When my children were sweet tiny newborn babes I remember taking long whiffs of their heads and thinking I had just sucked in a small bit of Heaven.
Fast forward 12 years and I found myself dealing with adolescent children that no longer found it fun to play with bath toys in order to soak long enough in a tub to get clean. If they could have gone undetected, they would go days without a shower or bath. I fought this with both my daughter and my oldest son and I’m finding that I will be battling with my two younger boys as well.
In my experience my children were never self-conscious about the change happening to their bodies. They didn’t notice that their silky hair had turned into a grease slick or that their innocent wet puppy smell suddenly resembled road kill.
The oldest two at their cleanest on the first day of school.
I’m one of those moms with hyper-smell and it seems like one of my kids is constantly stinking, “Who stinks?! Where is that smell coming from?! Is it you? Or YOU?” This isn’t exactly the most gentle approach to telling a child that they reek, but it’s better than trying to sit in a room and ignore the giant stinking rodent. So, I’ve always been honest with my kids about their personal hygiene, “You may not smell yourself, but trust me, others do. Respect the noses around you and put on deodorant everyday. I know you don’t think sweating a tiny bit will make you reek, but think of it as mold, if you leave it alone, it grows rapidly with time.”
We live in a very small farm-house with two bathrooms shared by six people. Everyone knows where everything is, there are no secrets when new products come in the house. Deodorant is used to ward off smells and sweat, plain and simple. Body wash is used to clean your stinking body and stink they do. My kids play sports and they work outside on our farm, there is no shortage of unpleasant odors coming from their bodies.
We’re a family that fixes a problem when it arises. Body odor is a problem, not only for the kid, but for everyone around them. Let’s learn how to use deodorant and use it everyday. The everyday thing was not as automatic as I assumed. Just like brushing their teeth, they have to be reminded more times than you would ever imagine to wear deodorant, “Are you ready to go? Did you brush your teeth? Comb your hair? Put on deodorant?….Please go put on deodorant, so you don’t stink up the entire school.” I know, this is not the subtle approach that some parents might use as they try to ease their once little children into the adolescent phase, but it works for us. My oldest son now hops in the car after shooting baskets and proclaims, “Whoa! Sorry, I stink!“ That is a milestone to me. He actually knows that he smells bad and is apologetic and eager to get into the shower once he gets home. The greatest moment was when he gave me a hug goodbye on his way out the door and said, “Mmm, Mom you smell good. What shampoo did you use?“ He actually cared about what product smelled good! Hope springs eternal! They eventually do learn that good hygiene is a way of making life more sweet.
Hear what more real moms are saying about helping their tweens navigate body odors and other sweat-inducing moments at Unilever’s Don’t Fret The Sweat Facebook page
Now for the fun! Unilever the maker of products like Degree® Men, Degree® Women, Degree® Girl, Dove®, and Suave® — that help my kids fight off sweat and stink — and BlogHer are giving away a $100 Visa gift card and a Don’t Fret The Sweat gift pack. To enter this giveaway leave a comment. I’d love to hear how some of you are helping your kiddos learn good hygiene. Contest runs from October 4th- November 4th.
For additional chances to win visit the BlogHer round up page. Visit the BlogHer Prizes & Promotions section
Official Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.
You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
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Mine is still pretty little so the only hygiene we worry about are baths and teeth brushing (the few she has!
When my boys started needing deodorant they were proud of the fact. I didn’t have girls so I imagine it is quite different helping them prepare for puberty.
Thanks for the giveaway!
eswright18 at gmail dot com
tweet
http://twitter.com/#!/eswright18/status/132193137216061441
For girls, it’s easy. They think of deodorant as just another cosmetic so they must have it.
We started instilling habits early. He takes a shower every night, or as soon as he gets home from sports practice, during the season.
http://twitter.com/#!/LuckyDuckyToo/status/132475485765632003
Always remind to bathe and use deodorant.
MCantu1019 at aol dot com
As far as hygiene goes, I am immaculate about staying clean, but I probably won’t be educating the toddler on deodorant until middle school.
2nd entry tweet @ http://twitter.com/#!/kytah00/status/132498887222104066
My kids are grown now, but my son usually needed to be prompted to shower and wash his hair! My daughter was no problem.
Tweet.
https://twitter.com/#!/mgoss123/status/132510000336736256
Set a good example. Let them see that you shower, use deodorant, brush your hair and teeth, etc every day and they will follow your lead.
No kids in our household, but like everything else, kids learn from watching their parents. So good hygiene by the parents set a good example for their kids.
Thanks for the giveaway!
tweet- http://twitter.com/#!/js22222222/status/132563002724581378
i make a little gift set with alot of smell goods and deodorant
https://twitter.com/#!/purplelover04/status/132565136580952066
It’s very important that kids learn how to shower daily and wash their hair.
Children learn by example so we try to instill good hygene inour son from an early age.
My son really has a hard time with taking many showers, but he is starting to understand the concept of sweating and stinking. I let him pick out deodorant and body wash when we shop, this helps in the process of getting him to take more showers, thanks for the giveaway!