Do I have to include a bath in my child’s bedtime routine?
Absolutely not! It is true that, for many children, baths are a soothing activity and a great sleep cue. Being in warm water is a totally unique sensory experience that, if performed (almost) every night, will begin to trigger that expectation of sleep for your child and settle them into a delightfully calm state - perfect for bedtime! There is also data (here and here) to suggest that a warm bath before bedtime helps to drop the body’s core temperature (which occurs naturally during sleep) and shortens the “sleep onset latency” (or how long it takes to fall asleep). Essentially, dropping core body temperature via a bath triggers the body to "get sleepy." But there are a few reasons why you should consider eliminating bath time from your evening routine:
1. Your child doesn’t like baths
If bath time is not your kiddo’s jam, please separate it from your bedtime routine! The last thing you want is your child to get upset and agitated in the evening as bedtime approaches. Of course if your baby is covered in pureed carrots you may not have a choice. But if you’ve been bathing your child after dinner because you thought you had to - free those thoughts! Separate bath time from bed time.
2. You don’t like giving baths
In the same vein as above, if you don’t enjoy bath time, that energy will hang around as everyone winds down. I never loved bath time, the splashing, water dripping everywhere, trying to rinse shampoo out without a single drop of water getting in eyes, the whining when bath time was over, the crying because my baby was now cold. Why on earth would I want to do that every night? So I didn’t. Bath time was never part of our nightly routine and it was never missed.
3. Frequent baths dry out sensitive skin
This was a big factor for me as well. Baths are very drying to sensitive baby and toddler skin. If your child has eczema, frequent baths are discouraged because they will worsen dry skin. Even if your child doesn’t have eczema, in the cold winter months (depending on where you live) the dry air sucks moisture out of skin making it much more sensitive at baseline. If you notice your child’s skin is very dry and irritated, or if your kiddo is scratching, consider reducing the frequency of their baths (and moisturize right after!).
4. Bath time pushes bed time too late
If you know me, I am all about early bedtimes for little kids. Early bedtimes ensure your baby/toddler/child is getting as much deep restorative non-REM sleep as possible to set them up for staying well-rested the following day. If you have been trying to put your child to bed earlier, but can’t figure out how to make that happen, consider eliminating bath time. That will save you an extra 20 minutes to get your child to bed earlier!
My takeaway - if your child knows that bath time means sleep is coming and loves it, if you enjoy bath time, and your child is getting to sleep at an appropriate early bedtime each night, no need to change a thing! But if you’ve been wondering whether all kids need to be bathed before bed, the answer is no. The important thing is to have a consistent bedtime routine that your child can anticipate. Consider instead adding an extra book to your bedtime routine, singing a favorite song, or quietly walking around the room saying goodnight to everything (‘good night lamp, goodnight books, goodnight window”) as a lovely wind down ritual.
Rachel Glantz is the certified pediatric sleep consultant and founder of Pine Street Sleep LLC.
