Toddler Bathing

[AuntAlicia]

My Sister is a first time mother and I do not have any children. She only bathes her 2yr old once every few days. I have tried to encourage her to bathe her at least every other day and she disagrees. Is it unhealthy for a toddler to only be bathed once every 3 or 4 days?

[Buenchico]

Most text books and child care experts would probably recommend a daily bath for such a young child, so your sister's way of doing things is definitely outside of 'accepted practice'.

There are other 'experts', however, who believe that part of the reason for an increase in allergies among adults and older children is because children have been brought up in too clean an environment resulting in their immune systems not becoming fully developed. i.e. within certain limits, dirt seems to be good for kids :-)

Those of us who were young children 50 years ago, in houses with no means of heating water other than a kettle or the gas 'copper' in the kitchen, remember an age when nobody in the house (adult or child) would normally have a bath more than once a week. Most of our generation seem to be a lot more 'resilient', in terms of health, than many of the young people of today.

If your niece is healthy and, apart from the bathing issue, your sister seems to display generally sound parenting skills, I wouldn't let this matter worry you too much.

Chris

[tigilou]

My daughter is also 2 she has had a bath and hair wash every day since she was born. Mainly because i wouldnt want to sit in a nappy all day feeling dirty food round my mouth dirty hands etc. i know wet wipes do wonders but i personally wouldnt feel right knowing she wasnt clean and also it relaxes them before they go to bed thats just my personal opinion though..

[Lily_b]

I have never bathed my children every day, only when they need it and at least twice a week. I remember when I was little we had weekly baths like Buenchico. I do not think it is unhealthy as my doctor recently congratulated me on having the healthiest children she's hardly ever met (innoculations and health checks only).

A wash with a flannel suffices on the days of the week they do not have baths. Of course if they have got excessively dirty during the day then my kids would have a bath. However it is a careful balance with my daughter as excessive bathing causes eczema.

As long as your niece is healthy and bathed when she needs to be, she'll be fine.

[noxlumos]

Definately not unhealthy, as long as the child is clean. Bathing children too frequently ( every day) interferes with the natural ph of the skin and can lead to allergies and skin complaints. Your sister is doing exactly the right thing, about twice a week is ideal.

[lady_p_gold]

I agree with those who say it is perfectly ok, and probably far healthier than this sterile world that we are trying to live in. Unless there is some sort of major neglect going on I am sure your sister is well able to make the right decisions for her child.

[Pippa68]

I also agree that it isn't necessary to bathe every/other day. It can dry a child's skin terribly & in the case of eczema can irritate beyond belief.

My eldest child had infantile eczema which calmed down considerably when I stopped bathing her every other day. This doesn't mean she was dirty ~ she was washed every day with a cloth but not immersed in water. My other children didn't suffer with eczema, but I carried on with the same routine..they were never smelly either ;o) they just had beautiful skin!

Children are naturally clean anyway ~ of course you would bath them if they got excessively dirty through play, but every day 'dirt' is easily dealt with without bathing.

[burnhal]

Hooray for common sense!!!!

[kick3m0n]

agree with many of the above. My wee guy is nearly 2 and a half, and gets maybe 3 or 4 baths a week. It's entirely unneccessary, as long as their clean and healthy between baths. Lady is right about this overtly sterile world that is destroying our childrens natural immune system (which I believe is a major contributor to increased lebvels of asthma and allergies).

As a research scientist of 15 years experience, I can't for the life of me think why it would be "unhealthy" to not bathe a child every day????

well done your sister. Maybe you could show her this thread, and apologise for wrongly advising her that her parenting is poor??? xx

[Sparkles3]

I bath my 3 year old and 18 month old 2-3 times a week, or more often if they are dirty, but otherwise I think a wash is absolutely adequate. Some people instigate a bathing routine into the bedtime routine, hence making every day a more suitable practice. Bathing a toddler is quite a time consuming activity - particularly if her 2 yr old is not a keen bather - and provided she is clean and healthy, I think she's finding a great balance.

[tigerthecat]

yep every 3 to 4 days or longer. My little smasher has eczema and doc says definately not every day.

[tntmoz]

Your sister is very lucky to have your concern but have you considered focusing your attention on the wonderful job she is doing with your little neice and what you can do to be the best aunt in the world? Not to be mean, but personally, I will ASK my sister for parenting advice if I need it. Other than that I love that she is involved in my childrens lives and willing to give them the benefit of her life experience. Aunts are even more fun than grandparents and your neices life (and yours) will be much richer if you are REALLY in it. So grab your neice and go make some mud pies! Enjoy!