How often should I bathe my toddler?
This question is a little controversial… a lot of mums use bath time as part of a bedtime routine, which can enable their child to recognise the ‘wind down’ towards bedtime but… is this good for their delicate skin?
LET’S HEAR WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
Professor Sally Bloomfield, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, previously told BBC Radio 5 Live that “washing too much can strip the body of its self-regulating microbiome, which helps control oil levels on the skin”
Dr. Elaine Larson, the Associate Dean for research at Columbia University School of Nursing and an infectious disease expert, indicates that individuals “think they’re showering for hygiene or to be cleaner, but bacteriologically, that’s not the case”.
Margaret Cox, Chief Executive of the National Eczema Society, has said that “as the amount of water we use to clean ourselves has increased, so has the incidence of eczema”
According to dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, “parents should stop bathing babies and toddlers daily because early exposure to dirt and bacteria may help make skin less sensitive, even preventing conditions like eczema in the long run”
So perhaps we have started to bathe so frequently more for societal expectation rather than what is actually good for us?
THE IMPACT ON THE SKIN OF BATHING DAILY
When I was younger, I didn’t shower daily - I didn’t need to. As I have become older, I have definitely developed the habit of a daily shower. It’s becomes a natural rhythm for us to wake up, work out and shower. We follow societal norms - we think it's good hygiene, we don’t want to stink on people and we love to feel fresh for the start of the day.
However, I know this definitely impacts my skin, having always had a tendency to be prone to dry skin and as I creep towards 50, it’s certainly becoming dryer still. Do I notice a difference to my skin if I can resist not showering for a day? Yes.
This is because hot water strips away the body’s layer of protection - the epidermal lipid layer - responsible for protecting and moisturising the skin. This oily layer also contains ‘good bacteria’ which protects the skin from germs. Now let’s think of the impact bathing daily may have on our child’s soft, new skin.
Showering/bathing too often can cause:
dry, sore, itchy, irritated skin
cracked skin from dryness allows bacteria to breach the barrier layer thus can cause skin infections
anti-bacterial soap can also kill off ‘good bacteria’
immune system can become less efficient as the body needs a certain amount of stimulation by microorganisms like dirt etc, in order to create protective antibodies and create ‘immune memory’
our water contains chlorine, fluoride, pesticides and various other chemicals including traces of arsenic, birth control pills and many, many more (believe me, I once asked our water board to provide me with it’s water contents and there must have been 10 excel sheets with a break down of what is in our tap water)
PROTECTING OUR CHILD’S SKIN
We can see good reasoning as to why we should refrain from bathing yourself and your child daily, however, sometimes it feels a necessity to give them a bath or shower, for example:
chlorine, after a swim in a pool
salty water and sandy beaches
strong bug spray or suncream
oatmeal baths to relieve skin conditions
you want clean children after perhaps a very muddy day at forest school!
Personally, I encourage my own toddler to wash her hands after school to try and eliminate germs - in the vague hope of preventing another cold!
TIPS ON BATHING WITH LITTLE KIDS
Basic tips on bathing:
supervision for young children
avoid daily bathing
water temperature - bath water should be warm not hot
keep water level low
short baths not for long periods of time (wrinkling tends to indicate the skin is dehydrated)
use natural, mild baby shampoo, gentle soaps, if you want to use any and cotton, soft cloths
avoid strong shampoos, bubble baths, bath bombs, body wash, as can cause skin irritation
ensure bath toys, bath crayons are skin friendly
pat dry with a clean towel rather than rub dry (less abrasive to their delicate skin)
use an emollient or balm on your child’s skin after bathing if they have eczema
and of course, have some bath time fun!
WHAT CAN WE DO TO STOP OURSELVES, AS ADULTS SHOWERING DAILY
Since researching for this article, I have personally taken a step back from showering daily and my skin is most definitely less dry. I am hopeful for restoring my protective skin cell barrier back to a more nourishing state. If you are looking into changing your bathing routine, here are some tips that have helped so far;
bring back sponge baths! Wash private parts and armpits with a flannel, warm water and a natural soap
Use a dry shampoo for hair and limit washing it to twice a week
daily ice bath for the face, I have been doing this for nearly a year and am enjoying both the mental and physical healing impact it has
always a good idea to avoid strong bath products, use natural, there is so much choice nowadays.
BATHING CHILDREN WITH ECZEMA
If your child suffers severely from eczema, you may find daily soaks in oatmeal baths work well for your child or perhaps you have discovered, less bathing, the better. I think just following instinctively what works best for your child is the best route to follow. For further info and advice about eczema, I would highly recommend the national eczema society :
https://eczema.org/information-and-advice/information-for-parents-and-children/children-and-eczema/
Also a heart felt article with great eczema related advice:
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/03/18/why-i-only-bath-my-kids-once-a-week_n_7316176.html
And of course, if you’re looking for a soothing yet powerful little balm for your baby’s sensitive skin, then look no further than our award winning baby balm!
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF BATHING FREQUENTLY
Just out of interest, I had a quick look into the environmental impact of daily showering and wow! I was really unnervingly surprised by the impact it has on our personal CO2 emission!
I sourced the following information from the Guardian (article link below):
“The average 10-minute shower uses 60 litres of water. A power shower uses three times that and a bath about 80 litres. So a family of four each having a daily 10-minute power shower will consume a staggering 0.25m litres of water every year…… the power-shower family would be emitting a staggering 3.5 tonnes of CO2. As we can afford only one tonne of carbon emissions per person – for everything from food to transport – if we are to keep global temperatures below the critical 2C threshold, this would consume nearly all of the family’s carbon budget.”
Personally, my maths didn’t quite make the 250,000 litres for a family of 4 showering daily but perhaps they had added on kitchen water wastage, dishwasher, washing machine etc etc… anyway, it’s a great bulk of water but before you admonish yourself for water wastage, bear in mind that according to Inflomatix, who provide water solutions for companies state:
“Every single day in the UK, over 3 billion litres of perfectly good clean water is being wasted. That’s enough to fill 1,200 Olympic sized swimming pools. It’s estimated that this equates to roughly 25% of the UK’s daily water consumption.”
Even if we do reduce our showers, turn the tap off when brushing our teeth, don’t let the water run when doing the washing up etc… the majority of this waste is from pipe leakage.
To sum up; doing our own individual bit to help restore our planet, no matter how small, can make an impact. Imagine if we reduced our showers to a couple of showers a week, the impact this can have on our CO2 emissions. We could actually get down to the ‘one tonne of carbon emissions per person’ recommended.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Having researched and read through various articles, I have been blown away about the amount of evidence pointing towards how excessive showering and bathing can cause damage to our skin.
I have certainly changed my own showering habits and stick with only bathing my daughter once a week (unless she is filthy!) thus helping to reduce global warming whilst actually helping protect our own skin and our children’s skin for their future.
References:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/showering-daily-is-it-necessary-2019062617193
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36652282
https://ofthehearth.com/the-dirty-truth-about-how-often-kids-and-adults-need-to-bathe/
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/08/shower-once-a-week-polluting-environment
https://inflowmatix.com/news/how-are-3-billion-litres-of-water-wasted-every-day-in-the-uk