If you have kids or have experience with kids, chances are you have gone through instances wherein bath time was met with an eye roll. The reason is because there are very few kids who love taking baths.
As they grow up and surpass the stages of being a toddler, they start to see baths as some form of distraction preventing them from spending more time doing activities they love. The struggle then begins, which prompts parents to wonder whether or not the effort to force their children to take a bath is worth it.
So do kids need to be bathed every day or is it simply a cultural norm? As mentioned in Yahoo, while most think that kids do have to take a bath everyday, spokeswoman Laura Jana for the American Academy of Pediatrics says that a daily bath is not really necessary.
It's only important to give them a daily bath when they start crawling, as well as eating solids, which might make them dirty enough to warrant a thorough body wash. In fact, Dr. David Gellar, a pediatrician, told Baby Center that bathing is only necessary to clean children off when they get dirty.
The AAP also explained that toddlers are good to go as long as their diaper area is always squeaky clean and their armpits, as well as the groin area are regularly wiped with a wet and soft washcloth. Bathing toddlers more than three times a week can eventually dry their skin out, which might result in a skin condition called eczema.
The Academy of Dermatology also posted helpful guidelines for bathing depending on kids' ages. Children whose ages are between 6 and 11 are okay to take a bath everyday, although they only really need to bathe once or twice a week, when they get dirty, sweaty, have body odor or if advised by a dermatologist.
Tweens and teens, however, will not only need to take daily baths but also dedicate a few minutes to wash their faces twice a day. As for babies, the AAP advises to only give them sponge baths and make sure that they are always patted dry.
Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics on allergy and immunology, Michael Welch, told Parenting that exposure to a little amount of dirt can be beneficial to kids, as their immune systems are still developing. However, it is still important to teach kids to be hygienic. Teach them to wash their hands before eating and after using the bathroom or playing. Just make sure to never over do the baths.
