Be honest - how often do you bathe your kids?

[Anonymous]

My 8 month old gets one everyday manly because when he's cranky as soon as you stick him in the tub he is the happiest baby you have ever seen.

[Anonymous]

My 18 mo old and 4 yo, 2-3 times a week.

I honestly don't have time for more than that! My 4 yo loves to play in the bath but HATES to have his hair washed. The bath lasts about 30 minutes. My 18 mo I can bath in about 15 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
every night. But I'm weird like that (and only use soap 2-3 times a week, unless there are serious dirt issues, which admittedly happens pretty often). Kids are 4 and almost 2.


New mom here. So what do you do, just rinse? I know you probably don't want to dry out kids skin with soap, but how do you really clean them if you aren't using soap? Any alternatives?

This was me - yes, I just rinse most nights, or just soap up areas I feel get dirty, like hands/arms and bottoms of feet. Otherwise, just rinse and wipe. I also like it as part of the bedtime routine, plus the kids like playing in the bath together and it's quite hilarious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, I'd give myself bad mommy medal of the week, except I'm following our pediatrician's orders. Our one month old gets a bath roughly twice a week unless there's a spitup or big diaper incident! He gets a soapless wipedown of the sweaty areas and diaper region every day. He's been very healthy that way...and not stinky at all. Of course, we are not going out often or in contact with dirt / germs, so that plays a role. Still, I hope I'm not raising pig pen! ha ha.

Not a bad mommy at all. One-month-olds are very different from two-year-olds! I have to say that one of the saddest moments in my short motherhood was when I realized that my kid stinks. She used to smell so sweet, no matter what. Now she gets bad breath, and has stinky poo, and her shoes/feet smell.

Heh. I remember the first day my husband said, "Oh my God, [the toddler's] feet smell like... feet!" They grow up so fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8 and 4. Probably 2 nights a week.

GROSS i am sorry but this is SO disgusting, esp. in the summer.

Wow, judgmental!

I only bathe my child 2x/week, per my pediatrician's suggestion that most kids are bathed too much. It really depends on what your child is doing during the day, doesn't it?

In most other countries children are not bathed every day - and not so long ago in this country the once-a-week bath was the norm (with the smallest child getting the last of the used bathwater!).

Small children lack the sweat glands of teenagers/adults.

[Anonymous]

Until my son (now 4.5) was two, I bathed him every night, and almost always shampooed him. When his baby sister (now 2.5) was born, things changed. I now bathe them together about every other night, and shampoo about 1-2x per week (both have very fine, "baby-like hair)...although this week they used sunscreen every day and got a bath every night. I think this year I'll bathe them every night because they'll both be in school and I'm a bit worried about swine flu, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8 and 4. Probably 2 nights a week.

GROSS i am sorry but this is SO disgusting, esp. in the summer.

Wow, judgmental!

I only bathe my child 2x/week, per my pediatrician's suggestion that most kids are bathed too much. It really depends on what your child is doing during the day, doesn't it?

In most other countries children are not bathed every day - and not so long ago in this country the once-a-week bath was the norm (with the smallest child getting the last of the used bathwater!).

Small children lack the sweat glands of teenagers/adults.

Yes, I am very judgmental. An 8yo bathed twice a week is gross, sorry, and so is a 4 yo, they run around all day are in the sun with sunscreen, GROSS.
And I am not even american, I was born and raised in a different country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, I am very judgmental. An 8yo bathed twice a week is gross, sorry, and so is a 4 yo, they run around all day are in the sun with sunscreen, GROSS.
And I am not even american, I was born and raised in a different country.

You are so funny!

My kids don't wear sunscreen. They don't run around all day in the sun, either.

In the summer, we go to the pool and they do take quick showers there. Otherwise, yes, they bathe about 2 times a week. They don't smell.

[Anonymous]

http://www.babycenter.com/404_my-child-hates-to-bathe-how-often-is-it-really-necessary_70649.bc

My child hates to bathe. How often is it really necessary?

Expert Answers

David Geller, pediatrician

It depends on your child's day-to-day activity. Bathing is really necessary only to clean your child off when she gets dirty. That could range from several times in one day, if she makes mud pies or plays in a muddy stream, to once every three or four days, if she spends her time playing house and reading. Most active children could benefit from a bath every few days. If twice a week is still more than your child can handle, wipe her off with a damp washcloth, or take her for a swim in a pool or a lake. This will get her almost as clean as a bath, without any of the fighting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.babycenter.com/404_my-child-hates-to-bathe-how-often-is-it-really-necessary_70649.bc

My child hates to bathe. How often is it really necessary?

Expert Answers

David Geller, pediatrician

It depends on your child's day-to-day activity. Bathing is really necessary only to clean your child off when she gets dirty. That could range from several times in one day, if she makes mud pies or plays in a muddy stream, to once every three or four days, if she spends her time playing house and reading. Most active children could benefit from a bath every few days. If twice a week is still more than your child can handle, wipe her off with a damp washcloth, or take her for a swim in a pool or a lake. This will get her almost as clean as a bath, without any of the fighting.

I agree, small children don't have body odor or those oil glands in their hair. However, it establishes good hygiene habits to bathe them more often because some day the will have BO and greasy hair and think bathing/showering is not part of the daily routine.

Swimming in a lake to get them clean, though? Now THAT is gross. NOT clean. NOT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8 and 4. Probably 2 nights a week.

GROSS i am sorry but this is SO disgusting, esp. in the summer.

"SO disgusting"? A little over the top, isn't it?

No mom wants her kid to be grungy or stinky. I assume that the moms who give fewer baths have cleaner kids. Mine's one of those every-day-sometimes-twice kids. But if she didn't need it that often, I'd definitely cut back. You need to settle down, and remember that our kids don't come off an assembly line, all identical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:our not-quite-2 DD gets a bath virtually every night we too only use soap every 2 or 3 days and probably wash hair once a week. (she hardly has any still so it's not sweaty normally)

Not so much because she always NEEDS it, but she likes it and it's part of our bedtime ritual - we find it provides a nice and very clear line to break off playing vs. getting ready for bed time.

Same for us.

Ditto!

Us too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, I am very judgmental. An 8yo bathed twice a week is gross, sorry, and so is a 4 yo, they run around all day are in the sun with sunscreen, GROSS.
And I am not even american, I was born and raised in a different country.

You are so funny!

My kids don't wear sunscreen. They don't run around all day in the sun, either.

In the summer, we go to the pool and they do take quick showers there. Otherwise, yes, they bathe about 2 times a week. They don't smell.

I am glad to hear you find me funny. I also don't understand how your kids go to the pool and don't wear sunscreen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8 and 4. Probably 2 nights a week.

GROSS i am sorry but this is SO disgusting, esp. in the summer.

"SO disgusting"? A little over the top, isn't it?

No mom wants her kid to be grungy or stinky. I assume that the moms who give fewer baths have cleaner kids. Mine's one of those every-day-sometimes-twice kids. But if she didn't need it that often, I'd definitely cut back. You need to settle down, and remember that our kids don't come off an assembly line, all identical.

Of course they are not identical, but 2x a week is disgusting. And also, an 8yo should be learning to be cleaner than that too.

[Anonymous]

My 2.5yo gets a bath 2-3 times a week. Not really on a regular basis, but she has enough messy days that trigger a bath anyway - food in hair, sweaty, etc. She also goes to the pool twice a week, so that helps somewhat. I used to do more often, but I swear her skin would dry up and shrivel off if I bathed her every night.