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???

Bath every night but he is 5 months old and it's part of his bedtime routine. I also think babies need washed properly every day as they sit in wet nappies also their neck folds and behind ears etc can gather old milk, sick etc

We were told not to wash babies every day as it was drying for their skin! Certainly eczema baby was better when bathed less often and wiped instead.

Funny how it changes!

Dc are 5 and they bath together everyday, we don't fill the bath very deep though. Wash hair every Sunday.

I've taught for years and have seen so many nits, filthy ragged nails, layers of grim and smelt all the pongs of unwashed children. Understandable in Victorian Britain but some of these pupils were at prestigious high fee paying day schools.

Now I have my own children , I wash them and their hair everyday as a courtesy to their teachers.

But washing doesn't tackle nits, habibihabibi. You can be perfectly clean, wash every day, and still have nits.

Dd1 and Dd2 (6 & 8) bath and hair wash twice a week and strip wash every morning and before bed.

Dd3 (2) bath most nights and wash every morning.

Daily showers as they smell otherwise. When they were little, they would all use the same bath so that's how we used to save water.

DC (3.5) is showered every evening (unless ill or we get home very late) and gets a bath with bubbles once or twice at the weekend.

I shower every day, who wouldn't? In my experience, people who bang on about not showering claim they don't smell but they inevitably do...

These threads are always a bit eye-opening but not as eye-opening as the ones asking if you always wash your hands after using the toilet or changing your DC's nappy 😖

We all bath every day, and the DC aged 5 and 6 always poo just before the bath. They are filthy, DS's hands and nails are black by the end of the day and DD is prone to very stinky feet. I have no idea how these other children stay clean.w

Mine never (as in perhaps once a year) bath.. They shower 3 times a week and do a mitts, pits and bits wash in between.

I hate baths. I shower with the plug in if I have post camp/gardening/minging feet.

In my experience, people who bang on about not showering claim they don't smell but they inevitably do

In my experience, people who bang on about showering tend to assume that everyone they meet who suffers from unpleasant body owner doesn't shower. Confirmation bias.

Um.... body odour. Oops.

I think bathing every other day is sufficient for most people that haven't been sweating much. Children less.

DD has a bath 2 or 3 times a week, she always smells lovely.

We shower our two every other night. Every night is bad for their skin

DS 13 showers every morning
DSDs 11/8 have a bath every night and a shower every morning

Water meter loves our house.

This thread would only happen in Britain IMHO
Daily showering is a MUST in most civilised cultures with easy access to clean water and soap. Baths are great for a pamper and little ones play time but the very fact you're all even discussing such basic hygiene habits that should be taught, nay, insisted upon from babyhood just makes me shudder...

My DC's have long flown the nest now but I can only sympathise with the poor teacher...I remember how those classrooms used to smell and how my DC reeked after a day at school, nursery, playgroup...
Shoot me if you want but Really??

Daily showering is a MUST in most civilised cultures

Really, SoyYo? Even with babies and small children when it really dries the skin, and exacerbates conditions like eczema? Even for grownups who change clothes every day, and do their pits and bits with a flannel, but who also don't want to over-dry their skin or hair too much, especially in very hard-water areas?

I think your attitude is a bit neurotic, TBF.

I think it's hilarious

Yes Really. Unequivocally Yes (unless ill or exhausted)
A quick shower=5 mins top.
No amount of "sponging" or top and tailing or whatever people call it does the job efficiently like plenty of water and soap can.
My DS1 when little had mild eczema and I used a tiny bit of soap in his bottom, Oiletum or E45 on the rest of his baby skin plus Dr medicated cream. You don't need to strip their skin natural oils.
Hair washing is different I agree, that may vary accordingly but Daily showering is such a no brainer for basic hygiene, smelling fresh and the sheer pleasure of doing it that I can't understand why it's such an issue...
The mind boggles...

Can you see that what might be suitable for mild eczema isn't suitable for those with it more severe?

Certainly wasn't advised to overwash when mine were small.!

I'm foreign though...never got over my first British landlady in my student days telling me I was wasting her water and was only allowed 3 showers or 2 baths per week. It was 37 years ago and I thought WTF?!!! I found alternative accommodation within 3 days of that bizarre chat and have never looked back since

Put it down to my cultural upbringing if you like but to me it's truly unbelievable people haven't by now moved on from Victorian/Dark Ages notions on daily hygiene habits...apart from the fact it's so dammed pleasurable for children and adults alike to have a daily warm shower/bath.
To me the question should be rephrased:
Why ever would you NOT want to have a daily shower?

Because it's not good for the skin and a waste of water?

SoyYo because I'm not neurotic about it? (Are you American by any chance?)

Because you don't have a bloody shower?

#helpfulface

Cripes Soy continue to do your own thing but it sounds to me like you've got a bit of a problem. I just don't get all this 'I must change my PJs every night/wash my towels after every use/have a shower every day/wash my hair every day/change my sheets twice a week etc etc etc.

I think we have lost the plot re hygiene and what constitutes clean/dirty.

Why would a 3 min shower be any different to top/tailing with hot water, soap and a clean flannel?? My mum always does the latter, and showers a couple of times a week. It's just what she does and always has done. She's still clean and not in the least bit disgusting. And as it happens, she prefers a top/tail wash at the sink. Well, shoot her now.