OT: How often does your toddler have a bath?

[las3888]

Our 13 month old gets a bath probably 1-2x a week only. Often it is a shower with his dad instead of a bath. We do use alot of wipes for touch-ups though...this is his first summer where he is actually mobile, and with that it might get more frequent.

 

[sassymom]

We generaylly do every other night unless they really need one. During the summer it winds up being every night though.

Same with my DD5 and DS2. Wash cloths and baby wipes do the trick for faces and hands. It is one of their favorite times though! Shocking at how excited they get when they hear me say bath time. DS grabs his ducky and DD her squirt gun. They also make me wonderful bubble soup and coffee.

 

[shelleyz]

Once or twice a week. More in the summer. Bathtime can be a pain in the butt. DS5 used to hate the bath now he hates to get out, he could play in there for hours. Sometimes I have to add more hot water to make it warm again. DS6 gets in, gets washed up plays for a little bit then gets out. Then they whine when they get out because "I'm cold". LOL. Summers not so bad because they are not cold when they get out and doesnt matter if the water cools off., plus they get cooled down and they need it more in the summer.

 

[porterbl1]

Well we live in Louisiana so it is very humid. My DS2.5 and my DD7 take baths every night. They both get their hair washed (and blowdryed for DD) nightly. My DS usually takes a bath every morning as well.

Maybe living down here affects things. My kids get dirty within hours of a bath. They crawl and walk on the floor. Its humid so they sweat. Its usually warm so we are outside alot. They get food and oil in their hair when they eat. They are kids after all.

I get uncomfortable if we go more than a day w/o a bath. We go camping often and it is the hardest part. We actually have a solar shower .
Becca

 

[crisi]

I bet if people stopped dairy for 2 weeks in their homes, the incidence would plummet. I had eczema so bad I would wake up crying in the middle of the night (as an adult with a very high pain tolerance...had NO meds during labor, for example, or after my c-section)... I was on the anti-itch medication (oral) and just about everything topical you could imagine. I was in pain. Could not stop scratching, and had HUGE red, raised welts on my skin. Called out of work several times because I could not bear the pain.
Quit dairy, and have never, ever, ever had another patch of dry or itchy skin again. Found out later that dairy is a VERY common cause of eczema. My son will never consume dairy while living under our roof! (Dh is also dairy-free; we're going on 5 years now! )

In our case, its a combination of race (my son is Korean and Korean kids have notoriously dry skin), allergies (particularly to pet dander - the only symptom he has is eczema, but he breaks out when he goes over to his friends house or plays with our guinea pigs - we don't have cats anymore because of it), and Minnesota winters.

My son's isn't bad - if its managed. Fewer baths and moisterizer are easy.

But eczema is often an allergic reaction - to dairy or pet dander or something. If its manageable, there isn't really a huge reason to take the cheese of the pizza or get rid of the cat. We can handle the guinea pigs in our house - they are caged and he doesn't interact with them too much - the cats for us were a problem since they would sleep with him or sit with him.

 

[lecach]

DS is 15 1/2 mths old. He usually gets a bath 2 times a week - Wednesday and Saturday. When he is sick or especially dirty he will get a bath more often. The main reason for this schedule is that we get home around 5:15. DS eats dinner at 5:30 and usually goes to bed between 6:30 and 7. So there really isnt much time during the week to do a bath.

 

[Makdyn]

My dd 5 takes a shower every night and washes her hair every other night. DD2 takes a shower every other morning with me. In the summer every night.

 

[luvmyboys]

It's funny how much of a stickler I was for giving my oldest DS a bath every night when he was a toddler (and he is a neat-freak- NEVER dirty!) when w/ our 2nd DS, I am so much more laid-back.

He gets a bath 2-3 times per week, unless he has food in his hair or otherwise dirty. This will be his first summer "outside" so we might have to up the # a bit. However, he has extremely dry, sensitive skin, so we have to be a bit careful...

 

[Wickedmom75]

Another eczema family here. The 3 younger kids (DD10 DS8 aka Eczema king and DS5) get a shower about every 2-3 days more if they are dirty. The oldes DD11 aka Miss Puberty takes one every morning and if we are doing soft ball she takes one when she gets home from practice. We did cut out a lot of dairy for my DS8 but he still has patches on his cheeks and the inside of his elbows, i was told to limit his bath time. My cousins kids get a bath every night. Nice to know I am not the only one who is not an every nighter .

 

[zookeeper]

It sure is nice to know you're not alone! I'm always worried that I don't give the kids a bath often enough. I can manage 2-3 times a week, but with 5 kids it's really a pain!!! DH doesn't get home until 7:00 at night so, most nights, by the time I've finished feeding the kids I don't want to even think about baths. I found it works better for me to do baths in the morning before school/work because I've got more energy then and the kids know they can't be in too long.Honestly, it can be like a little assembly line sometimes! It's exciting for them when they get to have a "playing" bath.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Ditto to a lot of others: Due to ecsema and dry skin, it's every other day for us, except during summer or they're really dirty.

 

[Kahana-ri]

DS takes a bath everyone other night. Unless, he and his three buddies from school decide to roll around in the wood chips and dirt at school. I swear they compete to see who can get the dirtiest.

 

[WeLuvDisney05]

I've read about quite a few of you on this thread who have children with eczema. It seems that most of you try not to give baths that often (I've heard that before & heard that is what's best) But my dd, on the other hand, her skin seems to be better when I give her a bath at least once a day! Anyone else do the same? My dd has had this problem (eczema) for 4 1/2 years! (From 2 until now....she's 6 1/2) What do you all use? I have tried Everything under the sun! I have had many recomendations on what to try and unfortunately not much seems to work.....Right now we are using aquaphor at least 2x's a day, zurtec in the am, medicine to calm her with itching at night, "steroid cream" for flare ups, night time bath's...that has helped the best out of everything that we've tryed, so far....I do Hate to give her all of these meds (and so there are many times when I just don't....Only aquaphor 2-3 x's/daily & bath). I wonder if there is a better way (one that I haven't discovered yet). Her Dr. says that she will probably grow out of it. Believe it or not it has gotten better....there aren't as many spots where she "flares up". Somedays are better than others & some days are still Sooooooo Bad! I feel terrible for her....it's frustrating for her & for me But Mostly I feel bad For Her....she asks why God made her skin this way & also asks why can't she have skin like her sister?. I can't wait until the day when we will no longer have to deal with this but I don't know it seems like that time will never come! Sorry to go on & on....maybe I should've posted a new thread. I just happened to notice that many of you deal with this as well & Well It All Just Came Out!

Any Advice??

~Kristi

 

[Alex2kMommy]

DS5's eczema is gone right now. Not sure if it's because the doc told us to change the bath soap, or he's outgrowing it, or if it's seasonal (it seems to get worse in summer, is that typical?) We used to use Dial, but the doc said that is too harsh, so to use Dove or something else more mild. When it was really bad we also had to use the steroid cream, but thankfully we haven't had to use since about September. Here's hoping it's because he's outgrowing it!

 

[Nikel]

My ds has ezcema too, but it only flares up in the winter. In the cooler months, they get baths twice a week, unless they need one more frequently. In the warmer months, usually every other day because the get dirtier and sweatier.

 

[1of6]

It's nice to see that I'm not the only one around with "dirty" kids. I shoot for 3 times a week but we end up with only 2 most weeks. DH get home 6:30-7. We eat and by the time we are done around 7:30 it is time to get the 3 younger ones ready for bed.

I have no idea how to sqeeze it in. Any ideas out there?

 

[R4racing]

We are another 2 times a week family, more if needed, although in the winter we have been pretty good about just 2 times. Just recently have the older 2 decided that it is fun to get in the bath, they have never wanted to get out once they get in. I'm not looking forward to summer, since my 1yr old has just discovered the joy that we grown-ups call the sandbox.

 

[Disbound]

I don't know how I got to this thread but I did read it and have to reply... I have one daughter, who is now 8, and she has had very dry skin from day 1. A trait she had passed down from me...lucky for her! Anyway, when she was a baby, my pediatrician suggested every 3 days with a very soft soap..not Ivory !!! Of course you wipe faces and bottoms etc as needed but a full bath is not only not needed but may aggrivate the exema or dry skin. Bag Balm is a natural (although greasy) treatment for irritated spots...but seriously, overwashing is certainly drying to babies skin. A quick wash is definatly better if your child has dry skin... you can still apply the great smelling baby lotions!