This morning I woke up, and after finishing my motherly chores (cleaning up my baby, feeding him, etc.) I opted to check on the news updates, and see what was going on in the world, but what I saw really shocked me, and the reason for this is because no one seems to think there is anything wrong with it. Claire Goss, a mother of three and part time blogger, came out to the world saying she doesn't have the time to bathe her baby and that she does bathe him maybe once a week, but she does admit that she does go longer. I was personally filled with rage after hearing about it in an online forum and then watching parents advocate for this fact. How is it possible that bathing your child is hurting their skin? Last time I checked if they're not changed regularly they get rashes so how can they not bathe regularly? And why is the nation agreeing with such a mockery of parenting; we aren't allowed to spank children for its abuse, but letting them go for days or weeks without a bathe isn't a crime?
In her blog post Claire states that her pediatrician's office says that there is no need to bathe babies daily and that it causes dry skin. I sincerely don't understand how bathing can contribute to dry skin, maybe the soaps or water being used but not the simple act of bathing. Also there is plenty of merchandise on sale everywhere that can be used to lubricate a baby's skin, organic, cheep or otherwise; lotion, Vaseline, baby oil, etc. Being that I am from the Caribbean, U.S Virgin Islands people seem to think that it is more necessary to bathe a child here as opposed to the U.S mainland, my question is though if that deductive reasoning was derived through weather patterns, then I don't understand how they would still insist that bathing a child in Georgia during the summer would cause complications or that it wouldn't be necessary seeing as the heat index clearly indicates that many states are habitually hotter than in the Caribbean due to humidity.
I am a part of an online community of parents and educators, of which both groups seem to have slightly different opinions, but none are saying what I personally think they should which is "This is wrong:". Any advocate for children or a parent with a heart would treat their own child as they would treat themselves, with that being said how many parents don't bathe for a week or more because it may cause dry skin. I tried to reach out to my personal pediatrician, but they were unavailable within their office this morning and in the afternoons usually she's at the hospital. Child care is one thing that is done universally but in different ways. It is not my intent to 'condemn' those who choose alternative practices, but I would implore upon those 'modern parents' to seek knowledge in the area prior to implementing new practices and be prepared to be scrutinized especially if you have no reason for your actions other than 'Mother knows best'.
While I'm sure that the original blog post by Claire Goss and the Good Moring America interview are linked within my blog page I would like to share once more so everyone can get all the information I did before commenting. If anyone would like to discuss this further or provide any other insights they are more than welcome, even if not aligned with mine. Please comment or email me at usvi.childhood.learning@gmail.com
GMA Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC_honYXGUc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Original post by Claire Goss http://babble.com/baby/i-dont-bathe-my-baby/
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