How often do you bath/shower your kids?

LegacyUser

Can I ask how often you bath or shower your children?

I have a 7yr old boy. When he was newborn, I bathed him every night, mainly to help him sleep (not that it worked!!)...as he got older, he has a bath on saturday nights and a shower during the week. He washes his hands/face etc every morning before school.

My friend - who is a clean freak anyway - insists her 7 and 9yr olds shower every morning before school, shower after football practice (2 nights a week) bath on saturday and bath or shower on sunday. I was amazed when I heard this. Surely 7yr olds don't need showers every day??? Or am I just a very bad mam?? How often do you shower/bath your kids?

deisemum

When my lads were younger it may have been twice a week in the winter and more often in the summer if they'd been out playing and getting sweaty or mucky.

I do recall some report where a doctor said that a lot of children are having too many showers/baths and it's stripping the natural oils in their skin and how it's contributing to an increase in eczema in children.

I know when I was a child you had a bath once a week usually on Saturday nights and I don't remember anyone having eczema, not saying that some didn't have it, it just wasn't as prevalent as it is now where so many children suffer from it.

From talking to friends most of us went through a stage when it was a bit of a battle to get our children into a bath/shower especially when the hormones started kicking in at around 8 or 9 years of age and the smell of BO would knock a horse.

Fortunately when they start getting interested in girlfriends/boyfriends all that changed and they take lots of showers and then you're choking on a cloud of Lynx

racso1975

3yr old and 10 month and bath every night unless we have been swimming and they got showered after that

Life is bad enough when you grow up without having your younger days ruined by a daily shower when you are 7 or 8 or younger in my opinion.

Gloomtastic!

Used to be nightly but now it's once a week.

CrazyRabbit

Twice per week should be sufficient for a 7 year old. And of course a shower after any major physical activity.

Too much showering will damage the skin by removing natural oils which protect it.

LegacyUser

Phew! That's what I was hoping - I was begining to think i was a very bad parent! Obviously, I shower him if he's mucky but the routine would be bath on saturday night and shower midweek.

I agree that life is hard enough without having to shower a 7yr old every morning before school. One of her kids is a girl and has to have the long hair blow-dried every morning before school too - there's not a hope I would get my son into a shower before school - I can barely get him out of bed!

I know when puberty kicks in it will be a different story.

Racso1975 you bath your two every night???? I used to bath him more when he was younger - as part of his bedtime routine alright but that stopped long before he was 3.

fiona stephanie

I have 2 girls aged 9 and 6 and a 1 year old
The 1 yr old gets a bath every second night.
The girls have bath once a week, and a shower once a week! They wash there hands, face and teeth twice daily!

cynder

Boys age 4 and 5 a bath once a week during winter, more during the summer, 11 year old showers once maybe twice a week.

Wantobe

Twice a week for our two also. When I was a child it was once a week and I used to hide behind the sofa hoping my mother would forget me and not wash my hair ( there were 6 of us). Unfortunately she could count.:mad:

I bathe our two twice as they both have dry skin and the younger one gets small patches of eczema sometimes and I use a special emollient in the bath which soothes her skin.

Cat Melodeon

My 18 month old gets a bath once a week, extra if he's been in the flowerbeds or had a very mucky nappy. He's getting good at washing his own hands - I got him a step so he can reach the bathroom sink - we do hand washing before every meal, other bits & teeth in the morning & evening. It's a great habit. I don't think a bath every night is good for their skin. Having a set night-time routine is essential but that doesn't have to include a bath.

mohawk

My 18month old has eczema so he gets a bath around twice a week the day depends on how mucky he has managed to get himself and how much food he has put in his hair .

too much washing is bad for the skin.

kelle

My oldest child had a bath every day until he reached 1 year old, when he developed a fear of showers/baths! This lasted for months, I had to use wipes to clean him!
Then no.2 arrived and by then my oldest child was back to loving baths so they had a bath twice weekly. And that's the way it's been since even after no.3, they all get bathed/showered twice weekly.

Mr Magners

mohawk wrote: »

My 18month old has eczema so he gets a bath around twice a week the day depends on how mucky he has managed to get himself and how much food he has put in his hair .

too much washing is bad for the skin.

That's amazing, our little lady has had chronic eczema since she was 3 months. She's now 2 and the only thing that keeps her skin under control is an emulsifying bath twice a day every single day. If we don't she gets really itchy and is extremely unhappy.

Sorry, my answer is twice a day every day.

face2face

Our three boys have a bath every night - part of bedtime routine since they were all born. All have beautiful skin.

stovelid

2.5 year old and 6 month old. Usually about twice a week.

rylie

mohawk wrote: »

My 18month old has eczema so he gets a bath around twice a week the day depends on how mucky he has managed to get himself and how much food he has put in his hair .

too much washing is bad for the skin.

Same in our house, if he's left to his own devices most of the yoghurt pot ends up in his hair!

Dades

This thread has cheered me up no end!

I too had those guilty feelings after hearing other people going on about their bathtime/bedtime routine for their kids.

Don't they know they're stripping the moisture from the kids' skin?!

Khannie

I'd say an average of 3 times a fortnight for the 4 year old and baba (unless there's some kind of "incident" ).

implausible

Khannie wrote: »

I'd say an average of 3 times a fortnight for the 4 year old and baba (unless there's some kind of "incident" ).

Had to laugh at this, it's the same in our house. I'd like to say twice a week, but it rarely happens!:D

pickarooney

Bath or shower about 4 times a week for both ours (3.5 and 1.5), depending on what they've being doing. They love the bath so it's as much for fun as cleanliness.

nesf

Once a week for both, 1 year old and 4 year old. Really don't see the need for more frequent baths than this.

silja

Same as most people here, about once a week (3 year old twins and one year old), with face washed daily. Of course here in the USA I am considered weird for not making them bath/ shower daily.

m'lady

I have a 10 year old girl and she would shower/bath about twice to three times a week, like a lot of posters I also was feeling guilty that it wasn't enough, but she is such a pain to get into the shower/bath that sometimes its not worth it.

I am hoping as she is getting a bit older she will actually want to have a shower, but then again I will probably be raging then with her for using all the hot water! Poor kids they really cant win!


P.S. What is a good persuasive technique for me is telling her I will give her a little 'facial' in the bath, as she is getting older she obviously wants to appear more grown up etc., so I pretend its like a spa treatment and she loves it!

cbyrd

12 year old will shower 3/4 times a week 8 year old 2/3 times and 13month old was once a fortnight cos he had very dry skin.. now about twice a week cos he's a bit better. too much washing encourages cradle cap in babies and dries out their skin..

Redpunto

Once a week - if they start to smell before that Id quickly hose them down

Birdie086

my son 4, has a bath on a sunday with the trauma of hair washing, extra ones during the summer when he comes in manky from playing outside. The trauma of hairwashing is reserved for once a week though, both our nerves couldnt take any more than that.

crosstownk

6 & 4 year old. Twice a week. Maybe 3 or more in summer if they are sweaty or after activity.

Back in the day it was me and the brother in the bath once a week.

Khannie

deemark wrote: »

Had to laugh at this, it's the same in our house. I'd like to say twice a week, but it rarely happens!:D

Hehe. We had an "incident" tonight. (bath too!)

LegacyUser

Birdie086 wrote: »

my son 4, has a bath on a sunday with the trauma of hair washing, extra ones during the summer when he comes in manky from playing outside. The trauma of hairwashing is reserved for once a week though, both our nerves couldnt take any more than that.

OP here - so I'm not that different after all!!

Can I ask you about the hair-washing, particularly for those of you with older kids than mine.

From day one, he has hated water over his head - so he hates the shower. I've used those visor things (not sure what they're called, but like the peak of a baseball cap) so that the water doesn't get into to eyes. In the bath, I still get him to lie back while I wash his hair so he doesn't have that water going over his face affect. Even now, if he's having a shower, he'll stand with his head as far away from the water as possible, while still trying to wash himself and nine times out of ten, it ends with me taking the shower in my hand and just rinsing out the shampoo...he goes into hysterics sometimes with this sensation of water getting in his eyes and down his fact.. he's almost eight. At what age do they feel ok just standing under a shower and letting the water run over their face???

And yes, I've tried goggles, the cap, a shower cap and many other ideas but none seem to work. thanks.

Morag

I had that with mine and from the age of 5 would get them to hold a folded face cloth on thier forehead/over thier eyes so that the water would not go over thier eyes, and then I would 'play' with them flicking water at them in the kitchen when I was at the sink and that was seen as Mammy being silly and they didnt' connect it to being in the bath/shower and eventually they gave up on the facecloth.

Das Kitty

unregistered wrote: »

OP here - so I'm not that different after all!!

Can I ask you about the hair-washing, particularly for those of you with older kids than mine.

From day one, he has hated water over his head - so he hates the shower. I've used those visor things (not sure what they're called, but like the peak of a baseball cap) so that the water doesn't get into to eyes. In the bath, I still get him to lie back while I wash his hair so he doesn't have that water going over his face affect. Even now, if he's having a shower, he'll stand with his head as far away from the water as possible, while still trying to wash himself and nine times out of ten, it ends with me taking the shower in my hand and just rinsing out the shampoo...he goes into hysterics sometimes with this sensation of water getting in his eyes and down his fact.. he's almost eight. At what age do they feel ok just standing under a shower and letting the water run over their face???

And yes, I've tried goggles, the cap, a shower cap and many other ideas but none seem to work. thanks.

Does he do swimming lessons? I know that's what changed it for me when I was a child. There's also a special rinsing cup you can get in mothercare with a flexible edge that you can rest against the child's forehead.

By the way OP, if you would like to post here regularly and not have to go through the unregistered post approval process signing up takes only a minute

we'llallhavetea_old

my daughter has a bath every second night or more, she loves them so no problems

Penny Dreadful

unregistered wrote: »

OP here - so I'm not that different after all!!

Can I ask you about the hair-washing, particularly for those of you with older kids than mine.

From day one, he has hated water over his head - so he hates the shower. I've used those visor things (not sure what they're called, but like the peak of a baseball cap) so that the water doesn't get into to eyes. In the bath, I still get him to lie back while I wash his hair so he doesn't have that water going over his face affect. Even now, if he's having a shower, he'll stand with his head as far away from the water as possible, while still trying to wash himself and nine times out of ten, it ends with me taking the shower in my hand and just rinsing out the shampoo...he goes into hysterics sometimes with this sensation of water getting in his eyes and down his fact.. he's almost eight. At what age do they feel ok just standing under a shower and letting the water run over their face???

And yes, I've tried goggles, the cap, a shower cap and many other ideas but none seem to work. thanks.

Have you tried Vaseline on his eyebrows? Like your son I hated water getting near my eyes when I was a child and my mum tried this. It stopped the water running into my eyes but went down the side of my face near my ears instead and it was as good a compromise as could be reached.

xxfelix

My 3 gets showers twice a week......:)

caseyann

HAHAHA for my nieces and nephews and friends kids.Its when they can get them in a bath or shower lol
So long as they are loved clean and fresh and fed and taken care you are a great mom op.
I believe showering everyday and bathing everyday reduces sweat and clogging pour which is bad for skin and health.Also as someone else pointed out we were bathed once a week or when we got mucky and didnt make us less hygienic or unhealthy.

Loopy

I bath my 4 yr old and 9 yr old every second night.

When I say bath, I mean they are thrun in, hair washed and let mess about for half an hour while I read the latest Jackie Collins novel.
When they are sufficiently wrinkled they are done.

Kildrought

When mine were that age, I'm pretty sure they had a bath every night.

As they got older and were able to shower themselves, I left them at it, but I think they would have showered at least three times a week or every second day.

Then when the girlfriends/boyfriends come on the scene you can't get them out of it!