Mila Kunis & Ashton Kutcher Only Bathe Their Kids When They Can See Dirt And, Fair
How often should kids bathe? Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher’s stance is shocking some fans
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are sparking a debate about how often kids need to bathe, after revealing that their family’s answer is “not much.”
The couple appeared on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast and one particular exchange about hygiene ended up going viral.
“I wasn’t that parent that bathed my newborns — ever,” Kunis said. Which is totally fair. I mean, unless your tiny little baby had a big giant diaper blowout or massive spit up, they don’t really get too dirty during their busy day of eating, sleeping, and being adorable. In those early days, we’re all really just doing baths for the cute pics, right? And because we spent a fortune on a giant plastic infant tub we probably didn’t need?
“I didn’t have hot water growing up as a child so I didn’t shower very much anyway,” the mom of two added as an explanation.
But when Kutcher jumped in to say that their philosophy hasn’t changed much now that their kids are a little older (daughter Wyatt is 6 and son Dmitri is 4) — it raised eyebrows for some. “Here’s the thing: If you can see the dirt on them, clean them. Otherwise, there’s no point,” Kutcher said.
The internet had some thoughts on that revelation, because of course it did.
Personally, I am not at all pressed about the Kunis/Kutcher household bath routine. Whether we want to admit it or not (let alone be publicly judged online for it), I think every parent at some point or other has offered a quick wipe down with a baby wipe in lieu of a bath for their kid, and the world doesn’t end.
I give my kids a bath every other day, and it’s never been because they smell or seem dirty — but just because it seems like the “right” schedule (i.e. the one that won’t get me mom-shamed). And also because if they go any longer than that, I start freaking out about them being the class “Pigpen” kid, because Peanuts cartoons have forever planted the image of stink lines in my mind.
I think it’s say to safe that until your child is unmistakably smelly, how often to bathe them is basically just a parental choice, and there’s not really a right or wrong answer (unless you believe Twitter). For what it’s worth, however, many doctors might Team Kutcher when it comes to baths — the American Academy of Dermatologists says for kids who haven’t hit puberty yet, a bath just once or twice a week is probably fine.
