How often does your 9 year old shower?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a 13 year old who has not started puberty. He showers after he has been out doing anything leading to sweating, so after sports practice, and after he has been swimming. Otherwise he takes a shower every other day. He knows he will need to take a shower daily when he starts puberty and the BO kicks in.

I lived in Europe, my college age roommates bathed twice a week, that is why they wore perfume and cologne. They were all healthy and perfectly fine. Bathing too frequently is actually bad for your skin and hair.

The obsession with showering and being totally clean is very much an American thing.

OP, your child is fine with bathing every other day. But yes, make sure she knows how to wipe after pooping, that is a hygiene thing.

Most Europeans use bidets, which is much more hygienic. Wiping is not very effective and kids tend to be especially bad at it.

So unless you have a bidet, your child should definitely be showering more than once or twice a week. It can be a quick rinse off without washing hair, my kid does those often. You don't have to use hot water, you can use minimal soap, and you can do it in 2-4 minutes generally. But if your kid is going multiple days between bathing, it's not particularly hygienic.

Both my kid and I have sensitive skin and are eczema-prone, and we shower daily without irritating or drying out our skin. The key is keeping showers short, not letting the water get too hot, and being in the habit of using a gentle moisturizers on likely dry areas right after the shower (we keep coconut oil in the shower and it gets massaged into elbows, knees, and other high exposure areas right after toweling dry.

[Anonymous]

Your kids teacher would appreciate once a day. Have you ever been in an elementary school at the end of the day. Smells horrible like body odor.

[Anonymous]

I get my 9 year old to shower every day so it is a habit by the time puberty hits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a 13 year old who has not started puberty. He showers after he has been out doing anything leading to sweating, so after sports practice, and after he has been swimming. Otherwise he takes a shower every other day. He knows he will need to take a shower daily when he starts puberty and the BO kicks in.

I lived in Europe, my college age roommates bathed twice a week, that is why they wore perfume and cologne. They were all healthy and perfectly fine. Bathing too frequently is actually bad for your skin and hair.

The obsession with showering and being totally clean is very much an American thing.

OP, your child is fine with bathing every other day. But yes, make sure she knows how to wipe after pooping, that is a hygiene thing.

Most Europeans use bidets, which is much more hygienic. Wiping is not very effective and kids tend to be especially bad at it.

So unless you have a bidet, your child should definitely be showering more than once or twice a week. It can be a quick rinse off without washing hair, my kid does those often. You don't have to use hot water, you can use minimal soap, and you can do it in 2-4 minutes generally. But if your kid is going multiple days between bathing, it's not particularly hygienic.

Both my kid and I have sensitive skin and are eczema-prone, and we shower daily without irritating or drying out our skin. The key is keeping showers short, not letting the water get too hot, and being in the habit of using a gentle moisturizers on likely dry areas right after the shower (we keep coconut oil in the shower and it gets massaged into elbows, knees, and other high exposure areas right after toweling dry.

My son resistant to showering and I realized it's because his skin was getting too dry -- now I give him a really gentle body wash (like Olay) and heavy moisturizer afterwards, and he enjoys showers.

[Anonymous]

mine is 9, and take a shower every other day or every sports day.

[Anonymous]

My kids have always taken daily baths or showers. Even in infancy they had diaper blowouts and reflux, then the self feeding with their hands , putting it in their hair, etc. It was always just part of the routine. They might skip if they got home late once in a while but once a week wouldn’t work for my kids. Even when they aren’t active they have fine hair that looks dirty pretty quickly.

[Anonymous]

Every night before bed. Takes about 15 minutes.

[Anonymous]

I'm European and we shower every day!
Stop blaming us for your poor hygiene. And we do use fragrances because it's fun, not to cover the stink. Whatever you experienced during your 5-day high school graduation trip which was 50 years ago is not longer the reality. For decades.

[Anonymous]

WTF how is this even a question. A daily shower is non negotiable and can be done in about 10 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Daily shower, washing hair every other day. It takes literally 5 minutes to properly soap the body and rinse. Additional 5 minute when washing hair. Do better at parenting.

Wow. Do better at kindness, and not judging and shaming other people.

I hope this isn’t how you treat your kids and isn’t the example you set for them.

This ain’t it. Bring back shame! Daily bathing should be the default. There are of course some limited exceptions. Stop using “be nice!!” as a shield against criticism. And stop being nasty and wash your ass.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a 13 year old who has not started puberty. He showers after he has been out doing anything leading to sweating, so after sports practice, and after he has been swimming. Otherwise he takes a shower every other day. He knows he will need to take a shower daily when he starts puberty and the BO kicks in.

I lived in Europe, my college age roommates bathed twice a week, that is why they wore perfume and cologne. They were all healthy and perfectly fine. Bathing too frequently is actually bad for your skin and hair.

The obsession with showering and being totally clean is very much an American thing.

OP, your child is fine with bathing every other day. But yes, make sure she knows how to wipe after pooping, that is a hygiene thing.

Just because something isn’t European doesn’t make it very much an American thing. Lots of cultures shower every day. Expand your horizons!

[Anonymous]

Every day and wash hair everyday- 7 and 9 and I feel like they are still filthy at the end of the day!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Daily shower, washing hair every other day. It takes literally 5 minutes to properly soap the body and rinse. Additional 5 minute when washing hair. Do better at parenting.

Wow. Do better at kindness, and not judging and shaming other people.

I hope this isn’t how you treat your kids and isn’t the example you set for them.

This ain’t it. Bring back shame! Daily bathing should be the default. There are of course some limited exceptions. Stop using “be nice!!” as a shield against criticism. And stop being nasty and wash your ass.

+1. And how about the kids shower and save their friends and teachers from the smell? Now that is being kind.

[Anonymous]

Every day. Even if it’s not a sports day. Even if it’s just a quick rinse-off - it’s a good habit and teaches your kids how to care for their bodies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every day. Sometimes it's just her butt. She poops every day doesn't she?? My dad's hair also smells after 2 days as she sweats with her head.

Bidet and more fiber in diet