Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis spark controversy for not bathing their children every day. Here’s what pediatricians are saying.

Dude, where’s my soap?

While many families view bath time as an essential nighttime ritual, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have revealed that washing is more sporadic in their home. The old one This 70s show co-stars and parents of 6-year-old daughter Wyatt and 4-year-old son Dimitri admitted during an appearance on Dax Shepard’s Chair expert last week that neither they nor their children have daily body wash.

“If you can see the dirt on them, clean them up,” Kutcher said of his approach to bathing his children. “Otherwise, it’s no use.

Kunis added that she “was never that parent who bathed my newborn babies.” Agree with Shepard’s argument that daily soaping can strip the body of its natural oils – much to the horror of her co-host, Monica Padman, who asked, “Who taught you not to wash yourself? ” – the couple explained that they rarely shower but that they wash their vital organs (armpits and groin) on a daily basis. Kunis also washed his face twice a day, while Kutcher noted that he would splash his face after a workout.

The couple’s comments sent shockwaves online, sparking a speech about hygiene practices and countless memes at the expense of their families. Dorien Toku’s Exfoliating and Cleansing Sapo Body Sponge sold – to the tune of several thousand dollars in sales – after author Luvvie Ajayi Jones weighed in on “#ShowerGate” on social media and pleaded with his followers to step up their own grooming game.

Despite disgusted reactions to Kunis and Kutcher’s comments, pediatricians say the couple aren’t really doing their kids a dirty job by not giving them a bath every day. According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, children between the ages of 6 and 11 should bathe at least once or twice a week and when they are dirty, sweaty, smelly, or after swimming.

“Children do not need to take a bath or shower every day, unless they are particularly dirty, like after a day at the beach, in the park or in a theme park”, Dr Nina Shapiro , director of pediatric ENT at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA and author of The Ultimate Kids Guide to Great Health, says Yahoo Life.

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Dr. Nanette Silverberg, chief of the Pediatric Dermatology Department at Mount Sinai Health System and Clinical Professor of Dermatology and Pediatrics at Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, adds that while children may vary depending on their particular health needs. of skin, bathing ‘every day is drying the skin for most people.

According to Silverberg, Americans are generally “aggressive washers” and have “culturally overdone” when it comes to bathing, which she attributes to high incidences of eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis. By limiting baths (using mild, fragrance-free cleansers) to a few times a week and focusing on daily skin hydration instead, parents can help prevent their children from developing eczema and rashes. skin that accompany it.

“You don’t really have to bathe every day, for most children and especially infants,” she told Yahoo Life. “It’s not like they’re rolling in mud, so you’re not, per se, worried about bathing them that often.”

Once children begin to reach their teenage years and adolescence and puberty begins, starting around the age of 11, more frequent washing is recommended. At this point, says Silverberg, washing is more about practicing good hygiene and getting rid of dirt, bacteria, and any body odor.

And just as Kutcher revealed that he pays special attention to certain parts of the body when washing, Silverberg recommends focusing on skin folds “because that’s where bacteria, yeast, and dirt go. ‘potentially accumulate with sweat “.

“Obviously you want to remove visible dirt from the skin, which in small children tends to be the hands, feet and face,” she adds. “[But] for most people, you don’t really need soap on every inch of your body. ”

And what about washing the hair? For straight hair, shampooing twice a week is fine, says Silverberg, who advises young colored patients with textured or coiled hair to wash their hair just once a week to avoid drying out or damage. For longer hair that extends to a ponytail, the lower part can also be conditioned, but for the most part infants and toddlers don’t need to bother with the conditioner.

Layers are another factor. Since infants and toddlers who wear diapers are changed at least a few times a day, parents may worry less about soaping that area on top of that. But Silverberg recommends using wipes for sensitive skin – or even a tissue with water – and barrier creams to prevent irritation.

“Even the people who don’t say who say they don’t wash their child frequently wash certain areas of the skin frequently,” she points out. “Small children and infants wash really frequently, but in special places [including] face and groin / seat. “

In short, Kunis and Kutcher’s lax toilet routine, while unsavory for some, is good enough by pediatricians’ standards – as long as they don’t neglect a significant part of the body.

“The importance of handwashing with soap is even more critical these days, in the face of the increase in COVID-19 in children,” Shapiro warns. “Handwashing with hot soapy water, followed by drying with a clean towel, far outperforms water alone or hand sanitizers. As soon as a child is able to stand up, or if he has crawled on the ground or on the ground, hand washing should be frequent and a routine not to skip.

Video courtesy of NBCUniversal and E.