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The next time you give your baby a bath and regret putting that bundle of bawling, wrangling mess in the tub, you should act upon it and take him out. Why, you ask? Baths are amazing! They keep the baby clean and give them that unique baby smell that everyone just loves! Then why shouldn’t they be scrubbed and soaped every day? Well, the answer to that is surprisingly (or shockingly, depending on how you take it) simple. They don’t need it.
Yes, that’s right babies DO NOT need a bath every single day, and they’ll be just as sweet smelling if you decide to skip the whole warm water and baby soap routine. According to American Academy of Pediatrics, your newborn baby should not be put in the tub every day, and all you need to do to do keep them clean is just change their diapers regularly. So that means, you can take a break from that daily exhausting bathing ritual.
Why don’t babies need a bath daily?
According to the same article, the reason why your infant does not need to be bathed daily is because his skin is super sensitive, and bathing your child everyday can dry their skin out and even worse skin diseases such as eczema. You may think it is counterintuitive, but ditching the soap and water can actually be good for your baby’s skin.
Another reason why your child does not need to go through this unpleasant experience is because toddlers tend to stay more or less in one place throughout the day since they haven’t learned to crawl yet. This consequently means that they don’t get dirty as much as babies who have learned to crawl, and hence, do not require a daily cleaning session. However, in case baby looks dirty or is smelly, then you need to give them bath even if you gave one the previous day. Otherwise, you can just give your baby a sponge bath, paying special attention to their armpits and folds of skin. That should be enough.
So what age do kids need regular baths?
If you want to know from what age onwards your child will need to bathe regularly, it’s when they dive face-first into puddles and generally start enjoying making a mess of themselves by sneaking off on all fours into the dirtiest of places. Also, kids who are smelly or those who get sweaty while playing are also in need of regular baths. However, in such a scenario as well, a gentle bath once every couple of days will be more than enough.
As for the exact age at which daily baths should become mandatory, that will be 11 years old according to the American Academy of Dermatology. In fact, the American Academy of Dermatology says that children between the ages of 6 and 11 years only need to bathe a maximum of once or twice every week. But then again, you know that the exception to that rule is if they get dirty.
Truth be told, you should allow your child to get exposed to a few germs and dirt as it can help boost their immunity, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Michael Welch of the Academy states that for growing children, exposure to virus and bacteria can help protect from them from their effects.
However, once your kids enter teenage, daily bathing should be a must, suggest the American Academy of Pediatrics. And then it should not be skipped unless your child is unwell. Till then, you can relax and give yourself a break from baby bathing days.
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