Letting your kids skip baths...

[freckles and boo]

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

It is easier and my seven-year-old only wants showers now. I do, however, let my younger daughter soak and play in the tub before I rinse her off in the shower. She would rather be in water than anywhere else.

 

[disykat]

My kids didn't bathe daily until they hit the pre-puberty stinky hair phase - around 11.

 

[mamamary]

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

same here

 

[freckles and boo]

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 .

Oh my goodness!!! What is that funky head smell??? My seven-year-old gets it, too. No stinky pits, no stinky feet, but the top of her head sometimes reeks!!!

 

[tmarquez]

Eeek! Trust me...none of you would want to be around DD(5) unless she takes a shower everyday. We've been known to call her "pigpen"...she thinks that's hilarious.

 

[CEDmom]

Oh my goodness!!! What is that funky head smell??? My seven-year-old gets it, too. No stinky pits, no stinky feet, but the top of her head sometimes reeks!!!

I know, it's gross. DD was starting to have that smell a little this morning but she went to school w/o a shower. They did some hands on science experiments today so I knew she'd need one tonight anyway.

 

[slo]

My girls will be taking a shower Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week

If it's one thing I love about winter - it's not having to give the girls a shower everyday

 

[Terry36]

Usually every night during the week because of PE @ school and Gymnastics on Tues/Thurs but if we are home all weekend she does not take a bath until Sunday!

 

[SamIAm21]

Two baths and one shower per week in the winter. Usually 2 baths and five showers a week in the summer. Hairwashing is only once or twice a week because DD has dry hair that can get way too frizzy if overwashed.

 

[mamacatnv]

DD showers & washes her hair every other day.
She spends about 45 minutes in there so I figure she is taking 2 days worth of shower at the time.

 

[KirstenB]

Our 9 yr old bathes everyday. Last year, I noticed her hair was nasty unless she washed it everyday. We have the same (unfortunately) thin hair, and it gets icky fast. Our youngest, who's 2 1/2 has eczema, so I only bathe her twice a week.

 

[CruiserMom2096]

Oh my goodness!!! What is that funky head smell??? My seven-year-old gets it, too. No stinky pits, no stinky feet, but the top of her head sometimes reeks!!!

Yep, my DD9 gets that too. If she plays outside, even if it's cold and she doesn't sweat, when she comes in I can smell her stinky head! I've always wondered if it was just my DD.

And for the record, she normally gets a bath every other day in the winter. If she has "stinky head", she gets one that day for sure! In the summer, it's usually every day, with sweating, swimming, and sunscreen.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

My dd is kind of a neat freak so she never gets overly dirty for the most part. I pin her hair back while she is eating to avoid getting food in her hair and we always wash her after meals. However, she does not get a bath every night unless she needs it. She does go to daycare so she gets baths more now than she did before starting daycare due to germs but still doesn't get one every night.

 

[Amapola]

I'll be the lone dissenter here and say that I'd never heard of (adults or kids) not bathing/showering every day. I don't have (living) children, but I grew up with a lot of cousins and I know many people with children, and I've never known anyone who doesn't!

 

[sunlover13]

When outside play is involved, DD gets a bath every night.

In the winter when no outdoor play is involved, every other night.

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

I'll be the lone dissenter here and say that I'd never heard of (adults or kids) not bathing/showering every day. I don't have (living) children, but I grew up with a lot of cousins and I know many people with children, and I've never known anyone who doesn't!

Well, you've heard of it now! LOL...about 30 posts.

Or...are DISers just a disgusting bunch??? Maybe!

I gotta tell ya, I was sooo relieved to read this thread. I was kind of scared I was gonna get flamed!

 

[Amapola]

Well, you've heard of it now! LOL...about 30 posts.

I know! I learn something new every day on the DIS

 

[mrsv98]

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.

DD has excema and is very prone to dry out so in the winter she gets a bath twice a week unless particularly stinky. It took a long time for me to get used to it because I can't stand to go more than every other day but for her skin it is so much better.

The other added bonus is that I have read in more than one place that lice only like really clean hair so I just remind my self of that when I get skivved out!

 

[MoniqueU]

I was told by my ped to give a bath every other day due to skin issues. Now that my oldest 2 have hit puberty they pretty much take a shower every day but my youngest does every other day.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

DS11 showers every night if it is a school night. On Fridays I let him skip it because he doesn't have PE and doesn't get gross at school. If he manages to slip by without a shower on Saturday night I usually make him shower Sunday morning.

Little ones (preschoolers) who don't get gross can probably get by with 4 times a week or so in the winter.