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Less baths for health

Instead of sticking your kids in the tub every night of the week, use that time to play with them and talk about their day.

Stop bathing your newborns! They're brand new. What dirt are you removing? Scrupulous wiping at every diaper change is the key to good baby hygiene.

Bathe your children less. There's a radical idea. But I bet a number of you have already discovered this and are doing it in secret. Daily baths strips your child's skin of its resident protective microorganisms, leaving them vulnerable to every germ out there. What about those mysterious skin conditions? I bet they would clear up pretty quick without much intervention if you bathed your kids in the tub only once a week or so.

Provided you keep their perineum scrupulously clean and sponge bath them once a day, as well as brushing their hair and teeth, there's no need for the tub and bubble bath, which incidentally can cause urinary tract infections. Proper and consistent handwashing prevents the spread of disease. Teach your kids to wash their hands after playing and toileting and before eating. Pre-pubescent bodies produce so little sebum. Their hair doesn't need a daily shampoo unless they are using tons of styling products. Get my point?

-Rue
(The author is a registered nurse and natural health practioner.)

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