Showers/Baths twice a week -- is that enough?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| DD, 11 yrs old, hates to shower or bathe. My rule is that she must shower twice a week. She fights me on it every time, but eventually she does it. She's doesn't do vigorous exercise, so it's not that she is getting sweaty or smelly. I'm starting to wonder, though, whether showering twice a week is enough? Do other kids her age shower or bathe every day? Is it unhygenic to only shower twice a week? |
Anonymous
| I have no idea. My 6 yr old showers at 6:30 every morning. |
Anonymous
|
It is until they hit puberty, then it so is not.
My son under 10 can't do lots of showers, skin gets raw. 2 a week has worked well, not stinky. Anticipate this will be an issue soon enough. |
Anonymous
|
For an 11 year old???
I thought this was going to be a post about a 4 year old. 11 year olds smell. You might not notice it because you are around her all the time, and she might not notice her own scent, but her teachers and coaches and every other adult around her notice that she stinks. At that age, she should be taking a shower daily, or at least every other day. Make her take a shower first thing in the morning. I switched from night showers to morning showers with my tween and all the fighting stopped. He realized how nice it was to wake up to a nice, warm, leisurely shower and then it just became part of the routine. |
Anonymous
|
Does she smell?
If she doesn't smell every 3 days is plenty. Not worth the fight for more than that. Schools aren't very clean, so every 3 days is as far as she should go. When puberty hits, more often will be necessary. |
Anonymous
| Why does she hate to bathe? Is it something you can fix? Like maybe she finds it boring and you can buy her a radio shower or something? Or washing her hair is cumbersome and she might prefer a different haircut? |
Anonymous
| My youngest is 11. He showers twice a day. In the morning before school and in the evening before he goes to bed. |
Anonymous
Have you been in a fourth or fifth grade classroom? Those kids smell, even if they don't visually appear to be going through puberty. |
Anonymous
| That's not enough. |
Anonymous
|
My 11 yo takes her collection of Bath and Body Works gels into the shower and I can't get her out! She showers at night and it winds her down for bed.
Make it fun for her - special soaps, scented shampoos (mine loves the fruity Suave herbals), fluffy robe, etc. |
Anonymous
| I don't think many people really understand what it's like to have a kid who doesn't like to bathe. My now 6 year old hasn't liked bathing since day one. Nothing I do makes it pleasurable. I have a handful of things I can do to make it less onerous. She showers twice a week. I also have older kids who have always bathed or showered daily. I think you will know when she needs to shower more often. I certainly figured out when my oldest needed to shower twice a day. If she smells, if she looks dirty, if her hair is greasy, you'll see/smell it and know to have her shower more often. |
Anonymous
| I am a middle school teacher (most of my students 11-12) and this needs to be the time she starts bathing daily. Does she use deoderant? A lot of hygiene issues begin to develop around this time, and students run and sweat at the gym, and the classroom is often quite uncomfortable after. At least every other day. And I myself am not a germaphobe at all. It is just necessary. |
Anonymous
| I am a MS teacher and had to speak to a student's dad about this. He was so thankful I called, and later told me that it actually helped persuade his son to shower more. |
Anonymous
| For an 11-year old? No, that's not enough - every other day at minimum, probably every day during puberty (which is coming soon, if it hasn't already arrived). For a 4-year old? Fine, unless in dead heat of summer. |
Anonymous
I remember as a preteen liking to have music on while I showered. Would a little One Direction help? 
|