Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard 'Wait for the Stink' Before Bathing Their Daughters

One week after Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis went viral for revealing that they only bathe their children,6-year-old daughter Wyatt and 4-year-old old son Dimitri, when they're visibly dirty, fellow celebrity parents, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, now weighing in on the cleanliness chatter. (

During a virtual appearance Tuesday on The View, Bell and Shepard, who are parents to daughters Lincoln, 8, and Delta, 6, opened up about their hygiene habits. "We bathed our children every single night prior to bed as their routine," said Shepard. "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?'"

Shepard then shared Tuesday that sometimes, five or six days would go by without their daughters being washed without smelling. Moments after Shepard's admission, Bell chimed in. But just as Shepard was about to assure viewers their kids don't stink, Bell stopped him short. "Well, they do sometimes. I'm a big fan of waiting for the stink," she said on The View. "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. Because honestly, it's just bacteria. And once you get the bacteria, you gotta be like, 'Get in the tub or the shower.'"

And with that, Bell confirmed her stance and support of Kutcher and Kunis, "I don't hate what they're doing. I wait for the stink."

Kutcher and Kunis, who have been married since 2015, appeared on Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast in late July and spoke about how they bathe their children after the topic of showering came up, according to People. "Here's the thing: If you can see dirt on them, clean them. Otherwise, there's no point," said Kutcher at the time.

Although some may question Kunis and Kutcher's tactics, science, however, backs it up. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, children aged 6 to 11 need a bath once or twice a week, when they're visibly dirty (for instance, if they've played in mud), or are sweaty and have body odor. Additionally, the AAD advises that children are bathed after swimming in bodies of water, whether it be a pool, lake, river, or ocean.

For tweens and teenagers, the AAD advises that they shower or take a bath daily, wash their face twice a day, and bathe or shower after swimming, playing sports or sweating heavily.

As unconventional as Bell and Shepard's stance may seem, it's important to remember that this isn't the first time they've challenged parenting norms. Bell, who wed Shepard in 2013, previously opened up to Us Weekly about choosing her battles with the kids. "I just let my car get granola all over it because I'm like, 'Well, this is the time in my life where my car is just going to be covered in granola,' and I can either fight that for the next five years or I can just surrender and be OK with it, and I've chosen to surrender," she said in the 2016 interview. "Everything is easier in acceptance mode."

Two years later, Bell and Shepard also elaborated on why they try to resolve their own squabbles in front of their kids. "You know, generally, kids see their parents get in a fight and then parents sort it out in a bedroom and then later they're fine, so the kid never learns, how do you de-escalate? How do you apologize?" said Shepard to Us Weekly in 2018. "So we try, as often as possible, to do that in front of them. If we fought in front of them, we want to also make up in front of them."

There's no question that Bell and Shepard are refreshingly honest in all aspects of life. And while there may be differing opinions on the parenting front, the couple clearly seems happy with their daily routines.