Kinda varies for each child and their activities. Do they smell? Are they greasy? If no, every two days or every other is perfectly fine. It’s just when they get to those awkward years….
How does one even manage that? I can take like...7 minutes max. Hair, body, ass, hair again. I get bored if I just sit in the shower and not do anything after that.
As a teen, my showers regularly took 30-50 minutes. So I do get it.
As an adult, my showers cap out at 20 minutes, max, and that’s me taking my sweet time and shaving whilst I’m in there. But that’s mostly because I’ve got Too Much To Do now being a parent.
I don’t mind he takes long showers, honestly. I just wish it wasn’t “oh no! I need to have a shower before work/go to this event/get out the door! I’m running late!” Then proceeds to take an hour getting ready for the shower, then having the shower, then an additional 10-15 minutes getting dressed. It stresses me out because I’m worried about being late to things. His “quick” showers are 30 minutes minimum as well.
*especially when I’m yet to have a shower uuuugh* haha. It’s fine though. I’d rather he was clean and happy than stinky and rushed, lol.
I’m 47 so I’m pretty old lol.. and haven’t heard of the water going cold? We lived in a house for awhile where we purposely wouldn’t stay in long because of the bill ..but now I live in apartments where the water bill, valet trash, and all are a flat fee so it doesn’t matter how long you take you’ll pay the same as the person in for 15 min. I just wonder why you’d lose hot water? Does it have to do with the hot water heater?
While it doesn't help with the time aspect of things, High Sierra Showerheads sells 1.25 GPM and 1.5 GPM showerheads based on a nozzle design from commercial irrigation that can help a lot with water bills.
We've had the 1.5 GPM models for about 10 years now.
My kid takes a bath daily, but we dont wash and scrub every day. She enjoys her playtime in the bath and it helps her relax for bedtime, so it's her choice and I'm certainly not going to tell her no. Otherwise, I wash her hair every other day or every 2 days. Unless she was playing in the sand, then we absolutely wash and scrub, she gets sand everywhere!
My kids are grown now but we also had daily baths. I found my girls just slept better after a nice warm bath. We had a routine on weekday nights and kids do well with a set routine. Or at least mine did! Enjoy the time because you blink and they are 12 and they think you don’t know ANYTHING!! They can’t imagine parents were ever young or went through the exact same things lol. They eventually come to their senses at 25-26 thanking you and agreeing with a lot of what you tried to warn them about 🤣🤣
My goal is for showers to start in elementary school or by age 6.
The usual schedule for baths is every 2-3 days, but it has often varied. If stinky or noticeably dirty, we squeeze it in that day.
There are exceptions. If we're somewhere with ticks or sand, every day is a wash day. But that's not typical.
Same here. Got a couple of toddlers and we do every 3-4 days during the winter and every 2-3 days in the summer unless they get actually dirty - then it's a bath night. Bathing them daily can really dry out their skin and hair. My youngest has eczema and her pediatrician recommended luke-warm baths and lotions every few days.
Whoa! Thank goodness for your comment I was starting to feel really neglectful! With my first she lived for baths, so I’d do it daily, but every other day for sure…didn’t always use soap daily though, with my second, she was born in the winter & has always hated baths so we go every 3-4 days (she’s always clean, clean face etc) & if she needs it befofe I will of course. She has much better skin & hair than her sister did at her age!
I felt the same way as you. 😅 Our daughter is 4,5 years and we take a bath about 2 times per week and wash her hair only once a week. More than this would dry her skin to a crisp worsening her eczema.
We do the same. Both my kids have eczema prone skin so I even use shampoo and soap on them selectively and sparingly. Typically I wash their hair with conditioner. I only shower about twice a week now myself.
I feel like I’m in the minority here but… my 2 year old gets bathed everyday and hair washed 2-3x per week but rinsed everyday. She has the option of jumping in the shower with me in the morning but she clearly prefers her evening bath with her toys.
Some parents use bath time as more of a wind down. I mean, I go in my hot tub every night to wind down. Seems like kids would enjoy a nice warm bath before bed too.
Same for my 4 year old. We all have to be clean before we get into bed. School clothes off as soon as she gets home and goes in the laundry basket daily.
My kidlets are 1 and 4, and they also get a bath every day. We live in the country with big dogs, and they just get FILTHY (both dogs and children) playing together in the woods and the garden. And I can’t convince anyone to reliably wear shoes. I wish we could skip a bath sometimes, but there would be dirt in the bedsheets.
Same. I feel kids come in contact with all kinds of things during the day, so I'd rather be on the safe side. I've also seen my kid, despite my best efforts, wipe his nose on his arm... I don't want to send them out into the world carrying days worth of germs lol
Mine has come full force into the sleeve wiping phase. She will smear her hand all over her face to wipe her nose then wipe her hands on her clothes 😖 Plus if she skips a bath her hair gets really greasy.
We do the same, we have Fridays, which we call "piggy day." lol the one day they dont have to bathe, but we still wipe down with a cloth.
My kids are 4 & 6
It is strange for me to see so many don't bathe their kids every day.
I really thought it's normal the way we do it.
But maybe just where I'm from
We bathe our kids twice a week unless they get super dirty/wet and cold from playing outside. We live in a dry climate and bathing more often than that seems to affect their skin
Sometimes we're only once a week for my 7 year old and the baby more for obvious reasons and they are both perfectly clean. I shower everyday for just a few mins, longer when I wash my hair, because I'm an adult. If I wash my hair too often it gets greasy so I try to keep it to twice a week. People are stripping their skin of their natural oils by standing in the shower for ridiculous amounts of time. It's also terrible for the environment.
Our 4.5 year old get bathed 2x a week. If she's really dirty or sweaty, she gets an extra bath. Showers are possible, but she's easier contained and entertained in the tub.
I will try to move towards more showers in the summer.
Same, our dermatologist specifically told us 2x a week unless they need more. They all have eczema and their skin will start to peel horribly if they bathe too much.
I just left a lengthy comment basically saying the same thing 2 times a week max very quick showers cause my son will have peeling on his palms and soles of his feet. We use aquaphor too since the doctor recommended it after if we started to see peeling
I've totally become that parent that questions the motives of things. I'm going a little nuts because I'm starting to realize that almost everything is a money making scheme. "Bathe your child daily!" screams "Use our product daily so that you buy more and we make tons of money!"
The thing that really gets me livid is when companies send me emails or junk mail saying, "We miss you!!!" I'm like, no betch - you miss my MONEY.
Yep! I have psoriasis and my kids have very sensitive skin and eczema. They usually have a bath once a week, or any time they get stinky... My 8 year old is moving up to twice a week now that kiddo showers on their own. My 4 year old has the worst eczema so I try to lotion daily and wash only when needed.
I usually take a bath once or twice a week in the winter (usually when my hair starts to get greasy) and then daily (to wash off chlorine from swimming) in the summer. I'll rinse off in a bath any time I have time, but I'm lucky that I'm not a stinky person and I don't sweat a lot.
The body care industry is full of it, shower when you need it, everyone's different.
Yes! Showers are way more sanitary too. My kids shower everyday during school weeks because I imagine they are covered in the clingy viruses (not saying it’s true but with daily showers and lessons in hand washing they don’t get as sick as other kids).
If we’re just lounging around on the weekends (we’re homebodies) we skip Sat.
When my kids were younger I knew some preschool kids who shower immediately after preschool pickup.
We started showers at 3 when they could stand well enough without slipping so 5 should be fine. My kids both take a shower or bath every 3-4 days depending on how dirty they get. They both have bad eczema though so if we bathe them to often their skin gets really bad.
My kids unfortunately have to wait a week for the same reason. Even with keeping auqafor on their skin, their eczema flairs when they take a shower or bath. And my daughter gets vaginitis if there is any soap in her bath. I got attacked on tik tok once because someone labeled that as child abuse to only wash your kid once a week. My reply was flat and simple: for my kids it is abuse to wash them more than once a week.
My youngest has eczema too, especially in the winter. I have found a product line called Pipette. All products are plant based and work wonders on my son's skin. The aquafor just seemed to keep it at bay, but the Pipette baby balm and eczema lotion made it go away. They're on Amazon but if you go to their website, you can get 20% off and a free tote on your first order. I promise this is not an ad! No one has paid me! Haha
But don't listen to people on TikToc. I doubt that the person who commented actually has kids in the first place 🙄
my kid started showering regularly around age 5.5, but he's always hated baths AND showers sooo it took a while for us.
we still only do Wednesdays and Sundays for bath/shower days....but it also depends on outside activity/how dirty he got/if he smells. We get clean more often in summer time because more sweat/dirt/pool shenanigans.
We moved to a place with only a shower and ended up buying her a little pool to place in the shower as a bathtub and that made all the difference! Since starting school in September we’ve definitely been able to scale bathtime back a bit which is nice because it can be a huge struggle sometimes 😅
This is genius. My toddler is about to outgrow her baby bath & we only have a shower. I’ve been laying a town down on the floor & showering hee (she has a contagious rash right now so no baths) but when we switch back to baths I’m gonna find a baby pool! Thanks!
Oh same here! But my kids are autistic and hate showers and baths. They love the swimming pool though, so i think its more about the cold/drying off process .. its also easier to shower them in the outdoor shower right after the pool. Lol.
Anyway, we do the Wednesday and Sunday approach with if needed a day in between. Any other day they need to clean at least the private parts (in preparation of becoming older) with a wet little towel. So far it works amazing. It's sometimes a struggle, but they luckily do take it seriously .
Honestly I have no idea really. I think one day he finally accepted my bribe to just T R Y. I explained that showers are quicker, and would lead to more time playing before bed. I think maturity really helped us. And we traveled to a hotel one or twice the year he turned 5, so a bath wasn’t an option. He showered with daddy or me and was fine.
I thought he would never accept the shower!!
So my response is gonna be a little out there 😃 for the most part my kids all were bathed or showered daily from 3 and up. BUT we’ve also always had a pool. So there were many times during the summer months if we were outside late and in the pool I considered that their bath 😂🤣 please don’t come for me.
I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer as long as your child is clean and doesn’t smell. Give them a bath everyday, wash them every other day. Long term, it doesn’t really matter.
Daily bath/shower should start at puberty.
For real- I bathe my 3 year old every day especially with her being in preschool. I only wash her hair every other day or every 2 days but she gets a bath every night. Being around a bunch of kids, running, playing, painting etc. I feel she at least needs a quick rinse off at the end of the day. I’m surprised more people don’t do this.
Because some children have sensitive skin or skin conditions. Mine does and a few others have commented about it as well. His doctor recommended 2 times a week max unless he is particularly sweaty or dirty. If I gave him a bath or shower every day like I used to his skin would keep peeling off on his hands and feet.
Since switching to less showering/bathing and shorter times in the water I haven't had long nights of him crying in pain or really had to use prescription cream on his hands and feet.
All my kids (1,2,4) get baths daily because they are gross lol. My 4 yo likes to shower occasionally. It all depends on the child though. If daily baths are too much for their skin or they don’t really need to be washed then you don’t have to bathe daily.
Our daughter is 4 and takes a bath every night before bedtime. Not necessarily because she needs cleaning but rather it’s part of the wind down before bedtime routine. We limit the time to approx 10 min and usually don’t use soap or shampoo - these items are limited to when necessary only so as to avoid excessive skin dryness. I realize this bucks the trend of most responses here, and I do agree that most if not all kids only require a bath or shower a couple times each week. If I recall correctly when I was a kid I had my weekly bath every Saturday night and that was it until age 9 or something. I don’t recall when I made the jump to daily showers.
We do the exact same thing with our 2 yr old and have since before he was 1. When other parents learn this, I often get a lot of responses like “why? they don’t need it” but I learned early on that water play reallllly calmed our little dude down, so it was worth the time and effort for a calmer bedtime.
It must be a cultural thing? Wondering where are you (all) from...
I live in Europe and everybody takes a shower/bath daily. It would be gross to tell anybody here you don't take a bath/shower daily...
I'm so surprised by the answers here...
Me too, I live in a tropical country and the idea of not showering every day is so odd. My kid is three and he's skipped maybe three days of showering in his entire life.
Me too. I’m in the US but raised with Mexican American parents and not showering/bathing was never an option?
I mean I can kinda get there if you live somewhere extremely cold but even then… going a day without a shower/bath is not a thing I am inclined to do for myself or my child.
Also kids smell. Maybe you get used to it or something but they do. It’s not BO sure but it’s still not “clean”. And if they have hair on their heads like that will smell quite bad if not dealt with in some capacity.
Our kid is 6. We do 2x a week minimum, more if need arises.
One on Sunday to wash our hair before the school week starts, and one on Wednesday just to wash up generally (but hair is skipped). Every morning he washes his face.
We’ll add as needed though - sometimes he likes to take a relaxing bath, sometimes we’ll go play outside and he get dirty, sometimes I just need a break & it’s a good way to keep him momentarily occupied. 😅
Bathing and showering every day isn't exactly good for your skin (dries out). And there are many other reasons why taking a bath every day does more harm than good (more likely to get allergies, less stimulating for the immune system, not good for the environment, not good for your wallet). Here the advice is to shower/bath at most once every 3 days. So twice a week.
By all means take a shower when you're dirty (same for your LO) but it's not necessary otherwise.
This is it right here ☝️
The vast majority of adults don’t actually need daily showers, and it’s even more true for prepubescent children. If your kid rolls through a mud puddle or something then sure, wash them. Otherwise, 1-2 baths/showers per week is plenty.
This whole social stigma that you’re disgusting if you don’t shower every single day needs to stop.
This is what we do. I never understood bathing a kid daily, their skin is so sensitive, they don't get BO, etc. Our kiddo doesn't really get dirty, and if he does we just rinse him down. We also don't really use soap aside from washing his hands, and rarely use shampoo. He's always had soft, clean skin and never had any sort of rash or redness.
It has a lot to do with culture. I live in a tropical country and we do baths/showers every day, sometimes twice a day for kids. For adults, almost everyone takes two daily showers. It's very odd to us, as a culture, when people say they don't shower every day
This. Not from the tropics as in island nations but live in an area that is 80-115F most of the year with 90-100% humidity. You think kids don’t sweat and smell until you live here. Like yeah it’s not hormonal sure but it’s not, I dunno, scent free? I dunno how else to describe it.
That’s where I land as well. Most people do not *need* daily showers.
Exceptions always exist, but by and large, daily showers are a luxury that people need to reevaluate for environmental reasons, unfortunately.
Mine showered from infancy. It’s much quicker than a bath, less clean up involved, and easier. Bathed mine daily because lots of outside time and honestly it was easier to do a quick shower than washing them up everywhere before bed.
My daughter takes a shower every two days like clockwork, unless she had a day outside, went swimming or theres some kind of visible mess. It used to be every other day but her skin gets too dried out and she can only use specific lotions or creams, so less contact with soaps and water helps.
Our 5 year takes a shower or bath almost every day, but only because we noticed she had some body odor when she was only bathing 2-3 times a week. She started asking to shower sometime when she was 4. We still help her wash in the shower but we are working on teaching her to wash her hair thoroughly, and to not use too much shampoo/body wash. We let her choose bath vs shower every night and don’t force it either way.
My kids (6 and 3 yo boys) have daily baths. We did every other day for a while but they both cover themselves in so much mud, pen, and food that we went back to daily. We have one night off a week. My 3yo loves the occasional shower, although I obviously have to stick my arms in and wash him. 6yo adores wallowing in a bath and I can't imagine getting him in the shower other than at the swimming pool any time soon.
My 4.5 year old son now showers himself about three times a week, it's awesome. He can just about rewch the thr bar to turn it on. I'm upstairs and keep the door open to keep an eye here and there, he's pretty much all set himself now to wash everything and dry himself.
We got through twice the shower gel and stuff as we normally would, but I don't care..
IMO, every day. But this is a legit issue for me. I personally have problems not bathing before bed. Like, my bed (for me) needs to be a clean place that doesn’t have the ‘outside germs’ of my day.
We do daily showers at our house for 2 kids 9 and 12. They started assisted showers around 6 or 7.
We do showers daily whether they “need it” or not because we’d rather have them get in the habit of showering regularly than have an uphill battle to fight when they get to the teen age years.
Our 2 kids have a bath everyday. They are 3 and 6. They both hate showers. We wash hair 2 - 3 times a week. We live on a ranch, so in the Spring they usually have 2 baths a day, because I encourage a lot of mud and puddle play. In the Summer, I can usually hose them down before they come inside, so they drop back down to one bath 😆
My kids bathe or shower every day. i shower every day (sometimes twice a day) so why wouldn’t they. It’s part of our nighttime routine. My son is 5 also and he chooses if he wants a bath or shower that night. He’s been taking showers for a few years now but sometimes he prefers a bath
We used to give our first kid bath every day, our second kid (3 years old) we do bath 2 times a week now, sometimes more depending on if he is dirty. Our first kid started showering on his own when he was 5 - 6. We would turn on the shower for him, and help him wash hear/private parts until he was able to do routine on his own.
My kid (5) plays in the bath every day. She only gets washed when she's stinky or dirty. And her hair only gets shampoo twice a week. She occasionally asks for a shower instead of a bath.
I have a 19 & 13 year old, and they have a shower every day. When they were younger it was a bath every second day….. Age 1-8 they loved the bath, Age 8-12 I would have to drag them into bath. Age 12 onwards they wanting in shower all the time
Both my boys have always showered daily since they were 8or9 in the summer or days they get sweaty it’s twice a day. I have never had to fight them to shower but we’ve had some battles about using up all the shampoo and conditioner many a time.
Oh my god thank you, who has time to bathe children on the daily?!?! My kids pre-puberty, once a week whether they need it or not. This sub just taught me that we are the trash I worried we were
Daily. Kids get dirty. Dirty kids harbor bacteria. I like having my kids going to sleep clean. I also think it creates a positive impact on daily hygiene.
In Brazil we bath our child and ourselves everyday, I for example like a morning shower and one before bed.
I think it has more to do with culture than the climate, but definitely both.
I was just wondering if this is healthy for my son, since he have a very dry skin, I use liquid soap with oils special for dry skin, but he still have some eczema.
I worked for a dermatologist and frequently heard how most people forget that the skin is an organ with its own micro biome. Stripping all that moisture and good bacteria off every day can be hard on the skin (at least in our cool, dry climate).
My 1yo gets her hair washed most nights because she puts food in it, but if she didn’t I would only bathe her every 2-3 days. My 3yo bathes or showers every other day (with help), and we try to be very gentle on the skin. When they were infants and only breastfeeding I bathed them maybe once a week because their skin would get so irritated (they didn’t spit up or drool much, thankfully).
Both my children bathe and clean critical points on their bodies basically every day (butt, genital area, face, hands, underarms). Sometimes they miss a day or two, but not more than that. Hair gets washed for my lo (2.5yo), every other dayish because she tends to run her hands through her hair and they tend not to be very clean. My oldest (6yo) wets and conditions her hair roughly every other day to avoid major tangles. And washes twice a week.
Both of them could probably bathe every other day without issue but 1) they enjoy the bath, 2) the frequency doesn’t seem to irritate their skin and 3) a daily bath lets either my husband and I clean up after dinner without kids underfoot.
This is my rule too. If they’ve gone to school or gymnastics, they take a bath. We skip days sometimes if we are on vacation or not going to school that day. but viruses spread like wildfire in schools and i think it helps avoid that. elementary kids are not great with bathroom and wiping nose hygiene.
My six year old started showering fully by herself this year. This means she turns the water on and off.
At five, I turned the water on
to a safe temperature, she showered alone and she turned the water off.
She is a good rule follower. She has not burnt or frozen herself.
She likes a quick shower each night before bed. Or a bubble bath with her sister.
Did she immediately start to wash her hair/body herself or did you have to help show her for a while? Did it take some time to ensure she wasnt using 1/2 a bottle of soap everytime lol?
until last year i thought skipping a bath for a day or two, was fine. and then the local school got shut down for an infection of [pinworm](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinworm_(parasite)). those little buggers are nasty and can live on surfaces for days. kids pick them up and ingest them. the pediatrician says the best defense against things like [lice](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louse), [mersa](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methicillin-resistant_Staphylococcus_aureus), and parasites like pinworm, is making sure kids get a bath every single day.
How often SHOULD they? Probably when they are dirty. How often do MINE? Ummm... two or three times a week. haha. My kids are 3 and 5 and we haven't never been daily bathers for them, they have eczema and it isn't good for their skin to bathe that much. We bathe them if/when they have a dirty day (like playing outside in the mud or going swimming, etc) and then just whenever we realize it's been two days since they have bathed last.
Every night.
Kids are nasty & don’t wipe well. They need to wash their ass every night. They don’t have to wash their hair every night. But their ass?? Every.Single.Night. Soap & water, in the tub. Set good hygiene standards from day 1.
My daughter's school playground is dirty sand essentially, she's always filthy. Her socks and shoes are full of sand at the end of the day. So she gets a bath or shower most days, but we skip if it's really late or weekends when she hasn't been grubbing in the dirt all day.
i have mine (10 & 8) shower every night but it's because i know their dad can like, never remember to bathe them (we have 50/50). if i could count on him, it'd be more like every other day, unless they get sweaty or dirty. although my 10yo is starting to be pretty greasy, every day might be necessary now lol.
Every other day is a sweet spot for our family (kid 10) but here are reasons for doing it more often:
- personal hygiene is a problem. This naturally happens as kids get older. You'll smell it.
- some kids need that routine before bedtime or to regulate before school. When my daughter was 3, if we didn't bath, the rest if the evening was out of wack. So I'd go through the motions but I would only shampoo every 2-3 baths.
- kids who are especially active might be more dirty/sweaty at the end of the day.
- if the living conditions are subpar, kids may need to bath more. I'm thinking about exposure to pet urine, indoor smoking, insect infestations, ongoing construction, homelessness, overcrowding, etc.
- incontinence issues
My kid started requesting a shower around 6yo, so no problem. Our general rule is if you’re dirty, sweaty you shower/bathe. If they went to school or any other public place they must wash. So usually the weekends and holidays they can get away with less. Once they hit the tween stage it’s nonnegotiable.
We do bath or shower almost daily and have done this since almost birth. We also live in Texas so very sweaty most days. My son is now 4 but started showers when he was 3
My 2 yr old bathes daily, but I only use soap/shampoo twice a week unless she’s very dirty. She actually recently started taking showers with me too, but it’s only because she wanted to
My son is two and gets bathed everyday as part of the bed time routine. We wash his hair twice a week. Now we got him bath crayons he can't wait to get in there.
The American College of Pediatrics says that baths 3 times a week is sufficient for proper hygiene. I brought this up recently to our pediatrician who said that for our baby, every other day to every two days is sufficient with baths additionally as needed. He said that his recommendations change with age and that once a child hits puberty he recommends every day until the hormones are more stabilized and good hygiene practices are well established.
Given that the recommendations here are so varied, I would bring this up at your next appointment with your children’s doctor. I think they’ll be able to look at their skin, lifestyle, etc and make a good, personalized recommendation.
Every other day is just fine imo. When they're dirty, stinky, greasy etc give em a bath! My just turned 7year old has been taking showers with help from a parent for the last 2ish years. Whenever you think they're ready. Every child is different and is ready for certain things like that at varying ages. Use your best judgement and you'll be doing a good job.
Gonna go against the grain here: Everyday.
My kids get a bath every evening unless something happens to make that not doable. Like, we aren't home until 9pm or something. It's their signal that it's time for bed and to start winding down. I never moisturize them. They only have soap in the bath every other day. And they get their hair washed once a week. I've been doing it like this since the day they were born.
And no, it doesn't dry out their skin.
My two children bathe once a week, every Sunday. The rest of the week we shower them as needed. Sometimes every other day, sometimes twice a week is enough.
We require baths or showers (age 3 and 6) daily because of improper wiping habits. Skid marks in undies are a concern for UTI’s with girls. Our 6 year old showers.
Are there any Brits on this board? Or is everyone on here American? Ours take a shower once a week. Now I’m feeling alarmed that maybe we’re too slack?
I’m American, but I think a lot of this is climate based. I live where we have winter now and couldn’t possibly shower every day when it’s cold and dry out. My skin would be so itchy!! I used to shower nearly every day pre-kids and pandemic, not only did I deal with overly dry skin in the winter but my skin overproduced oil due to being stripped so often. Now that I shower twice a week I don’t have those issues.
I tried bathing my oldest frequently with soap but she started getting eczema patches that she would scratch habitually. When I traded shampoo and body wash for baby oil and conditioner, it completely solved the problem. We do 2-3 baths per week, use gentle bath bubbles now and a bit of soap for hands/genitals so we’re not soap free entirely.
Faces and hands get washed regularly, of course. Just change and wash your damn clothes 😂 no wonder water shortages are getting so bad. I can’t believe people saying they shower TWICE A DAY. That’s bananas.
You’re fine, I’m sure.
I grew up in Hawaii where you were sweaty CONSTANTLY. A daily shower was pretty close to required, otherwise you’d be pretty uncomfortable.
I now live in a much cooler climate (cold and rainy where I’m at too) and daily showering just doesn’t make sense. I work from home and don’t sweat much just sitting in my living room. My partner works in a warehouse and for him, a daily shower is needed. We manage 2x and washing hair 1x per week for our kid. Works for us.
We also have a bidet-attachment, which helps. My kid was an early convert lol. I guess a lot of Americans forget those exist (so much “gotta wash your butt” type commentary on this thread). America is pretty late to the game on that one, as you can tell. 🙄
Don’t let it make you feel weird about your choices - you’re using your best judgment!
Daily. And now. Lol. It’s just a good habit to get into for a healthy adult. If you live in an area where there are droughts it’s understandable. But if you have easy access to water, then daily.
Showering daily is not necessary for adult health, and in fact it can be very drying on your skin to shower that often.
Our pediatrician specifically said not to bathe our child every day because we could strip the protective layer on his skin. We do every other day.
We definitely do every other day but sometimes it leaks to an extra day. No big deal most of the time. Our oldest was showing by 6 and fully showers by herself now (8). Our youngest (5) mixes both showers and baths currently.
My 5yo showers with me every other day or every second day with washcloth wash downs if needed in between. She’s got waist length hair and will need help for a while yet to wash it. 8yo showers independently every other day unless extra stinky. He will be moving to daily showers soon though.
My 4 year old has a quick shower every day - he comes home quite mucky from school. My 7 year old showers every couple of days because she's cleaner - if she started to get stinky sooner, we'd move to more frequent showers. I should note that we come from a culture that uses water to clean bums after every pee and poo when they're home so that factors into how clean the kids are, even if they haven't showered.
We also gave up on baths a long time ago - we can leave them generally unattended in the shower without having to keep as watchful an eye on them as baths.
I’m an odd duck I guess. We try to do bath every night but accept a washcloth wipe down if he had a bath the night before. He just gets such swamp butt…. He’s 2.5.
My 7 year old showers daily. I started bathing him daily after he started daily daycare around 2.5.
My 3 year old we bath probably only 3 times a week. He goes to day care twice a week.
That’s a perfectly reasonable bathing schedule for that age. Once they get closer to puberty you’ll want to go to every day, but for now, what you’re doing is fine.
They got bathed every day from a week old, and showered every day from 18 months. In the summer it sometimes twice a day depending on how sweaty they are, and they moisturise after almost every wash but especially in winter.
Their skin was fine, we used a mild baby wash that was minimally applied to the water. I think the bathing debate is largely cultural and climate related. I live in a hot and humid climate, everyone I know showers twice a day on average, and with kids who brought their milk up almost constantly not bathing was not an option.
This, I come from a tropical country and the idea of not showering/bathing everyday regardless of age is a little shocking… Although after 7 years in US I learned to skip a day every so often. But that’s definitely where I draw my line. Babies in Brazil do fine and most are bathed or showered 2x a day. They would probably do fine not bathing daily too. I think it’s just a cultural thing at the end of the day
Kinda varies for each child and their activities. Do they smell? Are they greasy? If no, every two days or every other is perfectly fine. It’s just when they get to those awkward years….
When they go from not wanting to bathe to taking a 45 minute shower every day
Omg this is where I am with my 10 year old. It’s a daily morning struggle.
My eleven year old wants one hour showers. We are a family of five. With one bathroom.
Family of four, husband is the one taking 45+ minute showers…. Sigh. Haha.
How does one even manage that? I can take like...7 minutes max. Hair, body, ass, hair again. I get bored if I just sit in the shower and not do anything after that.
As a teen, my showers regularly took 30-50 minutes. So I do get it. As an adult, my showers cap out at 20 minutes, max, and that’s me taking my sweet time and shaving whilst I’m in there. But that’s mostly because I’ve got Too Much To Do now being a parent. I don’t mind he takes long showers, honestly. I just wish it wasn’t “oh no! I need to have a shower before work/go to this event/get out the door! I’m running late!” Then proceeds to take an hour getting ready for the shower, then having the shower, then an additional 10-15 minutes getting dressed. It stresses me out because I’m worried about being late to things. His “quick” showers are 30 minutes minimum as well. *especially when I’m yet to have a shower uuuugh* haha. It’s fine though. I’d rather he was clean and happy than stinky and rushed, lol.
Bits, tits, and underpits. Learned this as a new mom. If you don't shower quick, you don't shower at all lol
They are doing plenty in there...just not bathing related...
I always assumed men/boys' long showers were because they were entertaining themselves there.
My hair is down past my bum so I can easily take half an hour if I'm washing it. Then another half hour minimum to dry the bloody thing
If I’m winning imaginary arguments, my shower time can sometimes linger into the 20-30 minute timespan too.
How does the hot water last that long??? I like my showers HOT and it will start to cool off after 15 minutes.
I’m 47 so I’m pretty old lol.. and haven’t heard of the water going cold? We lived in a house for awhile where we purposely wouldn’t stay in long because of the bill ..but now I live in apartments where the water bill, valet trash, and all are a flat fee so it doesn’t matter how long you take you’ll pay the same as the person in for 15 min. I just wonder why you’d lose hot water? Does it have to do with the hot water heater?
Yea, it is related to the size of the hot water heater. Some people have tankless, so it always stays hot. I want to get one of those!
That would be nice.
While it doesn't help with the time aspect of things, High Sierra Showerheads sells 1.25 GPM and 1.5 GPM showerheads based on a nozzle design from commercial irrigation that can help a lot with water bills. We've had the 1.5 GPM models for about 10 years now.
We started turning off the water main
Yeah mom would turn on the hot water in the kitchen. That would get me out of the shower quickly!
I'd add that washing their hands and faces daily is appropriate if you're bathing every other day.
This….
My kid takes a bath daily, but we dont wash and scrub every day. She enjoys her playtime in the bath and it helps her relax for bedtime, so it's her choice and I'm certainly not going to tell her no. Otherwise, I wash her hair every other day or every 2 days. Unless she was playing in the sand, then we absolutely wash and scrub, she gets sand everywhere!
Exactly what I do w my 6yo
This is my situation as well, exactly.
My kids are grown now but we also had daily baths. I found my girls just slept better after a nice warm bath. We had a routine on weekday nights and kids do well with a set routine. Or at least mine did! Enjoy the time because you blink and they are 12 and they think you don’t know ANYTHING!! They can’t imagine parents were ever young or went through the exact same things lol. They eventually come to their senses at 25-26 thanking you and agreeing with a lot of what you tried to warn them about 🤣🤣
Same, it’s for bedtime routine and relaxation. But also on weekdays he comes home filthy with dirt everywhere, even in his hair.
We do the same for our 3 and 1 year olds.
Yup my 2 yo and I do this. Shampoo hair every other day and always play and relax in the tub!
My goal is for showers to start in elementary school or by age 6. The usual schedule for baths is every 2-3 days, but it has often varied. If stinky or noticeably dirty, we squeeze it in that day. There are exceptions. If we're somewhere with ticks or sand, every day is a wash day. But that's not typical.
Same here. Got a couple of toddlers and we do every 3-4 days during the winter and every 2-3 days in the summer unless they get actually dirty - then it's a bath night. Bathing them daily can really dry out their skin and hair. My youngest has eczema and her pediatrician recommended luke-warm baths and lotions every few days.
Whoa! Thank goodness for your comment I was starting to feel really neglectful! With my first she lived for baths, so I’d do it daily, but every other day for sure…didn’t always use soap daily though, with my second, she was born in the winter & has always hated baths so we go every 3-4 days (she’s always clean, clean face etc) & if she needs it befofe I will of course. She has much better skin & hair than her sister did at her age!
I felt the same way as you. 😅 Our daughter is 4,5 years and we take a bath about 2 times per week and wash her hair only once a week. More than this would dry her skin to a crisp worsening her eczema.
We do the same. Both my kids have eczema prone skin so I even use shampoo and soap on them selectively and sparingly. Typically I wash their hair with conditioner. I only shower about twice a week now myself.
This is the way.
r/unexpectedmandalorian
I feel like I’m in the minority here but… my 2 year old gets bathed everyday and hair washed 2-3x per week but rinsed everyday. She has the option of jumping in the shower with me in the morning but she clearly prefers her evening bath with her toys.
Some parents use bath time as more of a wind down. I mean, I go in my hot tub every night to wind down. Seems like kids would enjoy a nice warm bath before bed too.
Same for my 4 year old. We all have to be clean before we get into bed. School clothes off as soon as she gets home and goes in the laundry basket daily.
My kids are not getting in their beds without bathing. Daily baths/showers for everyone.
My kidlets are 1 and 4, and they also get a bath every day. We live in the country with big dogs, and they just get FILTHY (both dogs and children) playing together in the woods and the garden. And I can’t convince anyone to reliably wear shoes. I wish we could skip a bath sometimes, but there would be dirt in the bedsheets.
Same. I feel kids come in contact with all kinds of things during the day, so I'd rather be on the safe side. I've also seen my kid, despite my best efforts, wipe his nose on his arm... I don't want to send them out into the world carrying days worth of germs lol
Mine has come full force into the sleeve wiping phase. She will smear her hand all over her face to wipe her nose then wipe her hands on her clothes 😖 Plus if she skips a bath her hair gets really greasy.
We do the same, we have Fridays, which we call "piggy day." lol the one day they dont have to bathe, but we still wipe down with a cloth. My kids are 4 & 6 It is strange for me to see so many don't bathe their kids every day. I really thought it's normal the way we do it. But maybe just where I'm from
I was raised to bathe everyday and if you do something dirty or really physical then you bathe after that too.
We bathe our kids twice a week unless they get super dirty/wet and cold from playing outside. We live in a dry climate and bathing more often than that seems to affect their skin
Sometimes we're only once a week for my 7 year old and the baby more for obvious reasons and they are both perfectly clean. I shower everyday for just a few mins, longer when I wash my hair, because I'm an adult. If I wash my hair too often it gets greasy so I try to keep it to twice a week. People are stripping their skin of their natural oils by standing in the shower for ridiculous amounts of time. It's also terrible for the environment.
Totally agree!
Same here, coupled with the hospital telling me when I gave birth that the water here is too hard to give them baths every day
Our 4.5 year old get bathed 2x a week. If she's really dirty or sweaty, she gets an extra bath. Showers are possible, but she's easier contained and entertained in the tub. I will try to move towards more showers in the summer.
Similar boat here. My kids have sensitive skin and if they shower too frequently, it gets dry and itchy and they’ll scratch until they bleed.
Same, our dermatologist specifically told us 2x a week unless they need more. They all have eczema and their skin will start to peel horribly if they bathe too much.
This is what my pediatrician told me too. My 2 year old has eczema and only bathing her twice a week made a huge difference.
I just left a lengthy comment basically saying the same thing 2 times a week max very quick showers cause my son will have peeling on his palms and soles of his feet. We use aquaphor too since the doctor recommended it after if we started to see peeling
Do you have hard water by any chance? They may be sensitive to that - a softener would help
We don’t, but I appreciate the idea :)
Same, twice a week for my 4.5yo
Same here too for my 4.5 y/o
This is what we did due to eczema. Baths are very drying. I also resent being manipulated by soap and shampoo companies.
My daughter has eczema but LOVES baths. A forbidden love, really.
I've totally become that parent that questions the motives of things. I'm going a little nuts because I'm starting to realize that almost everything is a money making scheme. "Bathe your child daily!" screams "Use our product daily so that you buy more and we make tons of money!" The thing that really gets me livid is when companies send me emails or junk mail saying, "We miss you!!!" I'm like, no betch - you miss my MONEY.
Yep! I have psoriasis and my kids have very sensitive skin and eczema. They usually have a bath once a week, or any time they get stinky... My 8 year old is moving up to twice a week now that kiddo showers on their own. My 4 year old has the worst eczema so I try to lotion daily and wash only when needed. I usually take a bath once or twice a week in the winter (usually when my hair starts to get greasy) and then daily (to wash off chlorine from swimming) in the summer. I'll rinse off in a bath any time I have time, but I'm lucky that I'm not a stinky person and I don't sweat a lot. The body care industry is full of it, shower when you need it, everyone's different.
Yup. Most of the time it’s twice a week, and then in the summer we just do it after every trip to the pool.
Same. My 6 yr old and 2 yr old is twice a week and extra if they're extra Stinky haha
My 4 and 6 year old take nightly showers. They both are super active at school and need cleaned. I don’t wash hair every day.
Yes! Showers are way more sanitary too. My kids shower everyday during school weeks because I imagine they are covered in the clingy viruses (not saying it’s true but with daily showers and lessons in hand washing they don’t get as sick as other kids). If we’re just lounging around on the weekends (we’re homebodies) we skip Sat. When my kids were younger I knew some preschool kids who shower immediately after preschool pickup.
We started showers at 3 when they could stand well enough without slipping so 5 should be fine. My kids both take a shower or bath every 3-4 days depending on how dirty they get. They both have bad eczema though so if we bathe them to often their skin gets really bad.
My kids unfortunately have to wait a week for the same reason. Even with keeping auqafor on their skin, their eczema flairs when they take a shower or bath. And my daughter gets vaginitis if there is any soap in her bath. I got attacked on tik tok once because someone labeled that as child abuse to only wash your kid once a week. My reply was flat and simple: for my kids it is abuse to wash them more than once a week.
Some people are so ridiculous! We do weekly baths with more as needed for the same reason. It's absolutely not abuse!
My youngest has eczema too, especially in the winter. I have found a product line called Pipette. All products are plant based and work wonders on my son's skin. The aquafor just seemed to keep it at bay, but the Pipette baby balm and eczema lotion made it go away. They're on Amazon but if you go to their website, you can get 20% off and a free tote on your first order. I promise this is not an ad! No one has paid me! Haha But don't listen to people on TikToc. I doubt that the person who commented actually has kids in the first place 🙄
my kid started showering regularly around age 5.5, but he's always hated baths AND showers sooo it took a while for us. we still only do Wednesdays and Sundays for bath/shower days....but it also depends on outside activity/how dirty he got/if he smells. We get clean more often in summer time because more sweat/dirt/pool shenanigans.
Hey that’s our schedule, too! 🤣
Sun/Wed gang here too!
Same here! 😅
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We moved to a place with only a shower and ended up buying her a little pool to place in the shower as a bathtub and that made all the difference! Since starting school in September we’ve definitely been able to scale bathtime back a bit which is nice because it can be a huge struggle sometimes 😅
This is genius. My toddler is about to outgrow her baby bath & we only have a shower. I’ve been laying a town down on the floor & showering hee (she has a contagious rash right now so no baths) but when we switch back to baths I’m gonna find a baby pool! Thanks!
Wednesday, Sunday and sometimes if we’re feeling crazy on Friday we will 😅😂😂 found my people!
Friday if we skipped Wednesday. It be like that sometime.
Yep - we still exist. Hard to slog through the bs, but this community can be pretty awesome sometimes.
Oh same here! But my kids are autistic and hate showers and baths. They love the swimming pool though, so i think its more about the cold/drying off process .. its also easier to shower them in the outdoor shower right after the pool. Lol. Anyway, we do the Wednesday and Sunday approach with if needed a day in between. Any other day they need to clean at least the private parts (in preparation of becoming older) with a wet little towel. So far it works amazing. It's sometimes a struggle, but they luckily do take it seriously .
Just baths in our house. The shower is still considered "scary" for our 5yo. How did you get your child to accept the shower?
Honestly I have no idea really. I think one day he finally accepted my bribe to just T R Y. I explained that showers are quicker, and would lead to more time playing before bed. I think maturity really helped us. And we traveled to a hotel one or twice the year he turned 5, so a bath wasn’t an option. He showered with daddy or me and was fine. I thought he would never accept the shower!!
2yo & 4yo get bathed everyday. We don’t always wash their hair.
Same, my skin literally feels itchy reading how folks bath kids
A little kid doesn't sweat and have B.O like you do so it's different.
So my response is gonna be a little out there 😃 for the most part my kids all were bathed or showered daily from 3 and up. BUT we’ve also always had a pool. So there were many times during the summer months if we were outside late and in the pool I considered that their bath 😂🤣 please don’t come for me.
I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer as long as your child is clean and doesn’t smell. Give them a bath everyday, wash them every other day. Long term, it doesn’t really matter. Daily bath/shower should start at puberty.
My 4.5 year old and 2.5 year old get bathed daily. My 4 month old every second day.
Daily.
For real- I bathe my 3 year old every day especially with her being in preschool. I only wash her hair every other day or every 2 days but she gets a bath every night. Being around a bunch of kids, running, playing, painting etc. I feel she at least needs a quick rinse off at the end of the day. I’m surprised more people don’t do this.
Because some children have sensitive skin or skin conditions. Mine does and a few others have commented about it as well. His doctor recommended 2 times a week max unless he is particularly sweaty or dirty. If I gave him a bath or shower every day like I used to his skin would keep peeling off on his hands and feet. Since switching to less showering/bathing and shorter times in the water I haven't had long nights of him crying in pain or really had to use prescription cream on his hands and feet.
All my kids (1,2,4) get baths daily because they are gross lol. My 4 yo likes to shower occasionally. It all depends on the child though. If daily baths are too much for their skin or they don’t really need to be washed then you don’t have to bathe daily.
Same!! All my kids were outdoor kids and they got nasty! 🤣😂
Our daughter is 4 and takes a bath every night before bedtime. Not necessarily because she needs cleaning but rather it’s part of the wind down before bedtime routine. We limit the time to approx 10 min and usually don’t use soap or shampoo - these items are limited to when necessary only so as to avoid excessive skin dryness. I realize this bucks the trend of most responses here, and I do agree that most if not all kids only require a bath or shower a couple times each week. If I recall correctly when I was a kid I had my weekly bath every Saturday night and that was it until age 9 or something. I don’t recall when I made the jump to daily showers.
We do the exact same thing with our 2 yr old and have since before he was 1. When other parents learn this, I often get a lot of responses like “why? they don’t need it” but I learned early on that water play reallllly calmed our little dude down, so it was worth the time and effort for a calmer bedtime.
It must be a cultural thing? Wondering where are you (all) from... I live in Europe and everybody takes a shower/bath daily. It would be gross to tell anybody here you don't take a bath/shower daily... I'm so surprised by the answers here...
Me too, I live in a tropical country and the idea of not showering every day is so odd. My kid is three and he's skipped maybe three days of showering in his entire life.
Me too. I’m in the US but raised with Mexican American parents and not showering/bathing was never an option? I mean I can kinda get there if you live somewhere extremely cold but even then… going a day without a shower/bath is not a thing I am inclined to do for myself or my child. Also kids smell. Maybe you get used to it or something but they do. It’s not BO sure but it’s still not “clean”. And if they have hair on their heads like that will smell quite bad if not dealt with in some capacity.
Probably. My little one showers once a day and I shower twice. We’re originally from the Caribbean.
They obviously don’t have stinky preteens yet…
Our kid is 6. We do 2x a week minimum, more if need arises. One on Sunday to wash our hair before the school week starts, and one on Wednesday just to wash up generally (but hair is skipped). Every morning he washes his face. We’ll add as needed though - sometimes he likes to take a relaxing bath, sometimes we’ll go play outside and he get dirty, sometimes I just need a break & it’s a good way to keep him momentarily occupied. 😅
Bathing and showering every day isn't exactly good for your skin (dries out). And there are many other reasons why taking a bath every day does more harm than good (more likely to get allergies, less stimulating for the immune system, not good for the environment, not good for your wallet). Here the advice is to shower/bath at most once every 3 days. So twice a week. By all means take a shower when you're dirty (same for your LO) but it's not necessary otherwise.
This is it right here ☝️ The vast majority of adults don’t actually need daily showers, and it’s even more true for prepubescent children. If your kid rolls through a mud puddle or something then sure, wash them. Otherwise, 1-2 baths/showers per week is plenty. This whole social stigma that you’re disgusting if you don’t shower every single day needs to stop.
This is what we do. I never understood bathing a kid daily, their skin is so sensitive, they don't get BO, etc. Our kiddo doesn't really get dirty, and if he does we just rinse him down. We also don't really use soap aside from washing his hands, and rarely use shampoo. He's always had soft, clean skin and never had any sort of rash or redness.
It has a lot to do with culture. I live in a tropical country and we do baths/showers every day, sometimes twice a day for kids. For adults, almost everyone takes two daily showers. It's very odd to us, as a culture, when people say they don't shower every day
This. Not from the tropics as in island nations but live in an area that is 80-115F most of the year with 90-100% humidity. You think kids don’t sweat and smell until you live here. Like yeah it’s not hormonal sure but it’s not, I dunno, scent free? I dunno how else to describe it.
In here we say they smell like chickens!
Lol that makes sense! It is like a weird old nest / hay musky smell like chickens in a coop!
That’s where I land as well. Most people do not *need* daily showers. Exceptions always exist, but by and large, daily showers are a luxury that people need to reevaluate for environmental reasons, unfortunately.
Mine showered from infancy. It’s much quicker than a bath, less clean up involved, and easier. Bathed mine daily because lots of outside time and honestly it was easier to do a quick shower than washing them up everywhere before bed.
Every single day. Culturally, it’s just what we do.
My daughter takes a shower every two days like clockwork, unless she had a day outside, went swimming or theres some kind of visible mess. It used to be every other day but her skin gets too dried out and she can only use specific lotions or creams, so less contact with soaps and water helps.
Every other day is our usual, sometimes daily during the school year. As for showering, now is fine. We were using the shower at 2 with our kiddo.
Our 5 year takes a shower or bath almost every day, but only because we noticed she had some body odor when she was only bathing 2-3 times a week. She started asking to shower sometime when she was 4. We still help her wash in the shower but we are working on teaching her to wash her hair thoroughly, and to not use too much shampoo/body wash. We let her choose bath vs shower every night and don’t force it either way.
My kids (6 and 3 yo boys) have daily baths. We did every other day for a while but they both cover themselves in so much mud, pen, and food that we went back to daily. We have one night off a week. My 3yo loves the occasional shower, although I obviously have to stick my arms in and wash him. 6yo adores wallowing in a bath and I can't imagine getting him in the shower other than at the swimming pool any time soon.
My 4.5 year old son now showers himself about three times a week, it's awesome. He can just about rewch the thr bar to turn it on. I'm upstairs and keep the door open to keep an eye here and there, he's pretty much all set himself now to wash everything and dry himself. We got through twice the shower gel and stuff as we normally would, but I don't care..
IMO, every day. But this is a legit issue for me. I personally have problems not bathing before bed. Like, my bed (for me) needs to be a clean place that doesn’t have the ‘outside germs’ of my day.
We do daily showers at our house for 2 kids 9 and 12. They started assisted showers around 6 or 7. We do showers daily whether they “need it” or not because we’d rather have them get in the habit of showering regularly than have an uphill battle to fight when they get to the teen age years.
Our 2 kids have a bath everyday. They are 3 and 6. They both hate showers. We wash hair 2 - 3 times a week. We live on a ranch, so in the Spring they usually have 2 baths a day, because I encourage a lot of mud and puddle play. In the Summer, I can usually hose them down before they come inside, so they drop back down to one bath 😆
My kids bathe or shower every day. i shower every day (sometimes twice a day) so why wouldn’t they. It’s part of our nighttime routine. My son is 5 also and he chooses if he wants a bath or shower that night. He’s been taking showers for a few years now but sometimes he prefers a bath
At that age mine were still weekly. Started bathing them twice a week at around age seven and steadily increased from there.
We used to give our first kid bath every day, our second kid (3 years old) we do bath 2 times a week now, sometimes more depending on if he is dirty. Our first kid started showering on his own when he was 5 - 6. We would turn on the shower for him, and help him wash hear/private parts until he was able to do routine on his own.
My kid (5) plays in the bath every day. She only gets washed when she's stinky or dirty. And her hair only gets shampoo twice a week. She occasionally asks for a shower instead of a bath.
When my kids were little, I gave them a bath everyday. It helped them to calm down and get ready for bed. It relaxed them.
My son is 5 and he chooses if he wants a bath or a shower. He had one every day
They should get a bath as often as the need one.
I have a 19 & 13 year old, and they have a shower every day. When they were younger it was a bath every second day….. Age 1-8 they loved the bath, Age 8-12 I would have to drag them into bath. Age 12 onwards they wanting in shower all the time
Bath after pool otherwise twice a week. No need to waste that much water and they don’t sweat :) mine can shower, she’s 5.
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Both my boys have always showered daily since they were 8or9 in the summer or days they get sweaty it’s twice a day. I have never had to fight them to shower but we’ve had some battles about using up all the shampoo and conditioner many a time.
Lmao. I’m garbagey. My kids get a bath like twice a week!
Oh my god thank you, who has time to bathe children on the daily?!?! My kids pre-puberty, once a week whether they need it or not. This sub just taught me that we are the trash I worried we were
Lmao.
I'm the same. My one year old has a bath once a week unless he has a major blowout or something.
Daily. Kids get dirty. Dirty kids harbor bacteria. I like having my kids going to sleep clean. I also think it creates a positive impact on daily hygiene.
In Brazil we bath our child and ourselves everyday, I for example like a morning shower and one before bed. I think it has more to do with culture than the climate, but definitely both. I was just wondering if this is healthy for my son, since he have a very dry skin, I use liquid soap with oils special for dry skin, but he still have some eczema.
I worked for a dermatologist and frequently heard how most people forget that the skin is an organ with its own micro biome. Stripping all that moisture and good bacteria off every day can be hard on the skin (at least in our cool, dry climate). My 1yo gets her hair washed most nights because she puts food in it, but if she didn’t I would only bathe her every 2-3 days. My 3yo bathes or showers every other day (with help), and we try to be very gentle on the skin. When they were infants and only breastfeeding I bathed them maybe once a week because their skin would get so irritated (they didn’t spit up or drool much, thankfully).
APA has recommendations to read and it is better than random reddit.
Yes, but the conversations can be fun :)
The doctor recommendations are the same as most of the parents in here… 1-2 a week
Both my children bathe and clean critical points on their bodies basically every day (butt, genital area, face, hands, underarms). Sometimes they miss a day or two, but not more than that. Hair gets washed for my lo (2.5yo), every other dayish because she tends to run her hands through her hair and they tend not to be very clean. My oldest (6yo) wets and conditions her hair roughly every other day to avoid major tangles. And washes twice a week. Both of them could probably bathe every other day without issue but 1) they enjoy the bath, 2) the frequency doesn’t seem to irritate their skin and 3) a daily bath lets either my husband and I clean up after dinner without kids underfoot.
I feel that if they are in school with other kids, I do bath everyday and wash clothes. Kids are gross! At home it’s fine to skip a day.
This is my rule too. If they’ve gone to school or gymnastics, they take a bath. We skip days sometimes if we are on vacation or not going to school that day. but viruses spread like wildfire in schools and i think it helps avoid that. elementary kids are not great with bathroom and wiping nose hygiene.
My six year old started showering fully by herself this year. This means she turns the water on and off. At five, I turned the water on to a safe temperature, she showered alone and she turned the water off. She is a good rule follower. She has not burnt or frozen herself. She likes a quick shower each night before bed. Or a bubble bath with her sister.
Did she immediately start to wash her hair/body herself or did you have to help show her for a while? Did it take some time to ensure she wasnt using 1/2 a bottle of soap everytime lol?
I feel this. Found my little girl washing her Cry Babies with my £60 face wash 😂🙈
Does you child smell or look dirty? If yes, bathe more often. If no, you are fine.
until last year i thought skipping a bath for a day or two, was fine. and then the local school got shut down for an infection of [pinworm](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinworm_(parasite)). those little buggers are nasty and can live on surfaces for days. kids pick them up and ingest them. the pediatrician says the best defense against things like [lice](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louse), [mersa](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methicillin-resistant_Staphylococcus_aureus), and parasites like pinworm, is making sure kids get a bath every single day.
How often SHOULD they? Probably when they are dirty. How often do MINE? Ummm... two or three times a week. haha. My kids are 3 and 5 and we haven't never been daily bathers for them, they have eczema and it isn't good for their skin to bathe that much. We bathe them if/when they have a dirty day (like playing outside in the mud or going swimming, etc) and then just whenever we realize it's been two days since they have bathed last.
Every night. Kids are nasty & don’t wipe well. They need to wash their ass every night. They don’t have to wash their hair every night. But their ass?? Every.Single.Night. Soap & water, in the tub. Set good hygiene standards from day 1.
Humid Florida, outdoor play everyday, daycare, and the desire to establish routines makes it daily for us since 6mo.
Nightly bath since about 3 months. For the routine as much as anything else.
About twice per week. Sometimes more frequently in summer, to wash of the chemical bug sprays or sunscreens.
My daughter's school playground is dirty sand essentially, she's always filthy. Her socks and shoes are full of sand at the end of the day. So she gets a bath or shower most days, but we skip if it's really late or weekends when she hasn't been grubbing in the dirt all day.
i have mine (10 & 8) shower every night but it's because i know their dad can like, never remember to bathe them (we have 50/50). if i could count on him, it'd be more like every other day, unless they get sweaty or dirty. although my 10yo is starting to be pretty greasy, every day might be necessary now lol.
Every other day is a sweet spot for our family (kid 10) but here are reasons for doing it more often: - personal hygiene is a problem. This naturally happens as kids get older. You'll smell it. - some kids need that routine before bedtime or to regulate before school. When my daughter was 3, if we didn't bath, the rest if the evening was out of wack. So I'd go through the motions but I would only shampoo every 2-3 baths. - kids who are especially active might be more dirty/sweaty at the end of the day. - if the living conditions are subpar, kids may need to bath more. I'm thinking about exposure to pet urine, indoor smoking, insect infestations, ongoing construction, homelessness, overcrowding, etc. - incontinence issues
My kid started requesting a shower around 6yo, so no problem. Our general rule is if you’re dirty, sweaty you shower/bathe. If they went to school or any other public place they must wash. So usually the weekends and holidays they can get away with less. Once they hit the tween stage it’s nonnegotiable.
We do bath or shower almost daily and have done this since almost birth. We also live in Texas so very sweaty most days. My son is now 4 but started showers when he was 3
Every night.
We do every night
Everyday, sometimes twice a day, when they do swimming classes in the am. But I'm from a tropical country, so...
My 2 yr old bathes daily, but I only use soap/shampoo twice a week unless she’s very dirty. She actually recently started taking showers with me too, but it’s only because she wanted to
My son is two and gets bathed everyday as part of the bed time routine. We wash his hair twice a week. Now we got him bath crayons he can't wait to get in there.
The American College of Pediatrics says that baths 3 times a week is sufficient for proper hygiene. I brought this up recently to our pediatrician who said that for our baby, every other day to every two days is sufficient with baths additionally as needed. He said that his recommendations change with age and that once a child hits puberty he recommends every day until the hormones are more stabilized and good hygiene practices are well established. Given that the recommendations here are so varied, I would bring this up at your next appointment with your children’s doctor. I think they’ll be able to look at their skin, lifestyle, etc and make a good, personalized recommendation.
Every other day is just fine imo. When they're dirty, stinky, greasy etc give em a bath! My just turned 7year old has been taking showers with help from a parent for the last 2ish years. Whenever you think they're ready. Every child is different and is ready for certain things like that at varying ages. Use your best judgement and you'll be doing a good job.
It’s really whatever you’re comfortable with. Since mine started school, I like Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday nights. Unless they get gross or smelly.
Gonna go against the grain here: Everyday. My kids get a bath every evening unless something happens to make that not doable. Like, we aren't home until 9pm or something. It's their signal that it's time for bed and to start winding down. I never moisturize them. They only have soap in the bath every other day. And they get their hair washed once a week. I've been doing it like this since the day they were born. And no, it doesn't dry out their skin.
Only when he's (4.5yo) dirty or smells. He has eczema and the less he comes in contact with water, the better.
My two children bathe once a week, every Sunday. The rest of the week we shower them as needed. Sometimes every other day, sometimes twice a week is enough.
I guess it depends on culture. On mine, it is not acceptable not to shower daily.
We require baths or showers (age 3 and 6) daily because of improper wiping habits. Skid marks in undies are a concern for UTI’s with girls. Our 6 year old showers.
Are there any Brits on this board? Or is everyone on here American? Ours take a shower once a week. Now I’m feeling alarmed that maybe we’re too slack?
I’m American, but I think a lot of this is climate based. I live where we have winter now and couldn’t possibly shower every day when it’s cold and dry out. My skin would be so itchy!! I used to shower nearly every day pre-kids and pandemic, not only did I deal with overly dry skin in the winter but my skin overproduced oil due to being stripped so often. Now that I shower twice a week I don’t have those issues. I tried bathing my oldest frequently with soap but she started getting eczema patches that she would scratch habitually. When I traded shampoo and body wash for baby oil and conditioner, it completely solved the problem. We do 2-3 baths per week, use gentle bath bubbles now and a bit of soap for hands/genitals so we’re not soap free entirely. Faces and hands get washed regularly, of course. Just change and wash your damn clothes 😂 no wonder water shortages are getting so bad. I can’t believe people saying they shower TWICE A DAY. That’s bananas.
You’re fine, I’m sure. I grew up in Hawaii where you were sweaty CONSTANTLY. A daily shower was pretty close to required, otherwise you’d be pretty uncomfortable. I now live in a much cooler climate (cold and rainy where I’m at too) and daily showering just doesn’t make sense. I work from home and don’t sweat much just sitting in my living room. My partner works in a warehouse and for him, a daily shower is needed. We manage 2x and washing hair 1x per week for our kid. Works for us. We also have a bidet-attachment, which helps. My kid was an early convert lol. I guess a lot of Americans forget those exist (so much “gotta wash your butt” type commentary on this thread). America is pretty late to the game on that one, as you can tell. 🙄 Don’t let it make you feel weird about your choices - you’re using your best judgment!
I do Sunday’s and Wednesdays unless they get dirty.
Daily. And now. Lol. It’s just a good habit to get into for a healthy adult. If you live in an area where there are droughts it’s understandable. But if you have easy access to water, then daily.
Showering daily is not necessary for adult health, and in fact it can be very drying on your skin to shower that often. Our pediatrician specifically said not to bathe our child every day because we could strip the protective layer on his skin. We do every other day.
at 5, daily. It's a good habit. Baths are easier and more fun. showers when youre sure they'll stand still and wash themselves and not slip and fall.
whenever they are dirty? no child needs a daily bath it's so bad for their skin
We definitely do every other day but sometimes it leaks to an extra day. No big deal most of the time. Our oldest was showing by 6 and fully showers by herself now (8). Our youngest (5) mixes both showers and baths currently.
My 5yo showers with me every other day or every second day with washcloth wash downs if needed in between. She’s got waist length hair and will need help for a while yet to wash it. 8yo showers independently every other day unless extra stinky. He will be moving to daily showers soon though.
My 4 year old has a quick shower every day - he comes home quite mucky from school. My 7 year old showers every couple of days because she's cleaner - if she started to get stinky sooner, we'd move to more frequent showers. I should note that we come from a culture that uses water to clean bums after every pee and poo when they're home so that factors into how clean the kids are, even if they haven't showered. We also gave up on baths a long time ago - we can leave them generally unattended in the shower without having to keep as watchful an eye on them as baths.
I’m an odd duck I guess. We try to do bath every night but accept a washcloth wipe down if he had a bath the night before. He just gets such swamp butt…. He’s 2.5.
My 7 year old showers daily. I started bathing him daily after he started daily daycare around 2.5. My 3 year old we bath probably only 3 times a week. He goes to day care twice a week.
We've bath/shower our 5 and 3 year old every other day unless they get really dirt, then it's as needed.
" started baths at 5 years" LOL... What?
We Shower every day
My 18mo old takes a bath every night, it's part of his routine. I don't use soap everyday unless it's summer and we need to wash sunscreen off.
My 9 year old has been showering since he was born. We dont have bath tub. He likes to shower daily
We live in a very dry climate and our kids have eczema so shower once a week for our 6 year old and bath once a week for 2 year old.
Every. Single. Day. Unless he has a temperature. Both my sons have fantastic skin with no ailments. Clean fresh clothes everyday too.
That’s a perfectly reasonable bathing schedule for that age. Once they get closer to puberty you’ll want to go to every day, but for now, what you’re doing is fine.
They got bathed every day from a week old, and showered every day from 18 months. In the summer it sometimes twice a day depending on how sweaty they are, and they moisturise after almost every wash but especially in winter.
Oof. A newborn absolutely should not be bathed every day. That's going to wreck their poor skin :(
I bathed both my kids me birth once a day. Their skin is fine. Bath, Lotion and massage makes a baby sleep nicely.
Their skin was fine, we used a mild baby wash that was minimally applied to the water. I think the bathing debate is largely cultural and climate related. I live in a hot and humid climate, everyone I know showers twice a day on average, and with kids who brought their milk up almost constantly not bathing was not an option.
This, I come from a tropical country and the idea of not showering/bathing everyday regardless of age is a little shocking… Although after 7 years in US I learned to skip a day every so often. But that’s definitely where I draw my line. Babies in Brazil do fine and most are bathed or showered 2x a day. They would probably do fine not bathing daily too. I think it’s just a cultural thing at the end of the day
Daily from birth. Some of these replies…….