Should Your Give Your Kids A Bath Every Night? This Parenting Blogger Doesn’t Think So
How clean is too clean when it comes to bathing kids? [Photo: www.tinyography.com via pexels]
Bath, story, bed. It’s the wind down mantra for many a frazzled parent, but one parenting blogger believes that giving your baby a bath every night might not actually be the best advice.
Lauren Knight believes that giving her eldest son a bath every night may have caused him to develop mild eczema on his back and legs. But it was only when she went on to have two more children and struggled to fit in a nightly bath that she noticed the potential connection.
“During the times our children went for three (or more, I admit) days without a bath, I noticed that our oldest boy’s skin seemed healthier and less irritated,” Lauren wrote in the Washington Post.
At the same time she noticed there were no negative effects when her sons went days without bathing. “I was also pleasantly surprised to find that none of our kids smelled or looked dirty,” she said.
Mud bath anyone? [Photo: Rex Features]
It prompted the mum-of-three, who blogs at Crumbs Bums, to wonder if a daily bath is really necessary for children and whether the pitfalls of a nightly tub scrub actually outweighed the benefits.
Lauren cites Rob Dunn, professor of biology and author of The Wild Life of our Bodies who explains that we’ve become a nation of germaphobes and that our obsession with overly clean living could in fact do more harm than good to our immune systems.
“We have become accustomed to antibacterial wipes and gels; parents carry around mini bottles of hand sanitisers and are encouraged to douse their children’s hands in the liquid during every public outing,” she explains.
‘Another bath mum? Really?’ [Photo: Rex Features]
But what do the experts say about how often we should be bathing our children? The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends that children aged between six and 11 may not need a daily bath and that bathing at least once or twice a week is fine. Or when they are dirty or sweaty.
When it comes to babies, the NHS website says it isn’t necessary to wash your baby every day, but recommends ‘topping and tailing’ - washing their face, neck, hands and bottom – in between baths.
For parenting blogger, Lauren, stepping off the bath/bed treadmill is a no brainer. “It all seems pretty straightforward; wash your kid if he stinks or is visibly dirty, but otherwise we can relax a bit on being clean as a whistle,” she says. “Wash hands regularly with good old fashioned soap and water and spot clean with a washcloth between baths, and I’m willing to bet everyone will be happier (and healthier). After all, haven’t we all heard the saying, “A little dirt doesn’t hurt?”
How often do you bathe your children? Let us know @YahooStyleUK
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