Letting your kids skip baths...

[wildernesslodgelover]

Do you? I do. My DD is 9, and if she has not had a particularly active day, I let her skip her bath. I have some friends who are mortified by that, so I am just wondering exactly how gross I am.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

Esp. in the winter when the kids have more of a tendency to veg out and play inside, they don't nec. bathe every day. Wash up, yes. Brush teeth, yes. But take an all out bath, nope. In the summer/warmer months it's not unheard of them to take a couple baths per day though. My 2 are 5 & 6 and I'm sure as they get older they will WANT to take a shower each day....I know I HAVE to take a shower EVERY day or I feel gross but thats me.

 

[Barbossa]

Same here, we give baths every other day unless they get down and dirty. One of our friends does the same for their kids. It's great.

 

[Mkrop]

We were told by our ped that daily baths were not necessary until they hit puberty bc it dries their skin out. DS10 had eczema so theyt old us not to bathe him everyday. We of course do if they get gross from playing outside but if they are just hanging then no we dont push it.

DS10 probably bathes more now bc I am not sure when puberty will hit and he is doing more active stuff so he may get a shower everyday bc of gym class, or basketball practice but we still need to be careful with his skin getting too dry.

 

[mickeyboat]

My girls (7 & 8) bathe every other day, too, unless they get gross from playing.

Denae

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

My 9 Y.O. doesn't bathe daily, unless she has done something to get dirty/swetty. Neither did my older DD--Not until she was 11/12. Both have incred. dry skin in the winter--that would only make it worse.

 

[ImMarcik]

I am one of those that is very insistent and always has been that my dd get a bath everyday. I used to get so mad when she would come back from her Dad's with ratty hair and you can tell she went the whole weekend without a bath.

 

[sha_lyn]

10 DD takes one every other night, and in the winter will sometimes skip 2 nights

 

[kellyg403]

I don't insist too much on baths during the weekend for ds11. He hates the bath. But, I know that soon he will be running water 3 times a day, living in the shower just like his older bros did. I figure as long as he can stand the funk and not sit by me on the couch, the weekends are his. Now, weekdays, schooldays and any day that he has done a whole bunch of stuff to get dirty that is a different story.

Kelly

 

[JessicaR]

For the most part every other night during the winter months.

 

[DMickey28]

I give one to my DS every other day. He could use it everyday since he likes to rub his food in his hair but he recently started trying to crawl out of the tub. I don't have the energy to fight him everyday for it!

 

[ReggieB]

DS7 had eczema. He gets spots of it all over his body. His dermatologist told us I should not be letting him bath everyday, or even shower. DS was thrilled. He is only allowed a max of two a week (he usually showers rather than baths) I can wash his hair ever day if I want, and obviously he can wash his hands and face.

 

[1rockinmamato2]

Last winter, when my kids were in daycare, our peditrician recommended that I strip the kids and give them a bath every day when we got home. He believed that it could drastically cut down on the germs brought into the home. I did just that, not only because of the germs, but the kids played hard at daycare. I also liked doing it when we got home because that would be one less thing we had to worry about before bedtime.

Now that I'm a SAHM for a while, the kids get a bath about twice a week. They just aren't sweating and getting grimey. My son has eczema too and I've heard conflicting opinions where some doctors believe an everyday bath helps to keep the skin moisturized if something is use to lock in the moisture afterwards (like Aquaphor).

I sure don't miss giving them a bath every day. The time it takes to give two little ones a bath plus the laundry it generates with towels and wash cloths is amazing.

But, I'm probably not the best person to be asking about this because I recently got blasted here on the DIS by some folks who thought it was nasty that I let my kids pee more than once in their diapers before changing them. Heehee!

 

[kt_mom]

DD4.5 takes a bath everyother day. Sometimes during winter every third day. Except the day she has swimming lessons she takes a bath that night no matter what. In the summer they are more frequent becuase she plays outside more.

 

[mjkacmom]

My 5 year old twins, 6 year old dd, and 11 year old dd take showers every other day, while my 9 year old ds has been taking daily showers for at least a year. He is active, and stinky!

 

[My2Cinderellas]

In the winter my girls take a shower 3x a week - DD9 has dance Monday and Wednesday, so needs one those evenings, and then either Saturday evening or Sunday morning before church. DD7 follows the same schedule just to make it easier, she also has dance on MOndays.

both girls, especially the youngest, have dry skin in the winter. there is no need to make it worse with daily showers just yet.

 

[freckles and boo]

Every day is overkill for little kids (unless they are really filthy). In the summer we usually do a quick "hose down" in the tub if we don't have time for a full bath. Baths actually kind of gross me out anyway because kids are just marinating in their own dirt. I am happy mine are finally willing to take showers.

 

[mjkacmom]

Every day is overkill for little kids (unless they are really filthy). In the summer we usually do a quick "hose down" in the tub if we don't have time for a full bath. Baths actually kind of gross me out anyway because kids are just marinating in their own dirt. I am happy mine are finally willing to take showers.

My kids all switched from baths to showers by the age of 4 - much easier!

 

[CEDmom]

My DD8 doesn't take a shower/bath every day except for summertime. With the cold weather we're having she's not outside much so she showers or takes a bath about 4 times a week. In the summer she needs one every day because of clorine and sunscreen. The rest of the year it depends on what she's doing. I smell her head frequently to judge whether she's getting ripe .

 

[paintnolish]

We're on an every other day schedule here, unless they get particularly dirty or sweaty (summer).