that Amy only bathed her children once a week?

Taken from The Tightwad Gazette III, "I don't give my children a bath and shampoo wach night. They get a bath as needed, or a minimum of once a week."

Maybe it is just me, but I like my children to bath daily. Maybe I am the odd one.

This is located under "The Unmagical Time-Management Method", pg. 77. Or it is in this book.

Should say "each", not wach.

Typos....grrrr!:bang:

I too,like my children to have a bath every night. Guess that's because the way I was raised.

My children only bath every other night. My daughter has atompic dermatitis and the doctor said not to bath every night because it would dry out the skin too much.

When my dkids were little they *needed* daily baths or they would have been filthy. I have four dsons and we live in a warm climate, so they were almost always playing outside. Since Amy D lives in Maine, they probably didn't need a nightly bath.

I have got to get my kids bathed daily. they get incredibly messy playing outside, lol! and With the humidity...yeesh! they need a daily dunk in the tub :toothy:

My dks shower or take a bath each day........every 2 days at the most. I don't think I could have them go an entire week though!

I can't imagine bathing my children once a week :eek:
At a bare minimum the younger three get one every other day. My oldest, 13, gets one every day.

When they were babies, sure, they would get a bath 1-2x/week. A baby's skin is sensitive, so daily baths aren't needed. And really, how dirty does a baby get beyond their bottoms lol.

My kids got baths everyday, they played hard and were dirty at the end of the day.....my grandson always needs a daily bath, if there is dirt, he finds it!!!!...The only way I would agree with not bathing everyday is if you had a medical reason...I'm sorry but that is just gross, bathing once a week, P.U.!!!!:yucky:

Can you imagine the grease on a pubescent child's head if they only bathed once a week?? I can. My sister's 14 year old SIL bathed once a week and ewww is all I can say. She had very long dark hair which only exacerbated the problem. :yucky:

Ok maybe I am the odd one out, but during the summer, it is nearly impossible to get the three older ones in the house to bathe daily.... Baby gets one every night... My kids probably during the summer get one every third night for sure... They usually end up bathing on their own every other day... During the school year they get baths like clock work, every other night... Can't get any of them to get up in the am and shower... So trying to get four baths a night is near impossible (plus me and dh). But NEVER once a week...

When my oldest DD was little she had severe dry skin and I could only bath her about every three days, But I wash cloth cleaner everyday.

Now that they are older the oldest take sa shower everyday (or she would smell) and the middle one takes a shower every other day and the little one get baths as needed mostly every other day, on really dirty outside play days everyday

When my kids were little or even when they were older, they had a bath every day.

When I grew up [a LONG time ago] we only had baths on Sat. night!

When I was a teen ager I would wash my hair every night & curl it for school, also would sponge bath every day.

Times have changed! :toothy:

Originally posted by YankeeMom
When they were babies, sure, they would get a bath 1-2x/week. A baby's skin is sensitive, so daily baths aren't needed. And really, how dirty does a baby get beyond their bottoms lol.

:yeah:    DD is two, and she gets a bath about every other day, or sometimes it's the third day.   In the winter that was plenty, but, now that hot weather is coming she might need one every night.... we'll see.

A bath once a week doesn't seem to be quite often enough, if you ask me. I don't think my kids had a bath every single day as a rule, but at least every couple days. Now that they are older and have gone through puberty, they need a daily shower and shampoo. They have oily skin and hair, and perspire a lot. Even my youngest, who is almost 11, probably should be showering every day. He's been getting pimples on his face. Too bad I have to argue with him to get him in the shower! :rolleyes:

well. as a kid we only bathed on fridays, however my kids bathed every night and my grandbabies sometimes bathe twice a day depending on what they get into! lol

When my children were small, they bathed every other day but when they were older and played harder they needed one each night. They would have been to dirty to send to bed without a nightly bath.

My dd gets a bath or shower every other day! Sometimes she wants to get one two or three times a day.

Bathing children once a week is more than being tight!! I think that is crazy. I can only imagine how a kid would feel with one bath/week and the torment they would get at school. My kids get baths daily. They are young and play hard.

Ds gets a bath every night now that summer and outdoor play is here....he gets very dirty.

Sometimes if we are out later or something comes up, it will be every other night.

I can't imagine what he would look and smell like if we only bathed him once a week.... :eek:

In the winter, my kids bathe every other day because they just don't get dirty. They are too little to have body odor. In the summer, however, I don't think I could stand them if they didn't get a daily dunking! They spend most of the day outside and they get FILTHY!! Hair gets washed once a week unless it gets really grimy.

I like the feeling of climbing into bed nice & clean & figure my kids deserved the same. Gd loves one also, if we are out late we may put it off until morning but we bath daily. cau;)

I guess I'm the odd one. Our doctor has told us not to bathe our children (3 & 8 months) every day and to use soap/shampoo sparingly. The don't really play outside at this stage and they have no b.o so I don't really see the point. Of course we scrub hands, arms, faces and feet quite a bit more often than that ;)

So, I guess my philosphy is pretty similar: 1 bath on Saturday night, one somewhere in the middle of the week and others on an "as needed" basis depending what we've done that day.

It's not really good for anyone's hair to shampoo every day because it strips the natural oil (which you need). I think a lot of teenagers are just making things worse by shampooing two-three times a week. I read a book called "Curly Girl" about treating wavy-curly hair (which I have) and so far it's worked wonderfully for me. :)

My girls get a bath every other night or so in the winter. I try to get them in the tub each night in the summer especially since they are in the pool everyday and they have chlorine in their hair. But I am kind of lax about it sometimes.

We had no running water when I was growing up. We had to hand pump the water, carry it UP hill, heat it, then carry it out to dump it. We only took full baths once a week.

It is possible to only take a full bath occasionally and still be clean. We took sponge baths daily. A small amount of water in a basin, soap and a wash cloth. Yes, you can be clean.

My son is eight and he has always wanted a bath before bedtime.

My 10 yr old son would never take a bath if I didnt make him...LOL but I make both my kids bath/shower every day. I ask them to wash their hair at least twice a week, more if needed.
Earlier today, they were outside tossing sand at eachother:mad: so I made them bathe, but my son didnt wash his hair so Im making him get back in tonight to wash his hair (he's not too happy with me):toothy:

When I was young...we would keep the oil from our hair and recycle it for cooking.

Now this is frugal. Try to beat this tightwad!

My nickname was Crisco Man!

:toothy:

LOL! you nutter.

I bet french fried were not the favourite meal at your place.

We have very sensitive skin at my house, we can't use Tide or any strong detergent. We wash away the day with water, only using soap on hair, underarms & privates most days. Then on goes the baby lotion before pjs. It just seems a nice relaxing wayto get ready for bed, the kids or me. cau. :cool:

Originally posted by momof42003
Ok maybe I am the odd one out, but during the summer, it is nearly impossible to get the three older ones in the house to bathe daily.... Baby gets one every night... My kids probably during the summer get one every third night for sure... They usually end up bathing on their own every other day... During the school year they get baths like clock work, every other night... Can't get any of them to get up in the am and shower... So trying to get four baths a night is near impossible (plus me and dh). But NEVER once a week...

Nope --- you are not the odd one out. When my kids were about 7 - 11 they bathed every few days --- but not every day. They just didn't stink or get dirty. We washed faces and hands of course. Now that they are in the pre-puberty/puberty stage though they actually WANT to get clean and shower each day.

ROFL, Gabe. :lol:

BTW, how did you end up with 16 and half brownie points? :confused:

Dixie,
I'm special...:grwave:

I do not insist that my dd bathe every day, but she never bathes less than every other day. Once a week? Ewww! I would thank other kids at school would make comments. Even though Molly is only nine, her hair and skin are starting to get pretty oily.

No way could I let my kids go a whole week without a bath.When they were babies I bathed them first thing in the morning then fed them breakfast.Then as they got older it was a bath most everynight.And both my boys are very clean..I shower every morning ocassionally skipping a day..but that is not very often..
Liz my ex-boyfriend said when he was a kid that Saturday was their bath day and they all took a bath in the same water.Of course the older girls were first then it went on down till the seventh child had his bath.They heated the water on the stove then filled a large galvanized bathtub with the water..I know this just wasn't them people years ago didn't bathe like we do now..Connie

When I was a child I only had a bath once a week. It's not as though I didn't wash throughout the week or anything though. When we started secondary school at age 11 and had to do more running around and stuff my mum bought a shower and we could have one whenever we wanted

It must have stayed with me as I haven't had a bath for over 2 years now!

We bathed once a week while growing up. Sponge bath the rest of the week and believe me we were clean! Stepfather lined us up in the morning before we went to school!

"Hold out your hands!" check
"Open your mouth!" check
"Let me see behind your ears!" check
"Let me see your face and neck!" check

"Okay, now let me see your bed!" bounce the quarter, do that bed over again! check

Sheesh! Now I take one when I need one.

Even as a child we took one every day. Still remember having to watch my little brothers in the tub. It is very relaxing to take a warm bath or shower before bed. My kids did the same. It was a nice was to end the day, cau:cool:

My father grew up in the time of once a week baths. I remember him saying that in his house the babies went first then the girls and the boys went last. So much for throwing the baby out with the bath water.

He also did not shower on a daily basis but I know for a fact that he filled the basin and washed head to toe every day.

My father grew up in the time of once a week baths. I remember him saying that in his house the babies went first then the girls and the boys went last. So much for throwing the baby out with the bath water.

He also did not shower on a daily basis but I know for a fact that he filled the basin and washed head to toe every day.

My father grew up in the time of once a week baths. I remember him saying that in his house the babies went first then the girls and the boys went last. So much for throwing the baby out with the bath water.

He also did not shower on a daily basis but I know for a fact that he filled the basin and washed head to toe every day.

My father grew up in the time of once a week baths. I remember him saying that in his house the babies went first then the girls and the boys went last. So much for throwing the baby out with the bath water.

He also did not shower on a daily basis but I know for a fact that he filled the basin and washed head to toe every day.

My two girls do not get baths every night. It is on a need basis. Maybe twice a week. But they are 4 and 1 and a half. I am sure it will be diff. when they are older.

My kids also get bathed on an as needed basis. Once they hit puberty they shower daily but as younger kids they don't have body odor. During this summer my 7yo ds probably bathed 1x week (Saturday night so good to go on Sunday) but he swam everyday and that counts, LOL. I probably bath the 1yo 1 or 2 x week but obviously clean her face, hands and rear lots more often.

It's not about how often you bath, but about how often you wash yourself. Washing your hair over the sink, and washing yourself with a washcloth and loads of hot water may be less luxurious, but it makes you clean nonetheless.

I, too, grew up without running water in the house. Our major bath time was Saturday night. Mom heated cistern water and poured it into a galvanized tub. We all used the same water and took turns depending on amount of dirt! But of course, we used wash cloths every day and always washed up before meals and before bed. I never thought of that being odd; it's just the way it was.

I only wash my hair once a week now, as my hair is super dry. And I bathe or shower about other day or so.

Raising kids: We didn't have a fixed schedule on baths. We made sure everyone washed before meals and beds, but it wasn't always a bath. However, when puberty kicked in, the daily shower was necessary.

When my boys were little, every 3 or 4 days was about it.....now that they sweat, play outside, etc....it's every day (or every other day, depending on what they did that day)

I bathe my daughter on the same schedule......cause I use the same bath water for all of them, and I stick her in after the boys are done!

Well...when I was little and we were on the farm (under 5 years old), we used to have bath night. There was no indoor plumbing and water had to be heated on the woodstove. We had to share the bath water with other people. We'd be bathed from youngest to oldest before bed...once a week. But, inbetween times, we'd be at the local swimming hole...especially in summer. I guess in winter they figured we didn't have much chance to get dirty...being mostly in the house.

For my own kids, I bathed them every other day. One right after the other. Every day was too hard on hair and skin.

Jean

Yes I did find that odd. Children are just grimy by nature. To not bath them everyday is just yucky poo!

I bathe my kids everyother day usually, unless they've been playing hard outside and are nasty. My oldest DS like to take a shower every day now. Olsest DD could care less LOL.

My kids get a bath about every three days, unless they are really dirty; then it is as needed. I do think as they get older it will be more often.

I dont think 1x a week is enough either, maybe every other day or every 3rd day but no longer than that, unless they are sponged bathed.

My kids when they were toddlers were bathed everyday but that's because they got into dirt, mud, yucky stuff, etc... now as they are older they take one every other day but it's their choice.

Quote:
Taken from The Tightwad Gazette III, "I don't give my children a bath and shampoo wach night. They get a bath as needed, or a minimum of once a week."


In Amy's defence she says a "minimum of once a week" .. and they get a bath as needed so I'm sure it's more than once a week ;)

My kids shower as needed as well .. no more than 2 days in between - usually every other night, unless they are dirty etc then it's daily.

During the frigid winter in the great frozen north, my dd pre-schooler has a full bath once per week (or a shower if she has swimming lessons at the Y). During the week, I do the "spit bath" routine. I wish I'd asked my Grandmother about the history of "spit baths" in her family!.

During the summer, the kids baths are a lot more sporadic because they swim all the time. Usually, they ended up bathing atleast twice a week in the summer more if they got really dirty. Now that school is back in the youngest gets his shower each night before bed, and the oldest showers in the morning before school. Now weekends (Fri. and Sat.) if they haven't been playing outside they don't have to shower. That's just me but I think it's sufficient. Once a week ewwww.

Our bath schedule is as needed as well. Winter months require less baths than summer months. Dd's hair is thinner than ds's and therfore gets oily faster and needs washed more often. I think a daily bath is not only unneccesary most of the time but it also washes away natural oils needed to keep skin and hair healthy (unless you are a person who produces a lot of these oils). My kids look great, smell great, and they are healthy so I'm okay with the system we have... if you want to give your kids a daily bath I think that's fine to but please don't assume that it is gross of us not do the same, thanks! :)

When I was young...we would keep the oil from our hair and recycle it for cooking.

Now this is frugal. Try to beat this tightwad!

My nickname was Crisco Man!

:toothy:

That made me feel ill! Yuck LOL

My kids (6.5 and 3) get baths twice a week. If they need it more, then they get it. I always bathe them in the summer if they have had any kind of bug spray or lotion on that day. In the winter, since we have forced air heating, our house as well as the outside environment is very dry. To wash everyday would dry out the skin even more.

That would be a little extreme for us, too. Spring-Fall, baths are an (at least) every other day for kids affair. Winter though is so dry here, and the kiddos stay (relatively) clean enough we can go 2x-3x a week. Supplemented with lots of daily hand washing and a few protested wet washcloth face wipe downs.

That would be a little extreme for us, too. Spring-Fall, baths are an (at least) every other day for kids affair. Winter though is so dry here, and the kiddos stay (relatively) clean enough we can go 2x-3x a week. Supplemented with lots of daily hand washing and a few protested wet washcloth face wipe downs.

What she said. This is what we do with the boys. DD, however, takes a shower every day.

Ok, once a week is pretty gross- every day during the summer ,with bug spray, sunscreen, chlorine and just plain dirt and yuck, every other day in the winter.

I have always taken a bath or shower everyday. If I don't take a bath everyday I feel gross and dirty. Also, I wash my hair everyday. If I don't then it gets washed every other day. Otherwise it feels nasty to me.

As babies and toddlers the kids took at least one bath a day, if not more. If we just stayed home and they did not make a big mess eating or playing then it was one bath a day at a minimum. I actually tried to give them a bath before bed every night and one when they woke up. If we went out during the day to the mall, grocery store or park they got a bath when we got home as well. This was especially true if people were touching or holding them.

Now that they are teens it is still pretty much the same, at least one bath a day or more if the day's activities call for it. They both shower in the morning. If they have ball practice, ball game, go the batting cages, swim, or otherwise work up a sweat then they take another shower. They have to wash their hair at least every other day, if not everyday. It just depends on how oily their hair is. Both have super, super, super thick hair and oily skin. Normally after 24 hours their hair looks so dirty & greasy so I have them wash it.

My daughter gets bathed every 2 days. can't do it daily because of her eczema.