3 (8) is autistic and an absolute nightmare to wash! She'll have a quick shower a couple of times a week but she doesn't really clean herself properly. She prefers a basin of water and a flannel but just splashes about really. She has toiletting issues and trying to bath/shower her every time leaves me soaked and bruised
I wash her hair in a bath once a week and it's always a fight, I feel it's pretty manky only washing her hair once a week even though it's never greasy. Dread her hitting puberty!

Her husband has a bath/shower once a month.

Mine had a bath once a week when small, with his face, grubby hands, bum, etc getting a flannel when they needed it.

It's really hard water here, and he didn't smell (even though he walked an hour and a half every day, as well as tearing around the park after school), so it was quite enough.

Now as a teenager he has a bath every other day. He has a clean shirt and clean underwear (obvs) every day.

I read an article by a historical re-enactor who did an experiment: she didn't bathe at all day to day, as would have been the case in the period she studied, but rubbed herself with a dry cloth, and had a clean chemise every day (although the same outer clothes). Her colleague had a shower every day, with deodorant, soap, etc, but wore the same clothes. Their colleagues verified that he absolutely stank after a couple of weeks, despite the daily bathing, but she didn't. (I think that was broadly the conclusion they came to - I'll try and find the article.)