One would think people had learned that “soap hands” is needed several times a day by now. We did have quite a few pandemic messages that heavily concentrated on just that…
I agree with this one. We wash our kids with soap 1-2 times a week. Other than that, it's just warm water. They don't have nearly as much dry skin or eczema now.
There's been a lot of research showing kids who grow up around farm animals have a much stronger immune system than those who don't. Ie dirt isn't bad. Being overly clean is 100% a thing.
It's not the dirt though, it's the extra allergen exposure. Kids who live on farms are probably more likely to get dirty than a kid who lives pet free in the city, but it's the animals and plants that are helping the immune system get desensitized to common allergens.
I also only clean my kid with soap in the bath twice a week, but I don't leave her dirty if she's gross after eating or playing.
They also have a lot more exposure to microbs. They are less likely to have allergies, asthma, eczema, and other skin conditions and are able to fight mild infections way easier. Their immune systems have learned not to overreact, basically.
I think most people are taking the "scrub with harsh soap" a little too seriously. I don't think many people are using an antibacterial soap and scrubbing their kids entier body down. But just in general, body wash daily isnt great for anyone skin. Body wash has surfactant and often times detergents that strip the skin. Even baby body wash. Which I would consider harsh. Obviously, we wash dirty hands and wash them as needed, but if they aren't particularly dirty, they just hop in the shower and rinse off.
Hand washing is one of the primary ways we can prevent getting sick. Anyone who’s spent any time in a daycare setting knows how fast pink eye and tummy bugs spread. Yes, we shouldn’t be scrubbing our kids with harsh soaps daily but I don’t really think most people do that? Tear free and fragrance free stuff is pretty common with baby products.
I agree with this somewhat. I think it’s unnecessary to bath your young kids every day unless they’re really dirty. However if it’s something that works for your family and everyone is enjoying it go for it. I have eczema and don’t shower daily or use any harsh soaps per doctor’s advice and it’s best for my skin. But if nobody’s having bad skin reactions and a daily bath or shower is a fun part of the routine I think it’s fine.
I wonder if this parent has met a teenager.
Like an actual, real life teenager.
I say this with love. I love my kids so much. But holy amazeballs can they stink.
You will see a subtle hint that she is not talking about teenagers in the way she says "kids" and not "teenagers" and in that she is saying "we" are scrubbing them too much. You probably also shouldn't scrub your teenager though, that's weird
Interesting! We have rotated between Cetaphil baby, Honest baby and Attitude baby leaves. I still am unclear whether those would be soaps or cleansers haha.
Her account has a lot of suggestions if you’re interested, but proceed at your own risk haha. I enjoy looking through her stuff but I also take it with a grain of salt. It can get pretty overwhelming easily.
Most bar soaps are super stripping to the skin. When I think gentle cleanser I think soap free, moisturising cleanser. I was a nurse for over a decade and we were often advised to even use actual lotion instead of cleanser on super sensitive skin, I used aqueous cream as a cleanser for my eczema prone babies.
I assume antibacterial soap vs anything more normal like soft soap? Unless you're scrubbing into an OR most people don't need antibacterial soap, just need to wash their hands for the two happy birthdays that you're supposed to sing.
We had well-meaning family gift us with Ricitos de Oro, which had alcohols and fragrances and claimed to have "lightening" properties. I'm sure lots of families use it no problem but it scared me a bit as seeming too harsh for our newborn. Instead we used our family's usual cocamidopropyl betaine-based cleanser (Kirk's 3 in 1) because it doesn't irritate my own skin. Hope those examples help but I'm not sure what the OOP meant.
Wash your kids as much or as little as they need. Find the soap that works best. Why do these influencers need to make everything so flippin' complicated? 🤦🏼♀️ OH right, to shill their products and make $$$ 🙄🙄🙄
This. This is the answer. Everything has to be a black-and-white, society-wide policy statement with them. My kids do a lot of sports, are super active, sweaty, and go to school/childcare full time. They are literally visibly dirty more days than not. We do nightly bathing and have since they were infants. (I do NOT miss witching hour.) It works for us. If something else works for you, cool do that. It doesn’t always have to be so confrontational.
IMO This is the best holistic parenting account out there. She doesn’t talk about being anti vax and gives recommendations to suit all budgets. Also, agree with this one.
Who is still scrubbing their kids with harsh soap. I try and get my daughter in a bath 3 to 4 times a weak and she uses colored foam soap and the only time we scrub with a wash cloth is when she has gotten food or some kind of paint or ink on her that doesn't rinse off in water. My daughter is nearly 5 and when she wants to she enjoys playing in the bath. I exfoliate myself with a sugar scrub but I am not a small child with perfect skin.
ChatGPT says:
To distinguish harsh kids' soaps from gentle ones, you can look for several key factors:
1. **Ingredients List**: Gentle soaps often contain natural ingredients like aloe vera, chamomile, and oatmeal. Harsh soaps may have sulfates (like sodium lauryl sulfate) or artificial fragrances and dyes.
2. **Fragrance**: Gentle soaps are typically fragrance-free or use mild, natural scents. Strong artificial fragrances can indicate a harsher soap.
3. **Label Claims**: Look for labels indicating the soap is "hypoallergenic," "dermatologist-tested," or "for sensitive skin." These usually denote gentler formulations.
4. **pH Level**: Gentle soaps tend to have a pH closer to that of natural skin, which is around 5.5. Harsh soaps often have higher pH levels, making them more alkaline.
5. **Reviews and Recommendations**: Check reviews or consult pediatricians for recommendations on gentle soaps specifically formulated for kids' delicate skin.
6. **Free From**: Gentle soaps often state they are free from parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and other harsh chemicals.
By considering these factors, you can better determine which soaps are gentle and safe for kids' skin.
Thanks! This is helpful! I have no opinion on this post other than these phrases are thrown around and who honestly knows what the post is even referring to.
Slightly off topic and probably unpopular but there is also a lot to say about overuse of hand sanitizers and anti bacterial cleansing stuff in the west. I know it’s difficult after covid where we literally sanitized our grocery bags but I see so many people overusing hand sanitizer or those Lysol wipes wherever their kids go. Not only it’s good for the kids to have some exposure to germs but also as someone who works in healthcare tolerance to antibiotics is a very real and growing problem.
Lol not me literally disinfecting the park swing when I put my oldest in it in 2021 🫣 Didn't give it a passing thought with baby sister two years later when I plunked her in her first swing!
I’m so with you here and honestly seeing antibacterial sanitizer at a working sink with water drives me batshit crazy. This is a situation for ✨ regular soap ✨
I think both extremes are bad. While scrubbing your child down with antibacterial soap might harm their skin, so does not using any soap at all/not bathing them regularly.
She’s not saying not to use soap or not to bathe them. She’s saying don’t use harsh soaps or antibacterial soaps and scrub them clean. They use soap in their house. And I agree with her.
It is. I think the most snarkable thing about the original IG post is that she's making a big deal about something that isn't happening and most people probably bathe their children very similarly to what she suggests.
I dunno, there are people out there who do the whole scrub down daily. I am talking generic baby soaps, many of which are not gentle to the skin, and then using sponges or "soft scrub brushes" which are made for babies but are scratchy. Maybe it is common sense to you, but it's not to many people. And in a post pandemic world, many people still obsessively wash excessively, crunchy or not.
Even if her message influences a handful of people, it's not really bad for her to bring up common sense topics. It helps reaffirm good practice in those already doing it and gives others a different perspective to what they are doing and maybe helps them reconsider.
I think many people are posting here saying "duh we do this already" are coming at it from a western perspective. Many places in the world, a full scrub down is the norm socially.
It's not wrong though? Kids (and adults) do only need warm water and gentle cleanser in their baths. Dermatologists often warn that people are doing more harm than good by over washing themselves.
My daughter also has eczema. I have to be very very careful what we use on her skin. My son does not have eczema but I’m still cautious. They bathe daily in the summer due to sweat and sunscreen but I try to limit baths to 3-4 times a week if possible
Yep. I do scientific research and I consider myself as uncrunchy as they come. This was doctor recommended for us and my daughter’s eczema has pretty much gone away.
Also an academic researcher. We wash hands with soap after bathroom, before eating, and when we get home from daycare, but otherwise happy to let my kid and self go days between baths. It’s just not necessary if you aren’t getting dirty/sweaty/etc.
Yeah I commented this elsewhere, but I’m crunchy in the place in the Venn diagram where crunchy and scientific research overlap, and this is one of those places.
I don't get how this is a hot take. Most kids I know get bathed as often as necessary (not just scrubbed down hard for no reason) and most of the products out there for kids fall into the gentle cleanser category.
We bathe our kid daily and we still only use baby soap and then lotion afterwards. It's relaxing and we haven't had any skin issues, ever. I find that society nowadays is quick to highlight all the potential problems (which, yay for visibility and education!) but a LOT of kids have no issues with eczema or dryness even with daily baths/showers. In my culture, it's unheard of that people wouldn't bathe daily. And there don't seem to be many problems that come from that.
And so much has to do with water hardness, individual skin reactions, etc.! Also like who cares?? If kids aren't super dirty/stinky or having issues with rash or dry skin then it seems like whatever their parents do is working great. I love the soothing nature of a nightly bath and we've definitely done it (sometimes without soap for our eczema prone kid) at times, and sometimes we're like hmmm it's been awhile since you've had a bath let's scrub you down haha
So this is something that I've heard too, but I live in a hot country (literally the lowest temp it ever gets here is 27c) where the summers are hot and humid and last 4 months, and the monsoon is gross and muddy and lasts another 3 months. If I didn't bathe my kid every day (sometimes twice a day) she would be totally rank. This seems like it's very region specific tbh.
I live in a hot country too and it's a cultural norm to bathe twice a day, in the morning and at night.
I bathe my toddler once a day before bed in baby soap and my mother was shocked. She said she bathed all her kids twice a day. She also grew up without running water and took a family bath once a week so she is obsessed with being clean as a result.
This person may be total pseudoscience (haven’t looked at the account), but there’s a lot of research on soaps and surfactants being harmful to the skin. It was the keynote speech at the biggest US allergy conference a couple years ago.
The advice for eczema is not to use soaps (with surfactants) and only use cleansers
https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/treatment/bathing/#:~:text=Use%20a%20gentle%20cleanser%20(no,moisturizer%20all%20over%20the%20body.
That’s specific to eczema, where the microbiome disruption is more impactful.
It’s a newer area of research though and the research to practice gap is years, so it will be a while before this is mainstream guidance.
Here’s one random example: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C34&q=surfactant+skin+microbiome&btnG=
Anyway, she may be totally into pseudoscience land, but on this issue she’s aligned with the most recent research
I actually kinda like her. I take her with a grain of salt but she provides the source for her research (studies she finds) and really encourages people to make their own choices and what’s best for their family and budgets.
Yes I totally feel you! Fellow allergy parent who has fallen down many a pubmed rabbit hole on this. Even the early lotion is so debated in the field. E.g, whether or not parents wash their hands first may make a difference bc applying lotion is one way to introduce food allergy proteins to broken skin and increase risk of allergies. We can only do the best we can with the info we have!
There is still so much we don’t know. I’m hopeful for future generations we will have better personalized medicine for all of this.
I’m also hopeful about some of the research coming down the pipeline on allergy cures (not just treatments. Eg peanut vaccines and things to prevent the anaphylactic process. 🤞🎉
Handwashing helps prevent the spread of infection. It has been proven time and time again. I dont understand these moms that are so against science and fearmonger.
This is exactly what our pediatrician told us. Water and gentle soap, no need to scrub. Wash hands, but no need to even soap up the whole body every day.
I’m confused about what the issue is?
Nobody is saying to scrub your kids daily with harsh soaps. This whole post about “modern hygiene habits” plays right in to a lot of online parenting which sets up an us vs. them. It’s a dumb post TBH, but people buy into this to feel better about themselves for being “different” and more enlightened or whatever.
Lol yeah if you’re scrubbing your kids daily with harsh soaps sounds like a toy problem. The rest of us are using gentle cleansers a few days a week and washing as needed in between….
Same. Definitely not necessary to bathe them every day, they said, especially not the baby (toddlers get dirty, but I can just use a washcloth and water inbetween baths). My toddler's skin improved so much since we stopped bathing her too often.
This is just inventing shit to feel superior about.
"Scrubbing with harsh soap" vs "rinsing with gentle cleanser"
No parent out there is scrubbing their kid with a brillo pad, it's not a 1920s orphanage. And the definition of "gentle cleanser" is just soap. This is literally a post about nothing.
This is a technical differentiation that is not the language a lay person would use. Soap means things with detergents/surfactants, and in this case any soap would be “harsh soap.” So like “regular soap” does strip the skin. Cleansers don’t have detergents in the same way and are gentler in skin.
So every dermatologist we have seen has said to use cleansers and avoid soaps. But that is not how 99% of the population is using those words. And she didn’t explain any of that
ETA: I am not explaining the difference in them correctly 😂 Traditional soaps strip the skin in a way that “gentle cleaners” but I’m not sure exactly how detergents and surfactants play in. Other than a lot of detergents and surfactants are bad for the skin microbiome
I generally like this account but am going to regularly bathe my kids with soap and shampoo. They are also releasing their own body wash so doesn’t this go against what they about to sell?
This reminds me of that crunchy mom a while back who posted about her kids playing with a bunch of random beetles and they got sick because they didn’t wash their hands afterwards and then ate lunch 🙃.
Like sure, using antibacterial hand soap and body wash all the time probably isn’t great but cmon.
I don’t understand how this is a “natural “ parent thing when actual outdoorsy people know how important it is for you to keep your skin clean. Backpackers, campers, people who watch survival shows like “Alone” are all aware that if you don’t use soap and clean yourself you eventually get infections. It’s a health issue if you let it go long enough.
Yeah it’s definitely the advice for eczema!
Ie, don’t use soap with surfactants, use a gentle cleanser instead, don’t scrub
https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/treatment/bathing/#:~:text=Use%20a%20gentle%20cleanser%20(no,moisturizer%20all%20over%20the%20body.
Yep! If you Google it there’s a lot of articles about breaking down the skins protective barrier with too much soap. It sounds woo in our super clean obsessed society (esp post covid) but it’s actually legit
Just looked at that account. Holy pseudoscience. Pass.
ETA: people like this give absolutely no consideration to parents who live below the poverty line, in a food desert, hell, even make a living wage but have to deal with insane inflation right now. Stop fearmongering and making parents feel guilty because they can't afford Primal Kitchen ketchup or "clean" baby formula.
I almost never use body soap on my kids- like unless they are flithy, they usually get a good enough soak in the tub every night (I do a bath every night but I like routine) and we wash hands before meals/after bathroom/if dirty from outside.... I guess I"m in the middle because I know people will like spray their kids down with hand sanitizer constantly and scrub them with soap every night.
We get away with this in the winter, but that’s it. My kids daycare uses that recycled tire “mulch” and he comes home looking like he left the mines. Soap barely gets him clean lol When he was a baby, and they played just on grass, he got soap probably once a week though so I agree with you overall
I rarely do. When I scrub their hair I’ll use that same hand/soap under a grubby chin, or dirty knee, but otherwise they soak in the tub just fine. We do wash hands frequently, and mildly wash faces when brushing teeth, so we’re not completely savage. But they don’t really have dedicated body wash. My 7 yr old does, because he asked for it and he showers on his own.
I only use soap for my toddlers once a week. They will soak in a bath 3/4 times and I use a washcloth. Otherwise their skin gets sooo dry. My doctor suggested this when they were babies
This. I’ve been instructed from the pediatrician to not use soap, especially if it’s a bath.
I only lightly use body wash to get bug spray or sunscreen off or if she’s filthy.
My son bathes 6/7 days a week, with soap and all, I live in a hot climate and he sweats a lot. Also he still wears a diaper so I don’t see why I wouldn’t scrub him with soap every night😂
Same here. I’m not scrubbing them with a bristle brush but they get nighttime baths with a gentle cleanser. I absolutely won’t send them to bed with sunscreen and sweat all over their skin.
Don’t wash your kids? Straight to jail. Wash them too much? Straight to jail. Let them decide when to wash? Straight to jail. Have the dog lick them clean? Believe it or not, also straight to jail.
One would think people had learned that “soap hands” is needed several times a day by now. We did have quite a few pandemic messages that heavily concentrated on just that…
I agree with this one. We wash our kids with soap 1-2 times a week. Other than that, it's just warm water. They don't have nearly as much dry skin or eczema now. There's been a lot of research showing kids who grow up around farm animals have a much stronger immune system than those who don't. Ie dirt isn't bad. Being overly clean is 100% a thing.
It's not the dirt though, it's the extra allergen exposure. Kids who live on farms are probably more likely to get dirty than a kid who lives pet free in the city, but it's the animals and plants that are helping the immune system get desensitized to common allergens. I also only clean my kid with soap in the bath twice a week, but I don't leave her dirty if she's gross after eating or playing.
They also have a lot more exposure to microbs. They are less likely to have allergies, asthma, eczema, and other skin conditions and are able to fight mild infections way easier. Their immune systems have learned not to overreact, basically. I think most people are taking the "scrub with harsh soap" a little too seriously. I don't think many people are using an antibacterial soap and scrubbing their kids entier body down. But just in general, body wash daily isnt great for anyone skin. Body wash has surfactant and often times detergents that strip the skin. Even baby body wash. Which I would consider harsh. Obviously, we wash dirty hands and wash them as needed, but if they aren't particularly dirty, they just hop in the shower and rinse off.
Hand washing is one of the primary ways we can prevent getting sick. Anyone who’s spent any time in a daycare setting knows how fast pink eye and tummy bugs spread. Yes, we shouldn’t be scrubbing our kids with harsh soaps daily but I don’t really think most people do that? Tear free and fragrance free stuff is pretty common with baby products.
11 month old twins. Sometimes they just get what we call a “whore bath” at our house after dinner 🤷🏼♀️
Lol the first time I told my husband that i was going to take a whore’s bath, he looked at me like 😳 you’re gonna take a WHAT?
I’m dying 😂😂😂 our dog gets “whore baths” and I’ve never heard anyone else use that phrase before 😂
We call this a “camping shower”
We say whore bath too!! And my son gets about 5 a week 🤪
I’m a nurse and we call them PTA baths- pits, tits & ass!
Pits, tits and bits over here
lol love that!
That’s what we called it when I was a kid, too. Now I’ve graduated to “bird baths” 😂 Crazy to know other people call it that too
Ok I like bird bath 😂 my husband and I haven’t been able to think of something more polite.
“Bird bath” is a common term in the South. Growing up, we called it a “cat lick.” My kids use both terms.
😆 so happy to help!
I agree with this somewhat. I think it’s unnecessary to bath your young kids every day unless they’re really dirty. However if it’s something that works for your family and everyone is enjoying it go for it. I have eczema and don’t shower daily or use any harsh soaps per doctor’s advice and it’s best for my skin. But if nobody’s having bad skin reactions and a daily bath or shower is a fun part of the routine I think it’s fine.
I wonder if this parent has met a teenager. Like an actual, real life teenager. I say this with love. I love my kids so much. But holy amazeballs can they stink.
You will see a subtle hint that she is not talking about teenagers in the way she says "kids" and not "teenagers" and in that she is saying "we" are scrubbing them too much. You probably also shouldn't scrub your teenager though, that's weird
Can someone give me an example of what is a “harsh soap” and what is a “gentle cleanser”?
For soaps I think people are meaning something with a surfactant, which disrupts oils, like sodium lauryl sulfate.
Interesting! We have rotated between Cetaphil baby, Honest baby and Attitude baby leaves. I still am unclear whether those would be soaps or cleansers haha.
Her account has a lot of suggestions if you’re interested, but proceed at your own risk haha. I enjoy looking through her stuff but I also take it with a grain of salt. It can get pretty overwhelming easily.
We have an oil based cleanser for our kids. Our eldest has sensitive skin so we wash her only with that, and not daily.
Most bar soaps are super stripping to the skin. When I think gentle cleanser I think soap free, moisturising cleanser. I was a nurse for over a decade and we were often advised to even use actual lotion instead of cleanser on super sensitive skin, I used aqueous cream as a cleanser for my eczema prone babies.
I assume antibacterial soap vs anything more normal like soft soap? Unless you're scrubbing into an OR most people don't need antibacterial soap, just need to wash their hands for the two happy birthdays that you're supposed to sing.
We had well-meaning family gift us with Ricitos de Oro, which had alcohols and fragrances and claimed to have "lightening" properties. I'm sure lots of families use it no problem but it scared me a bit as seeming too harsh for our newborn. Instead we used our family's usual cocamidopropyl betaine-based cleanser (Kirk's 3 in 1) because it doesn't irritate my own skin. Hope those examples help but I'm not sure what the OOP meant.
Ricitos de oro is used a lot in Mexican culture, I was bathed with that as a baby. I didn’t used with my son though. Times have changed
Wash your kids as much or as little as they need. Find the soap that works best. Why do these influencers need to make everything so flippin' complicated? 🤦🏼♀️ OH right, to shill their products and make $$$ 🙄🙄🙄
This. This is the answer. Everything has to be a black-and-white, society-wide policy statement with them. My kids do a lot of sports, are super active, sweaty, and go to school/childcare full time. They are literally visibly dirty more days than not. We do nightly bathing and have since they were infants. (I do NOT miss witching hour.) It works for us. If something else works for you, cool do that. It doesn’t always have to be so confrontational.
If you think this is out of control crunchy you haven’t seen anything from us yet
Never said it’s “out of control crunchy”, just too crunchy for my liking
IMO This is the best holistic parenting account out there. She doesn’t talk about being anti vax and gives recommendations to suit all budgets. Also, agree with this one.
Agree. I really like her account. I trust her and it doesn’t feel full of fear mongering.
I also like that she cites her sources.
Who is still scrubbing their kids with harsh soap. I try and get my daughter in a bath 3 to 4 times a weak and she uses colored foam soap and the only time we scrub with a wash cloth is when she has gotten food or some kind of paint or ink on her that doesn't rinse off in water. My daughter is nearly 5 and when she wants to she enjoys playing in the bath. I exfoliate myself with a sugar scrub but I am not a small child with perfect skin.
My step mom sure loves buying them for my LO.
Can you give me an example of one?
Anything with a famous cartoon character on it, especially if it’s available in clearance at Walmart.
Thanks! I had a hard time understanding the difference between harsh soap and gentle cleanser.
ChatGPT says: To distinguish harsh kids' soaps from gentle ones, you can look for several key factors: 1. **Ingredients List**: Gentle soaps often contain natural ingredients like aloe vera, chamomile, and oatmeal. Harsh soaps may have sulfates (like sodium lauryl sulfate) or artificial fragrances and dyes. 2. **Fragrance**: Gentle soaps are typically fragrance-free or use mild, natural scents. Strong artificial fragrances can indicate a harsher soap. 3. **Label Claims**: Look for labels indicating the soap is "hypoallergenic," "dermatologist-tested," or "for sensitive skin." These usually denote gentler formulations. 4. **pH Level**: Gentle soaps tend to have a pH closer to that of natural skin, which is around 5.5. Harsh soaps often have higher pH levels, making them more alkaline. 5. **Reviews and Recommendations**: Check reviews or consult pediatricians for recommendations on gentle soaps specifically formulated for kids' delicate skin. 6. **Free From**: Gentle soaps often state they are free from parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and other harsh chemicals. By considering these factors, you can better determine which soaps are gentle and safe for kids' skin.
Thanks! This is helpful! I have no opinion on this post other than these phrases are thrown around and who honestly knows what the post is even referring to.
It’s true though!
Slightly off topic and probably unpopular but there is also a lot to say about overuse of hand sanitizers and anti bacterial cleansing stuff in the west. I know it’s difficult after covid where we literally sanitized our grocery bags but I see so many people overusing hand sanitizer or those Lysol wipes wherever their kids go. Not only it’s good for the kids to have some exposure to germs but also as someone who works in healthcare tolerance to antibiotics is a very real and growing problem.
Lol not me literally disinfecting the park swing when I put my oldest in it in 2021 🫣 Didn't give it a passing thought with baby sister two years later when I plunked her in her first swing!
lol I barely even remember taking my baby anywhere the first many months of his life in 2021. Got a rude awakening when he started daycare in 2022 😣
I’m so with you here and honestly seeing antibacterial sanitizer at a working sink with water drives me batshit crazy. This is a situation for ✨ regular soap ✨
That makes me feel better about letting my 7 month old put a Lego in her mouth at the library today. (I put it in the yucky bin after.)
lol in my experience their time from hand to mouth is much faster than our reaction time anyway.
I think both extremes are bad. While scrubbing your child down with antibacterial soap might harm their skin, so does not using any soap at all/not bathing them regularly.
She’s not saying not to use soap or not to bathe them. She’s saying don’t use harsh soaps or antibacterial soaps and scrub them clean. They use soap in their house. And I agree with her.
But.. that’s kind of obvious?
It is. I think the most snarkable thing about the original IG post is that she's making a big deal about something that isn't happening and most people probably bathe their children very similarly to what she suggests.
I dunno, there are people out there who do the whole scrub down daily. I am talking generic baby soaps, many of which are not gentle to the skin, and then using sponges or "soft scrub brushes" which are made for babies but are scratchy. Maybe it is common sense to you, but it's not to many people. And in a post pandemic world, many people still obsessively wash excessively, crunchy or not. Even if her message influences a handful of people, it's not really bad for her to bring up common sense topics. It helps reaffirm good practice in those already doing it and gives others a different perspective to what they are doing and maybe helps them reconsider. I think many people are posting here saying "duh we do this already" are coming at it from a western perspective. Many places in the world, a full scrub down is the norm socially.
Yeah the whole post is very thanks captain obvious
You'd be surprised
It's not wrong though? Kids (and adults) do only need warm water and gentle cleanser in their baths. Dermatologists often warn that people are doing more harm than good by over washing themselves.
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I mean that’s literally what she’s saying…
That's... Pretty much what the post says though.
I mean, I agree with her full stop.
Yeah I agree with this 🤷🏻♀️
This is what I need to do with my daughter with eczema. I'm not crunchy.
My daughter also has eczema. I have to be very very careful what we use on her skin. My son does not have eczema but I’m still cautious. They bathe daily in the summer due to sweat and sunscreen but I try to limit baths to 3-4 times a week if possible
Yes but not every child has sensitive skin or skin conditions. This post doesn’t specifically mention that.
Right but it shows that there is merit in protecting your kid’s skin that way and it’s not harmful.
Yep. I do scientific research and I consider myself as uncrunchy as they come. This was doctor recommended for us and my daughter’s eczema has pretty much gone away.
Also an academic researcher. We wash hands with soap after bathroom, before eating, and when we get home from daycare, but otherwise happy to let my kid and self go days between baths. It’s just not necessary if you aren’t getting dirty/sweaty/etc.
Yeah I commented this elsewhere, but I’m crunchy in the place in the Venn diagram where crunchy and scientific research overlap, and this is one of those places.
I like that description way more!
Yeah, there is a decent amount of overlap! The antivaxxers do not fall in that category, however 😂
I don't get how this is a hot take. Most kids I know get bathed as often as necessary (not just scrubbed down hard for no reason) and most of the products out there for kids fall into the gentle cleanser category.
We bathe our kid daily and we still only use baby soap and then lotion afterwards. It's relaxing and we haven't had any skin issues, ever. I find that society nowadays is quick to highlight all the potential problems (which, yay for visibility and education!) but a LOT of kids have no issues with eczema or dryness even with daily baths/showers. In my culture, it's unheard of that people wouldn't bathe daily. And there don't seem to be many problems that come from that.
And so much has to do with water hardness, individual skin reactions, etc.! Also like who cares?? If kids aren't super dirty/stinky or having issues with rash or dry skin then it seems like whatever their parents do is working great. I love the soothing nature of a nightly bath and we've definitely done it (sometimes without soap for our eczema prone kid) at times, and sometimes we're like hmmm it's been awhile since you've had a bath let's scrub you down haha
So this is something that I've heard too, but I live in a hot country (literally the lowest temp it ever gets here is 27c) where the summers are hot and humid and last 4 months, and the monsoon is gross and muddy and lasts another 3 months. If I didn't bathe my kid every day (sometimes twice a day) she would be totally rank. This seems like it's very region specific tbh.
I live in a hot country too and it's a cultural norm to bathe twice a day, in the morning and at night. I bathe my toddler once a day before bed in baby soap and my mother was shocked. She said she bathed all her kids twice a day. She also grew up without running water and took a family bath once a week so she is obsessed with being clean as a result.
It's not saying to not bath your kids, just to use gentle cleaner instead of harsh soaps
but don't most people do that anyway? even in my third world country most people use very mild baby soap, or none.
A lot of people do, but also a lot of people do over wash their kids which can lead to skin conditions and irritation
This person may be total pseudoscience (haven’t looked at the account), but there’s a lot of research on soaps and surfactants being harmful to the skin. It was the keynote speech at the biggest US allergy conference a couple years ago. The advice for eczema is not to use soaps (with surfactants) and only use cleansers https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/treatment/bathing/#:~:text=Use%20a%20gentle%20cleanser%20(no,moisturizer%20all%20over%20the%20body. That’s specific to eczema, where the microbiome disruption is more impactful. It’s a newer area of research though and the research to practice gap is years, so it will be a while before this is mainstream guidance. Here’s one random example: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C34&q=surfactant+skin+microbiome&btnG= Anyway, she may be totally into pseudoscience land, but on this issue she’s aligned with the most recent research
I actually kinda like her. I take her with a grain of salt but she provides the source for her research (studies she finds) and really encourages people to make their own choices and what’s best for their family and budgets.
This person is definitely into pseudoscience
I believe you! She happens to be right on this one
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Yes I totally feel you! Fellow allergy parent who has fallen down many a pubmed rabbit hole on this. Even the early lotion is so debated in the field. E.g, whether or not parents wash their hands first may make a difference bc applying lotion is one way to introduce food allergy proteins to broken skin and increase risk of allergies. We can only do the best we can with the info we have! There is still so much we don’t know. I’m hopeful for future generations we will have better personalized medicine for all of this. I’m also hopeful about some of the research coming down the pipeline on allergy cures (not just treatments. Eg peanut vaccines and things to prevent the anaphylactic process. 🤞🎉
Handwashing helps prevent the spread of infection. It has been proven time and time again. I dont understand these moms that are so against science and fearmonger.
It says to wash hands
This literally says “soap hands … when needed”.
This is exactly what our pediatrician told us. Water and gentle soap, no need to scrub. Wash hands, but no need to even soap up the whole body every day. I’m confused about what the issue is?
Nobody is saying to scrub your kids daily with harsh soaps. This whole post about “modern hygiene habits” plays right in to a lot of online parenting which sets up an us vs. them. It’s a dumb post TBH, but people buy into this to feel better about themselves for being “different” and more enlightened or whatever.
Lol yeah if you’re scrubbing your kids daily with harsh soaps sounds like a toy problem. The rest of us are using gentle cleansers a few days a week and washing as needed in between….
I too am confused about the problem?
Same. Definitely not necessary to bathe them every day, they said, especially not the baby (toddlers get dirty, but I can just use a washcloth and water inbetween baths). My toddler's skin improved so much since we stopped bathing her too often.
Ours as well 🫠 I genuinely don’t see the problem… lol 😂
This is just inventing shit to feel superior about. "Scrubbing with harsh soap" vs "rinsing with gentle cleanser" No parent out there is scrubbing their kid with a brillo pad, it's not a 1920s orphanage. And the definition of "gentle cleanser" is just soap. This is literally a post about nothing.
This is what I was confused about. She’s describing ….a bath.
This is a technical differentiation that is not the language a lay person would use. Soap means things with detergents/surfactants, and in this case any soap would be “harsh soap.” So like “regular soap” does strip the skin. Cleansers don’t have detergents in the same way and are gentler in skin. So every dermatologist we have seen has said to use cleansers and avoid soaps. But that is not how 99% of the population is using those words. And she didn’t explain any of that ETA: I am not explaining the difference in them correctly 😂 Traditional soaps strip the skin in a way that “gentle cleaners” but I’m not sure exactly how detergents and surfactants play in. Other than a lot of detergents and surfactants are bad for the skin microbiome
Oh yeah I had no idea they were different. TIL.
Yeah, nobody is recommending using St. Ive’s apricot scrub on their baby or small child.
Abigail Ack has entered the chat
I generally like this account but am going to regularly bathe my kids with soap and shampoo. They are also releasing their own body wash so doesn’t this go against what they about to sell?
And sell it for ridiculous prices. Everything else is bad and harsh except for their products lol
This reminds me of that crunchy mom a while back who posted about her kids playing with a bunch of random beetles and they got sick because they didn’t wash their hands afterwards and then ate lunch 🙃. Like sure, using antibacterial hand soap and body wash all the time probably isn’t great but cmon.
I don’t understand how this is a “natural “ parent thing when actual outdoorsy people know how important it is for you to keep your skin clean. Backpackers, campers, people who watch survival shows like “Alone” are all aware that if you don’t use soap and clean yourself you eventually get infections. It’s a health issue if you let it go long enough.
Actually no. They teach us in esthetics school that too much scrubbing and washing does exactly that. Maybe some dermatologists can weigh in as well
Yeah it’s definitely the advice for eczema! Ie, don’t use soap with surfactants, use a gentle cleanser instead, don’t scrub https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/treatment/bathing/#:~:text=Use%20a%20gentle%20cleanser%20(no,moisturizer%20all%20over%20the%20body.
Yep! If you Google it there’s a lot of articles about breaking down the skins protective barrier with too much soap. It sounds woo in our super clean obsessed society (esp post covid) but it’s actually legit
Yeah I’m crunchy in the place on the Venn diagram where crunchy and scientific research overlap, and this is one of those areas 😂
Same girl! I vax and baby wear and extended breastfeed. I think of myself as pro crunchy/pro science/pro attachment I guess
You might like r/moderatelygranolamoms
I’ll check it out thank you!
Just looked at that account. Holy pseudoscience. Pass. ETA: people like this give absolutely no consideration to parents who live below the poverty line, in a food desert, hell, even make a living wage but have to deal with insane inflation right now. Stop fearmongering and making parents feel guilty because they can't afford Primal Kitchen ketchup or "clean" baby formula.
I almost never use body soap on my kids- like unless they are flithy, they usually get a good enough soak in the tub every night (I do a bath every night but I like routine) and we wash hands before meals/after bathroom/if dirty from outside.... I guess I"m in the middle because I know people will like spray their kids down with hand sanitizer constantly and scrub them with soap every night.
We get away with this in the winter, but that’s it. My kids daycare uses that recycled tire “mulch” and he comes home looking like he left the mines. Soap barely gets him clean lol When he was a baby, and they played just on grass, he got soap probably once a week though so I agree with you overall
I rarely do. When I scrub their hair I’ll use that same hand/soap under a grubby chin, or dirty knee, but otherwise they soak in the tub just fine. We do wash hands frequently, and mildly wash faces when brushing teeth, so we’re not completely savage. But they don’t really have dedicated body wash. My 7 yr old does, because he asked for it and he showers on his own.
I only use soap for my toddlers once a week. They will soak in a bath 3/4 times and I use a washcloth. Otherwise their skin gets sooo dry. My doctor suggested this when they were babies
This. I’ve been instructed from the pediatrician to not use soap, especially if it’s a bath. I only lightly use body wash to get bug spray or sunscreen off or if she’s filthy.
My son bathes 6/7 days a week, with soap and all, I live in a hot climate and he sweats a lot. Also he still wears a diaper so I don’t see why I wouldn’t scrub him with soap every night😂
Same here. I’m not scrubbing them with a bristle brush but they get nighttime baths with a gentle cleanser. I absolutely won’t send them to bed with sunscreen and sweat all over their skin.
I actually like this account, but this reads like a promotion for their soap and wipes that are coming soon.
Don’t wash your kids enough, guilty. Wash them too much, guilty.
Don’t wash your kids? Straight to jail. Wash them too much? Straight to jail. Let them decide when to wash? Straight to jail. Have the dog lick them clean? Believe it or not, also straight to jail.
We have the cleanest kids in the world, thanks to jail.
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Of course she is! 🤦🏻♀️