It's possible this is a myth. 'Washing' yourself in other people's dead skin cells and liquefied sweat and grime, kind of defeats the purpose of taking a bath at all, don't you think?
Fast-forward to today and, although my kids stopped taking baths together some time ago, they now screw their noses up at sharing water altogether. Which begs the question: At what age do you stop making them share bath water with their siblings and let them take showers?
I searched my memory and couldn't recall the age I started to become a hygiene freak but, if hygiene was their reason, then fair enough. So the bath dried up and the daddy longlegs made their descent and, come 9-ish pm when the kids were all in bed, I stepped into my nice hot, steamy shower to wash away the day ... when it ran cold.
Ice-cold water on your bare skin is not what you want at 9-ish pm in the midst of winter.
Because I had not anticipated this and was lathered up with soap, I couldn't just leap out. Instead, I had to endure another few painfully cold minutes washing the soap off.
The following night I became the hot water police, yelling to the kids every few minutes to get out of the shower.
"But I've only just got in!" they yelled back.
Or: "I'm washing my hair."
The next night, after another stone cold shower, I performed random checks. Through the (frosted) shower door I caught one swaying and another drawing noughts and crosses on the shower door. All the while the precious hot water was running down the drain!
I became tired of being the hot water police - getting up and down off the couch was impeding on my Shortland Street time. I know cold water showers are supposed to be good for one's complexion, but they are not my cup of tea.
Short of returning to baths, I purchased an egg timer and placed it in the bathroom and what a difference it made! I've said it before but there's something about timers and alarms that get children's respect.
From my perch on the coach, I can hear the alarm go off, followed by the bang of the shower door opening and closing and I can relax knowing I will have a nice, hot shower later that night.
It's just as well they respect that egg timer because, with the water becoming murkier during football and rugby season, it's highly-likely my 'baby' would've been thrown out with the bath water.