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
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My kiddos are little but my son is about to turn three, and we’re working on having him do some things on his own, like wash his hands and what not.
My daughter doesn’t stink yet, but her younger brother does. The other day in the car I went, “what is that smell?!?” Needless to say they both got their first deoderants, and I kept telling them that it was what the grown-ups wore everyday (which they both thought was really cool!!) I’m hoping it becomes a morning habit.
Otherwise I’ll be shoving them in the shower, I am not raising the “stinky kid” of the school, ha ha
MY SON IS STILL LITTLE BUT WHEN HE DOESN’T WANT TO TAKE A BATH I KID WITH HIM THAT HE WANTS TO BE CLEAN AND NOT STINKY AT SCHOOL AND HE SOMEHOW SEEMS TO KNOW IT IS BATHTIME
nannypanpan at gmail.com
i don’t have to remind my daughter to wear deoderant but i still need to remind her to brush her teeth
They see mom and dad practicing it and with girls they love being clean and wearing perfume and being cute
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
tweet
http://twitter.com/#!/ChelleB36/status/128691095193391104
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
I don’t have kids but I learned by mom giving me reminders like “wash your hands” and as I got older by watching her set good examples. By the time I was 11 I couldn’t wait to shave my legs and use deodorant.
My kids had the unfortunate experience of being around someone who did not use deodorant and I was able to talk to them about it. They suddenly realized how important it is!
Tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/didyouyarnthat/status/130031185433866240
My kids are getting to the age that they are just starting to need deoderant. I have told them to put it on every morning and make it part of their daily routine.
tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/KerryBishop/status/130299506238554112
Can’t say I have ever given this a thought and my kids are still way to young too worry about it yet. Just one more thing to think about…..
Can’t say that I have any kiddos yet, but there are some good tips here to keep in mind!
My kiddos are still young, but I am teaching them about the importance of handwashing and brushing their teeth. We sing the “Happy Birthday” song 3 times through for both, to make sure we are being thorough.
tweeted
http://twitter.com/#!/maybaby522/status/130376736327221248
My girls love using dove deodorant after they take showers.
my son is good about using deodorant
Oh it WAS a fight to make the budding teens to bathe everyday- at first………….but Voila! Soon as they discovered the opposite sex, they soon were taking lots of showers and sometimes two a day even! LOL And wanting to use nice smelling things!
My son is at the age where I always have to remind him to use soap and deodorant and to actually lather his hair with shampoo
tweeted
http://twitter.com/#!/fairydancer35/status/130703570478706688
No kids, I was little amazed to hear how young some were being given deodorant. I confess I can’t remember that far back!
i am teaching the kids with a reward chart to help them remember to do things on their own.
My children are grown buy when they were young I helped them learn good hygiene talkin to them about good hygiene. I let them help pick out their hygiene products and encuraged them to use them daily.
helenkeeler@comcast.net
tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/helen1949
helenkeeler@comcast.net
I bought my son his first deodorant at around 11 and told him how to use it. I didn’t need to remind him–he was sensitive to the need. He used it after every shower.
The kids gotta learn that a shower first is best.
My girls and I keep open communications so that they can ask me about things they’re experiencing or wondering about and I can offer them advice.
Nightly showers are mandatory in my house.
I don’t have kids yet, but I do have a 9 year old nephew who, at times, can get rather smelly! Whenever he visits I have a requirement of a nightly shower and tooth brushing. If it was up to him, he would go a week without!
I have no kiddies yet. I would start up as early as soon as possible.
We work on routines to help with hygiene!
Thanks!
No kids. I started wearing deodorant way back in the beginnings of time.. Or at least 50 years ago.
Thanks for the contest.
blogged: http://slehan.blogspot.com/2011/10/win-100-visa-from-blogher-unilever.html
tweeted http://twitter.com/#!/lindabr1001/status/131362536279912448
2 problem areas are washing hands and brushing teeth and for that I have a storybook that I pull out every so often to remind him about good hygeine
http://twitter.com/#!/rsmc1/status/131579937349042176
Oh man . . . I don’t have kiddos of my own, but a certain family member who is barely out of his teens could use some prompting towards deodorant. Yup. But how to do it tactfully . . .?
It always seemed like the kids were in the bathroom with me as I was going through all my routines. So they learned early that deodorant is just part of the routine. They always wanted to use mine and since I use a gentle unscented it was easy to share. Now they all have their own brands.
Tweet – https://twitter.com/#!/willitara/status/131747474628026368
I started using deodorant in the 5th grade, which is when I hit puberty! I just started using my mom’s and did so until I left home! I don’t have any kids of my own.
I tweeted here: http://twitter.com/#!/FotoMacro/status/131814905606189057
My daughter has always been the one to say mom i need deodorant, she is 10 and although I have to remind her to shower I dont have to remind her to put on her deodorant. sweepmorey at gmail dot com
tweeted http://twitter.com/#!/mommysdizzy/status/131875740244393984
Trying to get my teenager who is special needs to understand the importance of deodorant is difficult.
My kids know the importance of bathing. I’ve been very honest with them about what can possibly happen if you don’t keep yourself properly cleansed. As for deodorant, we haven’t gotten there yet. My kids think it’s “gross” that I put it on. I have no idea how I’m going to address the issue when it comes time!
coriwestphal at msn dot com
Tweet: http://twitter.com/coriwestphal/statuses/131899110289702913
coriwestphal at msn dot com
I’m currently reading a book to my 7th grader called “All Things Guy – A Guide to Becoming a Man that Matters”. It’s got a chapter in there about personal hygiene. I am choosing to read it to him instead of just letting him read it because that way I know he actually gets the material and then we can talk about it.
Tweeted https://twitter.com/#!/chipdip2010/status/132053768111005696
My daughter is grown, but she never was one to not take good hygiene seriously.
https://twitter.com/#!/cjwallace43/status/132155887224762369