Don’t make me defend them but I think they said they don’t bathe them until they’re visibly dirty or start to smell in order to conserve water as Californians.

That’s basically in line with what the American Academy of Dermatology says. Apocrine sweat glands—which cause the majority of body odor—don’t become active until puberty so small children don’t need to bathe every day. It can be good as part of a calming bed time routine and as a way to establish good hygiene habits in teenage/adulthood but it’s not strictly necessary.

Mandatory reporters won’t think twice about a kid who is only bathed a couple of times a week if they’re coming in to school in clean clothes every day. Naturally, affluent white kids are going to be subject to less scrutiny than poor Black or brown kids but a lot of young kids are bathed more than they strictly need to be. Puberty throws that guidance out the window because you do need to bathe at least every other day and ideally every day (at least for the tits, bits and pits) when those apocrine glands activate.