63 Percent of Parents “Wait For the Stink” to Bathe Kids

The internet went into a full-fledged frenzy when several celebrity couples admitted to not bathing their kids until it was absolutely necessary. But a new study shows that their approach seems to be in line with most parents.

One Poll conducted the survey by asking 1,002 American families about their bathing habits, as well as how frequently parents bathe their children. And based on the results, holding off until your kid starts to stink is the standard approach for a majority of parents.

While 84 percent of those surveyed identified bathing as a “crucial” part of their child’s daily routine, 63 percent said that they agree with waiting until their kid smells to give them a bath or shower. And only 35 percent said that they bathe their kid seven times or more a week and given that there are seven days in the week, that means only about a third of parents are bathing their kid every day.

This bathing controversy all started when Kristen Bell revealed that she and husband Dax Shepard have a laissez-faire approach to cleaning their kids, saying that they believe in “waiting for the stink” before making them hop in the bath or shower. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis expressed a similar wait-and-see tactic, as Kunis told Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast that they only bathe their two kids when they “can see dirt.”

For what it’s worth, despite a lot of people expressing disgust or even outrage at these “admissions,” most experts suggest that this sort of approach is generally fine. In fact, there are even some who suggest young kids should only be bathed two or three times a week because their skin is sensitive. It’s not really until a kid hits puberty that showering daily becomes more of a priority.

Of course, if you do bathe your kid every day, that’s fine, too. The real takeaway is that as long as your kid is healthy and taken care of, they’ll probably be okay.