How often do you bath your kids? It’s one of those questions isn’t it? One where the answer seems to vary between families.
Little Piglet had one of those weeks where she has burst her nappy with monster poos more than 3 times. They have been monstrous and no amount of wiping would have sufficed. She had a day bath this week and her first shower at my friends. She is a delight.
This then got me thinking about how frequently we bath our kids. I’ve chatted with friends, everyone is so different and has their reasons for bathing less. Not enough time, children with skin issues, tiredness and just generally thinking daily baths aren’t needed.
I come from a very clean (possibly overly) family from my generation to my grandparents. I have memories of my lovely Grandad showering daily and he always smelt so lovely of Lynx or some aftershave and this was always the way, until he struggled to care for himself. My Dad taught and was paranoid of leaning over a student and smelling, so would bath in the mornings. We were bathed daily as children and I still have memories of my Mum telling me politely at around 8 years old, I was smelly and needed to wear deodorant!
I remember our NCT classes telling us not to bath our newborns for at least a week due to the lovely vernix on their skin, aiding bonding between parents and baby. My Mum was horrified; oh times have changed. We didn’t wait a week but did wait a bit!!
How Often Do I Bath My Kids?
I bath both my daughters daily. I think it is needed. If my youngest has a poonami (which is quite often) and is only wiped, she needs a bath! Possets of milk get under her neck and in her hair and shes need a clean. Also no matter what people say, I have smelt sweaty baby head and don’t like it.
The gremlin is quite a sweaty, grubby thing. She is like me, always warm and gets food everywhere. That or face paints!! She needs a daily bath. She is also trying to wipe herself after the toilet and doesn’t always do the best job. This can lead to soreness and irritation, so I do think a wash helps with this.
Neither of them have any issues with their skin, thankfully so this isn’t a problem.
It is also all about routine as well. For a long time I have bathed with the gremlin and now Piglet is here, she joins us too. It has really helped with getting her to bed at the same time each evening. She knows bath time is coming and is ready for her last feed and bed. The gremlin was the same. Both love a soak and a play in the bath. It is also lovely time for me to spend with them both before hubby does stories. I’m lucky that we have time in the evenings to do this. Yes it can be a chore and we love the break but for the girls, it is what they do. The gremlin finds it strange to miss a night.
This post was written a couple of years ago now and nothing has changed. My little man is bathed nightly and the girls still enjoy a bath together and with me; I loved hopping in with them.
I find it fascinating how we are all so different and is it due to how we were brought up? I have friends who shower twice a day and others who think nothing of going 2-3 days at a time. For me the latter is a big no no but I have quite a sensitive nose I’m told!!
How often do you bath your children?
Am I a complete clean freak??
