Bathing frequency

Twice a week. Any more than that and his skin dries out too much ( and after a bath or shower, or swimming we slather on Cetaphil). Little kids don't get dirty the way adults do (it's all good clean dirt, not sweat and oil. And even if he sweats, the sweat is just salt water, and evaporates more cleanly. And they don't smell stinky like adults do), so we just do spot cleaning (like of the face) when it's needed, and we wash hands a lot of course. The ped told us this at like a month, and he's still on this schedule at 2.5. We'll increase the frequency when he seems to need it.

I used to bathe my toddler almost every night once he started preschool because they got so dirty playing in the garden and painting, plus, it served as a relaxing time before bed. That said, you do have to be very careful about their skin. My doctor also recommended Cetaphil and now that he's a big boy, we still use it - mom, too.

Karina Bland is raising her 9-year-old son in Tempe with a lot of love, humor and support from her friends and family. A longtime journalist covering child welfare and education issues for The Arizona Republic, she blogs about raising good kids.

With both of my kids I bathed about 3 times a week. I spot cleaned the rest of the days and use mild soap (still do also) for their skin (my son and I have eczema so this is a must).

"It's not to late to become who you've always wanted to be..."

i bathe my daughter every other night. (she's almost 17 months) Sometimes she will get a bath a couple of nights in a row if she was at the park and playing in the sand as she loves to do. Or if we went to the zoo and i covered her in sunscreen.

But i always put lotion on her. Fortunately, she has never had a problem with eczema, not sure if it's due to her olive skin tone that she gets from her italian genes.

just~me

I bathed my oldest son everyday as an infant and his eczema got worst. I went to 2 times a week and it got a bit better. Also, when you bath your child with eczema - don't dry them completely - put lotion on them while a bit wet and that is supposed to 'lock in' the wetness and does not get the skin so dry. Now, with my second son he is 4 months old and we just bath him 2 times a week. I do have to admit, for those days when they are a bit messy (say a blow-out from the diaper) or when my oldest comes home from preschool a bit sweaty then I definitely put them in the bath more than 2 times a week. I'd say try for 2 times a week, but if they are getting sweaty or messy then surely bath them - it shouldn't hurt every so often.

LisaMommy is a discussion leader in Paradise Valley/Scottsdale area for arizonamoms.com. Her two boys are ages 5 months and 3 years old.

I bathe my kids a couple times per week too. Unless of course, it was a messy day. My little girls curly hair actually looks better on day 2 or 3...the curls flip back up! They love to play in their tub, but on occasion, I've even put them in my tub with me in the morning, so I can get a shower in and clean them at the same time.

Hobbymommy, 38, is a discussion leader from Mesa. She is a happy stay-at-home mommy to a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.

We've always done every other day. But when mine were little, if there was a bad blowout on a "non-bath" day - I'd often just fill the bathroom sink with warm water and plop them in for a good "bummer rinse" after doing the wipes.

Now that they are 4 and 6 - they still occasionally ask to sit for 30 sec. in the sink (the big one barely fits!) for a rinse off...especially nice if they get the flu/diahrea or something that leaves them sore.
:)

I never worried about them getting sweaty in the car seat - in terms that of necessitating a bath. Their sweat never stunk!

Happy2BMommy, is a stay-at-home mom who just turned 40 (argh!) with a 6 yr. old daughter and a 4 yr. old son, and is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Scottsdale.

My son has eczema too but our doctor advises to go completely in the other direction. Our doctor back in CA said to bathe him every other day and make sure I used the Cetaphil, etc. But my son was still dry and rashy. Then I moved here and we got a new doc. He said he wished his peers would start getting more up to date info and advised me to bathe him everyday. His point was that with the scratching and rashes if you don't bathe them everyday they are more likely to get an infection. His further advise was to use Vasaline very liberally. As much as possible, as many times a day as I felt like. My son hasn't had an outbreak since. A little itch here and there and I go straight for the Vaseline. I go to Dr. Tanase in Casa Grande. Thank heavens for him...