Kristen Bell waits for children to 'stink' before giving them a bath

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard only bathe their children when they noticeably start to stink.
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard. Photo credit: Getty Images

Kristen Bell is a "big fan of waiting for the stink" when it comes to bathing her daughters.

Last week, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher sparked debate after they appeared on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast and announced they don't bathe their children - Wyatt, six, and Dimitri, four - until they can "see the dirt on them".

And now, Dax and his wife Kristen have come to the defence of the couple, insisting they stopped bathing their daughters - Lincoln, eight, and Delta, six - every day when the youngsters started handling their own bedtime routine.

In a joint appearance on The View, Dax said: "We bathed our children every single night prior to bed as their routine, then somehow they just started going to sleep on their own without their routine and we had to start saying [to each other] like, 'Hey, when was the last time you bathed them?'"

While Kristen added: "I'm a big fan of waiting for the stink. Once you catch a whiff, that's biology's way of letting you know you need to clean it up. There's a red flag. Honestly, it's just bacteria; once you get bacteria you gotta be like, 'Get in the tub or the shower.' So I don't hate what [Mila and Ashton] are doing. I wait for the stink."

Mila and Ashton went viral after their comments as people both agreed and disagreed with their stance on washing their children.

The discussion began when Armchair Expert co-hosts Dax and Monica Padman spoke about the frequency in which they wash.

When the CHIPS star told Monica that she should "not be getting rid of the natural oil on your skin with a bar of soap every day", the 33-year-old podcast host replied: "I can't believe I am in the minority here of washing my whole body in the shower. Who taught you to not wash?"

The Bad Moms star, 37, revealed that she hardly ever had a shower growing up as a child because they didn't have hot water at home.

Mila explained: "I didn't have hot water growing up as a child, so I didn't shower much anyway. But when I had children, I also didn't wash them every day. I wasn't that parent that bathed my newborns - ever."

Ashton, 43, added: "Now, here's the thing: If you can see the dirt on them, clean them. Otherwise, there's no point."

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