How often should parents bathe their babies? What should parent’s use while bathing the baby? When should parents give the baby her or his first bath?

These are questions that every parent must have struggled with when it was time to give their baby his or her first bath. Along with other responsibilities that new parents have to take care of, giving the baby a bath is not only important for health but should also be enjoyable for the baby, says livestrong. One of its articles says that baths help protect the health of the baby’s skin and babies do need regular baths to clean their hair and skin more consistently. Baths control excess oil in the hair, clean the baby’s skin from too much moisture and dry the areas between her skin folds.

WebMd says the first bath for a baby should preferably be a sponge bath. Some basics of getting a baby bath ready include:

• Using a bath sponge to cleanse one area at a time.

• Clean the hair at the end of the bath so that the baby does not catch a cold.

• Gently pat the baby dry after the bath as rubbing the skin will irritate it.

• Water should be warm, if preferable.

It’s also fine to give the baby a bath before his umbilical cord has fallen off and healed, says babycentre.co.uk. Remember, bathing a baby is not difficult provided parents keep in mind certain rules. Know more by flipping through the pages of this ClipBook.