How often should your child take a bath?

Old Ritual

Filling up the bathtub up with water as children run around the house, seems to have become a more frequent event. Society has deemed it appropriate to have young children take a bath every other day if not every day. This has been proved unnecessary and can be harmful for your kids.

It’s Harmful

No one appreciates bathing in cold water. It is uncomfortable and unenjoyable. Instead, we bathe in warm water, which many find relaxing. When young children are in a bathe every night, the warm water hurts their skin. Their skin can become rough and itchy requiring a lot of lotion. Bathing that frequently hurts their skin when they are not even really that dirty. Washing their hair frequently hurts their hair too. It will strip the scalp of the natural oils that it needs when there is not enough time to replenish them.

How Often?

Babies

The real question then, is how often to bathe your kids. For a baby that has yet to start walking around outside, they are not doing enough that will make their skin overly dirty. They can typically be washed only once or twice a week and they will have better skin from it. Being a little dirty is not a bad thing because this early phase of their life is a crucial time for building their immune system.

 Children

Once your child starts to walk around more the bathing frequency can increase ever so slightly. Whenever they become dirty from playing outside, they can be bathed, but otherwise they only need to sit in the tub two to three times per week. If you find that your child has sensitive skin that becomes itchy, educ the number of times they are bathed each week and apply lotion while their skin is still wet.

New Ritual

Why bathe your kids more than they need to? It is not always easy coming up with time everyday so don’t. Your child’s skin will thank you.