Do Children Get Cleaner the More you Have?

My kids have almost never gone more than a day without a bath. They are covered in grime at the end of each day. Sometimes, in the midst of winter, when they are not outside all day sweating like pigs, I might push the bath to the following morning. But 36-hours is the longest any of them have made it without getting at least a quick shower. They are filthy.

My 8-year still thinks it’s a blast to stomp in puddles, dig up rocks out of the Georgia red clay, and rolls down the hill in our backyard. She also goes from tossing the football, to dribbling a basketball, to riding her bike, then riding her scooter — all in one afternoon. She’s sweaty and dirty.

My 5-year old flips somersaults over the trapeze swing on our playset — her hair dangling in the mud on each flip. She colors with sidewalk chalk on the driveway every single day, particularly when it’s raining, since water often smears the chalk into beautiful streaks of color.

My 2-year old thinks humus is great for shrinking pores, and that maple syrup is the perfect substance to moisterize dry skin. She also likes to draw with “washable” markers on her face, and any piece of skin that is exposed. She also poops and takes off her own diaper before I can get to her, stepping in it while announcing to the world that she has a dirty diaper.

Unless I want to wash their bed sheets every night, my kids HAVE to bathe before bedtime.

Now there’s another show out to prove that families with more kids are cleaner than mine. 9 by Design is on Bravo. I watched my first show the other day. Another large family — this one has seven children — all beautiful and sparkly clean, wearing clothes that looked like they’ve been ironed! (I haven’t ironed clothes since the ’90s.)

Are my kids the only filthy ones out there? Do you skip days bathing your kids?