Shower frequency for kids

[mindygz]

So how often do your kids shower?  I am trying to figure out if my 11 year old daughter should shower every day or if every other day is sufficient, and also how frequently for my 8 yo son.  It tends to get overlooked since we are all just home most of the time, you know?  I think I just need to work it into the chore schedule so we will remember.

 

I swear we aren't a bunch of dirty hippies.  :tongue_smilie:

[Mom in High Heels]

EVERY.DAY.  I shower every day and hate to walk around with the previous day's funk on me.  I don't want my kids to either.  Blech.  Even Han Solo gets a bath every day.

[Kathryn]

About 2-3x a week. They don't do anything particularly messy and haven't gone through puberty.

[Just Kate]

Ds (9) is stinky and must shower EVERY day. 

 

Dd (6) is rarely stinky, so I only make her shower every other day or so. In the summer and when she's playing outside more, she showers daily.

[Ellie]

Daily. Always. All people in the Ellie household. :-)

[GreenKitty]

Daily here.

[zoobie]

Daily unless something weird happens. Butts get funky and water and soap are cheap! :)

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

Everyday during warm weather. 3-4 times a week during cold weather to prevent over dry skin.

 

My boys are 11 and 13.

[trinchick]

You all are shaming me. Both kids 2 times a week. Neither is stinky. I work 4 days a week, so evenings are consumed with making dinner and overseeing homework and oh yeah, actually talking to each other. By then it's bed time, and neither kid has mastered the quick shower/bath so we mostly take a pass.

 

In my defense, I took DD to a dematologist when she was a toddler due to an issue she was having with her hair. The derm said that small children should only be bathed one time a week.

[DragonFaerie]

Every day for my kiddos.  Every other day (dry skin issues) for me.  They play around outside and crawl around on the floor a whole lot more than I do. :D

[MomtoCandJ]

Most everyday, I wash her hair every other day

[Amy in NH]

At least once per week or when they are dirty or smelly (whichever comes first), until they hit puberty and then it's every day.

[bolt.]

I have a 6yo and a 9yo. We shower twice a week: on Tuesday (if we go swimming) or Wednedsay, plus on Saturday evening.

 

If we stink, I haven't noticed and no one has mentioned anything... Not that they would...

[Scarlett]

Every day, sometimes twice. And he fights me on it about 50% of the time. 

[Heidi]

Daily. My kids play outside and get filthy on a daily basis.

[QueenCat]

Every day, even when they were young. I've been around enough kids who had body odor at a very young age, and their parents seem oblivious (probably because they were used to it, and didn't notice it). I didn't want my kids to be the ones people noticed due to smell.............

[Erica in OR]

Feel like I'm in the minority here, but once a week, plus additional if they've been doing an activity that gets them particularly sweaty/dirty. Regular use of deodorant. The same for myself, although I wash my hair daily. I don't believe we're overly stinky. :)

 

Erica in OR

[SKL]

Usually 2-3 times per week.  (Ages 6 and 7.)  But because one of my kids gets BO, if they don't bathe at night, then they have to wash their underarms and apply deodorant the next morning.

 

My kids would be happy to shower every night.  Unfortunately, the schedule doesn't allow at this time.

[MrsMommy]

If they don't smell, and they don't feel gross, I don't see why they need a shower daily if they don't want to. Plus, we all have really dry skin, and in the winter especially, too much showering equals even drier skin.

[Lara in Colo]

2-3 times a week-- more in the summer when they get sweaty.

 

I think it is better on the skin to have their natural oils, especially in the winter when the air is so dry. 

[sbgrace]

I don't think it's dirty to just shower a kid when needed. My allergy kid, who tends toward dry hair and skin generally, wouldn't need a daily shower in the winter. However, he showers before bed every night so he's not taking allergens with him to bed.

 

His twin seems to get greasy if he goes more than a day. So he showers daily too (whenever, not necessarily before bed). If he skips a day because of time or whatever it wouldn't be a big deal. But you probably would be able to tell with him.

 

When it's warm and we're playing outside and have sprayed bug spray and similar, I would shower a child to get the gunk off.

 

[Wilma]

Uh... every couple of weeks.  Washing hands and faces happens all the time, but the actual bath/shower for the kids not so much.  They're all little, though.  (it's an 8 and under crowd)

[TracyP]

Twice a week for all my kids - ages 2-10.  More often in the summer, especially for my oldest who gets stinky. I am cutting my 2yo down to once a week through the winter because she has such dry skin.

 

I assume my kids will take daily showers once they hit puberty.

[Juliegmom]

Every day for my teens. My 8 year old showers every other day unless the weather is warm. Daily showers are a must during the summer months.

[Shellydon]

Daily beginning as 6 week old babies.  All kids take a shower every night.  Hair gets washed every night in the warm weather (here April-Oct.) and every other night in cooler weather.  I shower at least once a day, often twice.  I find not bathing daily very icky. 

[Alenee]

My teen, every day.  My 11yo, at least twice a week...she's very aware of herself so she makes sure it happens when necessary.  My 9yo...gosh, I always forget to remind her!  It typically happens when I notice her hair getting greasy.  I HATE seeing greasy hair.  I'm fairly certain they don't stink because I'm hypersensitive to smells.

 

When my teen was a baby/toddler, she was bathed every night as a go-to-bed routine but by the time I had my third child, I didn't have the energy to keep it up.

[EKS]

Every day sometimes more than once.  Both kids.  For as long as I can remember for both of them.  They are now 17 and 11.

[LostSurprise]

The teens are every day or every other day. They have it under control. They know when they feel like they need a shower. 

 

My 10 year old is on a mandatory 2x a week. I'll up it when he's dirty (he hasn't been stinky yet). 

 

My 8 year old is a special case. He has a lot of other (medical, developmental) stuff going on so we bathe him when we can get him to bathe.  :glare: Other than that we do a lot of washing with washcloths and if he truly gets dirty or smelly one of us has to get him kicking and screaming into a shower or bath. Sigh. 

 

 

 

[Heatherwith4]

Every day. Occasionally we skip a day if we're out at bath time and they're not dirty.

[Acorn]

2-3 times a week.  My skin can't handle every day in the winter, so I doubt theirs could either.

[momto10blessings]

Every other day unless they are noticeably dirty. I usually shower daily.

[Denise in IN]

Teen showers daily, 12 year old 3-4x a week.  My 9 year olds (boy and girl) shower once or twice a week.  They don't stink or have greasy hair, so no point in overdoing it.  :laugh:  Once my older boys got close to puberty, it was evident that they needed to shower more often!

 

[Excelsior! Academy]

We have severe eczema issues.  The younger they are the less they bathe, with a minimum of 2-3 times per week, so it is usually every other day to daily.  The oldest children bathe a minimum of daily with maximums being set only if the shower is overused. 

 

To answer your question about your 11 year old.  That is about the time they start needing daily showers. 

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Once a week when they were babies and 2-3x a week when they were at home.  Usually, after karate classes and maybe one other time.  Now that they are in ps, have daily sports or PE, they shower daily.

 

I shower every other day due to very dry skin.

 

 

[mathnerd]

Daily unless something weird happens. Butts get funky and water and soap are cheap! :)

Exactly! And my kid does a lot of extra curriculars on a daily basis which makes him sweaty even in cold weather.

[mommymilkies]

Uh... every couple of weeks.  Washing hands and faces happens all the time, but the actual bath/shower for the kids not so much.  They're all little, though.  (it's an 8 and under crowd)

Oh good.  I'm in good company.  We do anywhere from daily to once every week or two.  During swim season, they basically shower right before/after swim, so "official showers" are less common.  And in the winter, our house is cold and several of my kids have dreadfully sensitive dry skin, so that is not a good mix.  Plus I have two kids with super curly hair.  A shower/bath routine takes over an hour to wash, condition, brush, and deal with the mass of hair, so yeah.  I am so not doing that every day.  I shower every day to every other day.  It depends how busy I am or how many people in line for the shower before we run out of hot water!  I shower twice a day when I exercise, usually.

[fraidycat]

It depends on the season. Warm, humid summers = swimming and showering almost every day.

 

Cooler temps = less showers.

 

It also depends on whether we are just staying home, or going out. At home, shower when necessary. Going out, shower before going out

 

So we can go from everyday to once, maybe twice per week. The 7 year old doesn't require it as much as the 11 year old.

 

For me, because of dry skin, and the fact that my hair doesn't get greasy, I can go 1-3 days between showers.

[Lady Marmalade]

About twice a week for both kids.  For myself, I shower about every other day- sometimes I'll stretch it to three days if we're not running around.  Dry skin is awful, and my hair cannot tolerate being wet/washed so frequently.  So my kids shower when needed.  Usually after a heavy duty day at dance, so right now they're kind of on a Saturday/Tuesday schedule.  

 

I'm kind of surprised how many kids bathe daily.  It's always such a time-absorbant chore, always has been.  When they were younger it took a lot of time to manage bath time myself, and now that they're older, it's still a lengthy chore though they are on their own.  My DD needs almost a full hour to dedicate to the showering process.

[Elm in NJ]

Daily. This was something I couldn't understand when I first moved to the UK.  Shower days were 2  or 3 times a week. I was use to taking a shower every day where I came from.  Suffice to say, I continued to shower daily and all my kids shower daily.

[LaxMom]

11 year old 2-3 times a week, 8 year old once a week or so

 

Depends. If they get dirty then more often, but if we are mostly sitting around the house then less often.

 

I myself don't shower daily. Would dry my skin and hair to hell.

This but with my 12 and 9's, respectively.

 

There is not heavy duty enough conditioner in the world to keep my hair from turning to straw it I washed it every day. And my skin gets so dry in the winter it just hurts all over, no matter how much I moisturize.

[sewingmama]

Daily. I shower twice a day. My kids play outside and get dirty. Their butts need daily washing or their skin breaks down. My DD is now paying the price for skipping two days of baths.... Its taken over a week to heal the broken down skin. Plus they like the routine. I dont know how adults get by skipping showers...I always feel so gross in the morning...even if I showered the night before. I use oil on my skin to wash though...so no dry skin.

[trulycrabby]

DS9 plays soccer and doesn't always have wonderful bathroom clean-up habits, so he showers daily. :ack2:

[Mrs Mungo]

Some of us have dry skin, so we don't all shower every day. It really depends upon level of activity/what's been going on in a given day.

[Garga]

I can't remember when my kids last bathed. We shoot for Mon Wed Fri, but sometimes we miss.

 

They are 8 and 11 and aren't stinky yet.

 

If they play outside or inside and get sweaty and stinky, then they have to wash more. But usually, they're indoors and not sweaty.

[Mandylubug]

Mandatory days are tuesday, thursday and sundays because they are out and about with public, sports, etc. However, If I smell you in between those days, you will be bathing, immediately. No matter what subject you are working on, what time a day it is. :p Every day is too rough on our skin or we go through gallons of lotion. No need if not dirty or stinky and have stayed home, imo! I will also say, mine have started needing deodorant but I have found if the deodorant is put on right after bath, it TYPICALLY lasts two days for them so far. Now, it may not always be that way :)

[JessReplanted]

My kids shower just about every day. 

When we lived in a colder climate we would have them shower every other day during the winter.

Once my son hit 9 (and needed deodorant) we made daily showering for him mandatory.

[Ravin]

DD just recently went from weekly to every other day. She's 10 and in early puberty, and was complaining about itching places it's rude to scratch, but not yet stinky. DS at 2.5 I drag in there about weekly.

[applethyme]

Every day before bed.

[twoxcell]

I would say their average is about 2 times a week. :leaving:  Sometimes more in the summer or if they get especially dirty. My ds does a quick shower rinse after swimming 4-5 days a week also and the girls as well 2 days a week when they are swimming. I don't consider that a shower though since they just rinse. I guess we are dirty here.

[unfrumpable.]

My son is 8 and he runs around a lot everyday. He gets very stinky. He takes a bath/shower every night.

 

I take a shower everyday, but I only wash my hair a couple of times per week or so.