Can Going Swimming Count as a Bath....?

The chlorine may make them itchy and sheets smell weird. But if there's no chlorine then go for it.
My husband seriously asked me it would be ok to put bubble bath on the slip-n-slide and then slide them down it a few times. I'm not kidding either. LOL

If the pool is chlorinated, a quick shower-off would be good. I don't like chlorine on my skin.

I'd be the last person to talk about proper hygiene.... my son gets a shower with my husband once a week, otherwise (if he's been wearing sunblock or is muddy) he stands in the tub and just gets a soap/rinse off. Works for us!

I don't see why not, if it's only once or twice a week, not every night. Like you said, it's not all summer. Isn't summer a time to bend the rules a bit?

Have a great, wet summer!

Hi J.-

My ex used to travel for work A LOT.

When kiddos were very little, we had a kiddie pool in the back yard. I cannot tell you how many times...if it was close to dinner...I would bring out the baby shampoo and literally HOSE them all off...and put their PJ's on.

I am sure the neighbors thought I was completely insane...but it worked! And the kids and I still chuckle over it to this day!

Thanks for the memory!
Best Luck!
michele/cat

We call that a "White Trash Bath"!

Of course, just like chewing gum counts as brushing your teeth.

Wow some of you are so serious! Have a drink and lighten up!

I think if it is in your own pool, in your backyard, and you control the chemicals, etc. then, yes - swimming can equal bathing.

But if swimming in a public pool or a lake, then no - at least have them rinse off in the shower.

Proper hygiene blah blah blah - made me laugh. Thank you.

Why not?! Works for me! That would be one less item off the check list.

Our ped specifically told us that children do not need bathing everyday - and it could dry out their skin.

I have lobbied hard for the last 15 months that little man can skip a bath once in a while.

So far that's happened once - on girls night out when I was in charge of bath time.

I really really want to agree with you - but have you considered the chlorine?

Anyway...of course they can go straight to bed after swimming - we all did!

Totally with you on this. I attempt to at least have them rinse off the salt/chlorine after but not a deal breaker. I pretty much lived in pools and oceans as a child (had the green hair to prove it), so I'm pretty sure this isn't a new idea :)

It's all water - I say close enough and go with it ;-)

Yep! We do this too.

If you're worried about chlorine irritating the skin, bring along a little bar of travel soap so they can soap down and rinse off at the pool showers.

Often my boys are too dang tired to take a shower when they get home from the pool. Pick your battles, I say.

Most definitely!!! : )

No I dont consider it a bath. Just because of the chlorine needs to be washed off after swimming, and same with a lake etc. But my family has sensitive skin.

We have a pool in the backyard also. I am with you 100%. Sometimes they are so exhausted from all day of swimming....and mom too. Yes i said it, i have skipped a shower or two in the summer and called myself "pool clean"....lol!

It always did in my book ;)

At my house, going swimming sure does count as a bath on many days. Water is water.

late to the party as always lately - but to me it kinda counts as 1/2 a bath. maybe not 100%, but close lol. if we are going somewhere that requires spit and polish i require a "real" bath/shower, because of the hair issue mostly. but in general, yes, i am totally cool with skipping a bath because we went swimming today. for normal, every day activities. no problem!

Hi! We say our kids are bleached not bathed!! Seriously, they swim 5-7 days a week 1 1/2-2 hours, (and that's just at the Y, we have a pool too) . They are way cleaner than any bar of soap can do them

Emphatic yes from me.

If I use soap. But there is an awful lot of stuff in pools that you would rather not know about.

I'm more inclined to let swimming count as a shower/bath if its a natural water sourse, like a lake or a stream rather than a municipal pool.

Does it count more toward a bath if you wear the same attire at the water source that you would in the bath tub? ;~)) JK.

Good luck to you and yours.

It works fine for my 8yo, but for my 14yo, soap is required. ;)

Nope, but have 'em jump in a quick shower while they are still wet. Chuck in a bar of soap and some shampoo and you're all good. Hmm...or pull out the hose? lol

You need to wash the chlorine from the pool off - chlorine isn't a shampoo substitute and when left on the skin, will dry it out.

In my world it is. If the dirt is removed I don't really care if they smell like flowery soap in the end. Just if you have girls with long hair put some conditioner in.

The reason I say no is because the chemicals make skin itchy and hair green. If she was in clean, fresh water...yeah. Sometimes it's just easier.

Depends where we're swimming.

Crystal clear mountain lake? Heck yes. Of course. The more days of happy sunshine, dirt, and swimming, the better.

A pool? Only in so much as dipping in a pond of pee would suffice as a shower.

Any of the 'lakes' around here? Only in so much as trawling through staph, sewage runoff, and algae counts as a bath.

The Salish Sea...weeeeeeell...Budd Bay? I wouldn't stick my toe in without a chemical wash. The beach near our house? Oh yes, it is a tonic of saline health. Nothing like going to bed smelling of salt.

So yah, it depends :-)

It can in my household! Not a week in a row or anything like that, but for one night...yeah, it works.

With a rinse off afterwards, sure!

I say yes! My kids often do that, or they might jump in the shower right before bed to wash the chlorine out of their hair. But they have definitely gone to bed after swimming and they are just fine! (:

I'm always tempted to soap them up and let them stand in the rain, but maybe this is even easier! Once in awhile, I count them clean from the soap from bubble blowing since they manage to pour it all over themselves every single time.

Yep, it does in our house! A long as it's not a public pool (you never know what's gone in there), or seawater.

But then again, my children shower every night, so if we don't get it on a swimming day, then they'll get it the next day.

Absolutely. Soak your kids in chlorine for an hour or so, and they don't get much cleaner than that! That said, the kids normally shower after they get out of the pool, and somethimes I even make them use shampoo. If we are camping, then lakewater is definitely counted as bathing.

Since I don't bathe my kids every night anyway, sure it counts for us!

I would love to say "yes", but due to sensitive skin....those stupid pool chemicals have to be washed off of my family. :(

& then I do remember many, many times....in the early years of our lake house....when we used to take baths in the lake or river! I think I was 15 when we finally put in a well. Horrors! & yes, we have photos of bathtime, complete w/ bar soap & a bottle of shampoo....floating down the river!

No. I wouldn't allow mine to take a bath or shower at home without soap and I wouldnt pour chlorine in the tub at bathtime. I feel the act of bathing is using a towel, loofah or bath puff that has bath wash/shower gel on it and actually washing the body to clean off the dirt. I don't think it's the worst thing to skip a shower a time or two after swimming, but I wouldn't allow it on a regular basis.

My SIL counts it with her kids!

I don't with my own, but mainly because my daughter has very long, straight, fine hair, and if she doesn't wash it and get all the pool chemicals out (we do have a chlorine pool) then it damages her hair and dries it out like straw. And since she has to shower, so does brother. I've always made them do this, and it is just understood that if they swim, they take a shower. No biggie. Especially since they no longer need me to help!

OMG is this my husband writing this??? He says the exact same thing. ha ha ha I agree with Hazel--it's the chlorine and honestly it seems like they put more and more in the water. Even after I use Suave's swimming soap, I can still smell the chlorine on them.

Being from Ohio, I didn't even know there was such a thing as a salt water pool!
I would have said absolutely not, due to the chlorine, but now, ehhh, I don't know. When my kids swim, they always have to shower or bathe afterwards to get the chemicals off. I'd still probably say yes because there's no soap involved.

My kids would say 100% yes.
I say it depends on how sweaty and gross they got before the swim.

I think it depends on how late they are swimming. There have been times when I just let my daughter go to bed because we are just too tired from swimming. I don't do it often because she gets very dry skin from the chlorine.

You did remind me of a flight I took from Jamaica to Newark. Two women in front of me were talking and one told the other she smelled really bad (she did). The smelly one said she had been swimming all week so she didn't need a shower. Thank goodness it was not a full flight and I was able to move away from her.

LOL, Such a DAD question. :) My husband gets so annoyed when it's bath night. Even if it's HIS night to do bedtime, most of the time I end up doing it. If it's cool with you, go for it. Just the thought of the pool ick all over the bed, blankets, and pillow though make my skin crawl...

Since pool is yours, I say yes - no mtter if it's salt water or clorinated!

btw - if pool is properly treated, the water is 'cleaner' than what comes out of your tap! still doesn't mean I want to drink it tho! LOL!! (usually only private pools will be as public has to treat for those that also use pool as darn toilet)

no I do not consider swimming a bath. There are chemicals in the pool that can dry out your skin and even with chlorine in the pool, the water is still dirty. We make sure our kids are washed and cleaned and put lotion on after swimming. Also, why would you want your kids smelling like chlorine?

It's happened with us - I know they should be bathed/showered after being in a pool because of the chlorine but sometimes it just doesn't happen. Usually because I am just too tired and she's just too tired and she just needs to get to bed pronto (DD is almost 5). And it would be one thing if it was a quick shower, but she still won't do showers (refuses, freaks her out, but will happily run through the sprinkler all day long). And I just don't have the energy to do a full-on bath, and she doesn't need to spend extra time playing in the tub - she just needs to get to sleep ASAP because she is overtired. I just don't sweat it. But I will make sure she gets her bath the next night.

If she's been in a lake, I am more adamant about a bath. And if it's been the ocean, it's a must.

Interestingly, I grew up and spent my entire childhood all summer either swimming in the lake or at my friend's pool every day (our house was on a lake and my friend across the street had a swimming pool). And I don't remember my mother making us shower or bathe every night afterwards. When my stepsons were growing up, we were all anal about it.

Sure it counts. Not all summer without some soap and water, but sure if in a pool. The lake, ocean or creek.. Not so much...

For M. bath is not only about getting wet in water :) Don't your kids need to use soap and scrub clean? Also do your kids swim nude or take a bath with clothes on? If not how can it be the same ? :)
I would say a quick shower right out of the pool and then to bed. Or a shower first and then pool would work as well. Anything works as long as they are clean , just swimming doesn't make you clean.

If you rinse them off after the swim - and girls rinse out their hair and condition at least it should not be too bad. When I was young I lived in the pool and I just hopped in the shower, rinsed off the chlorine and conditioned my hair daily and shampoo/conditioned every 3 days. So, will the kids survive? YEP! But you need to still care for their skin and cholorine is not good when left on skin.

Just asking? But... you already know what you want to do and you "don't need to hear all the comments on proper hygiene blah blah blah"....so why post? Just for discussion, I guess? Sorry, J., I'm just not sure why folks post when they have their minds made up already.

Enough times of not showering after the pool (salt water or chlorinated, doesn't matter), and the kids will be scratching their dry, itchy skin and scalps. Their scalps will have salt in them and their hair will dry out and need extra conditioning. Kids do not need to bathe every single day, but neither do they need to leave salty or chlorinated water on their skins and hair.

Yes... My mom did this with me and would often put in a leave in conditioner treatment.. Oh and after they get out of the pool.. Just hose/ rinse hair first then leave in conditioner/detangler.

I second the 'no child died from a lack of a bath one night.' As for bathing constituting a bath, it does in our house if everyone is tired enough. I'm not prolonging the torture when everyone is on the verge of meltdowns. I will say we use a garden hose and soap outside. I can rinse bathing suits and soap our toddler in one go. I consider it efficiency. We have a chlorine pool so it's more about getting the sunscreen off. I can't stand salt water pools. My skin goes nuts so in that case I'd be forced to shower. I can't ask my toddler how he feels so I assume he also suffers and gets a shower accordingly.

My husband would say yes
I say no
However, I may let them skip a bath after swimming in the pool, but would not consider them bathed.

summer is a long time...LOL

I don't think so, even if it was a salt water pool, because salt isn't good on the skin either. But with that being said, I've skipped night bath before when I know they have been swimming, even in chlorine water. My kids usually take at least one bath a day. However, only my 5 year old, do I make sure he has, the other two are teenagers, and they take after me and love bathing. My 5 year old does too, it's never a fight to get him to take one either, and just recently he discovered he love the shower, for one week, I think we took at least 3 showers a day.

Not in a lake, but in a pool is ok with me.
Not ok with my ocd husband.

My mom used to tell us kids we had to either take a shower or go in the pool on bath day, I usually chose the pool I think it works except for hair washing, which doesn't need to be done as often anyway.

Lucky you, salt-water pool in your backyard!!

Well they are clean after a swim but not good to let them have the clorine on the skin after the pool! Very harsh on skin! But hey after a long soak in the pool they are very clean :)

In your specific situation, I'd say its fine. I have yet to hear of a child dying because they didn't have a real bath one day.

I tried to leave the hygeine comments out. But if you ever do catch a news report on testing of public pool water, you may end up bathing them anyways. ;)

We have a backyard saltwater pool, and I think my 7 year old has only had an actual bath/shower 3 times since school ended 2 weeks ago, but she's in the pool every day. :-)

Well if your kids are blonde their hair can turn green if you don't wash it after swimming. My kid has a little plastic pool that we empty each time. When I am really tired I have been guilty of bringing the baby wash outside and spraying him down with the hose (he hates that though...He's three) Oh and no lectures on hygiene from me. When my daughter was newborn (like under a month old.) sometimes I would relieze I hadn't bathed my toddler in a week. Gross I know.

For me, it depends on whether they have sun screen on. I'd like to have that washed off preferably. So after a long sweaty day of sunscreen and chlorine, they'd probably get thrown in the tub. I probably wouldn't throw sunscreen on at the end of the day a couple hours before bedtime so in the situation you're describing, I'd consider them clean enough. And if they were splashing in the kiddie pool...it would totally count. They get baths almost every day, so they'd probably be getting washed properly the next day anyway. :)

Well, if it were chlorine I would have said yes. But since it is a saltwater pool, I have to say no. When I get out of saltwater pool I feel gross and my hair feels nasty - just like getting out of the ocean.

If it is fresh water pool, yes. Like you said, not all summer.
If its a salt water pool, no - please take a quick shower afterwards.
:)

Nope, unless you use shampoo and soap in your pool. Ummm...there are little cracks and crevices that need cleaning, ya know what I mean. You don't want the little girls (provided you have girls) to get an ouie down there.

I would stay yes as long as they do take bath. Definatley

Oh gosh no it doesn't count as bathing. It doesn't matter if it's chlorine or salt water. Neither is good for the skin or hair and ought to be bathed off before bed time. If you're talking about "falling into bed tired" and you're camping and there aren't any showers around, that's different.

if it has chlorine then a quick rinse off should be done just so its not on their skin all night.

If its in a lake or something then that is good enough!

When we go to my Pops cabin for the weekend its on an island the only difference between swimming and bath time is during bath time a bar of soap is throwen to them while in the river :)

eh.... I do not. But only for the fact that my kids have sensitive skin so I have to scrub the world off of them - poor kiddos.

I am sure it woud be fine for most, just not us.