Every 3 days. Yes, they get a little smelly. I don’t understand how so many of you reconcile saying the kids should have bodily autonomy with forcing them to shower when they don’t want to.

Anonymous wrote:

My kids shower before the last meal of the day. So if they want to eat, they come to the table clean. It’s like the Queen dressing for dinner, except pj’s.

Teenagers have to come to dinner in pjs? Mine would typically come home for a couple of hours, grab something to eat, and then head out for a practice or rehearsal until 10 pm. It was up to them to figure out when to shower and it worked out fine.

Have to? No, but my kids choose to wear pj pants every minute they can.

My kids always want a meal when they come home, even if they had one at 6:00 before they left. They eat like hobbits. So, if they had a sports practice till 9 they still hit the shower while I put something on the table. But my kid with the late nights is playing sports, if he was playing chess and wasn’t coming home drenched in sweat I probably wouldn’t be such a stickler.

Ages 12-13 were a battle with all 3 of my kids.
They hit age 14 and they all began to shower daily. Before that it was rough. My last one is 12 and we're battling it out.

Anonymous wrote:

My kids shower before the last meal of the day. So if they want to eat, they come to the table clean. It’s like the Queen dressing for dinner, except pj’s.

Teenagers have to come to dinner in pjs? Mine would typically come home for a couple of hours, grab something to eat, and then head out for a practice or rehearsal until 10 pm. It was up to them to figure out when to shower and it worked out fine.

Ha, when I was a child, it was the opposite. No breakfast until teeth are brushed and you’re showered. I’m not as intense with my own kids, lol, but we aim for 6/7 days. Usually a weekend day gets skipped.

My kids shower before the last meal of the day. So if they want to eat, they come to the table clean. It’s like the Queen dressing for dinner, except pj’s.

Teenagers have to come to dinner in pjs? Mine would typically come home for a couple of hours, grab something to eat, and then head out for a practice or rehearsal until 10 pm. It was up to them to figure out when to shower and it worked out fine.

10 year old twins that shower every night as part of the bedtime routine. They miss a shower once every few weeks, especially if they've been in the house all day (that happened more during the pandemic) or we get home late (at or after normal bedtime).

Daily of course.

With athletics, sometimes twice a day.

And, yes, they wash their hair every time too.

Boys 13&16.

Anonymous wrote:13 year old showers every other day. I’ve never noticed that she smells, but I taught her to really scrub her armpits well with antibacterial soap and apply deodorant immediately after shower and every morning. If she did stink I’d let her know she has to every day.

Wish my teen would get this. His armpits actually stink even right out of the shower. I think he just sort of applies body wash and rinses, not getting off the bacteria and deodorant buildup.

13 year old showers every other day. I’ve never noticed that she smells, but I taught her to really scrub her armpits well with antibacterial soap and apply deodorant immediately after shower and every morning. If she did stink I’d let her know she has to every day.

Every night. Non-negotiable. Like brushing teeth/hair. Its just what we do.

Important to make sure they have either a low shower head, or one of the wands so that they can get decent water pressure on themselves.

Anonymous wrote:At some point, maybe around 11, I can't get my two boys out of the shower. sometimes they take two a day even when they do nothing....and trust me, they'll start caring about there hair too soon.

You do realize what the boys are probably doing in the shower?

I aim for every other day with my 10 year old because he doesn't have BO yet. Sometimes it goes longer and he does swim two days a week to the extent that water counts for anything LOL.

My 12 year old now has to shower every morning - once he started getting BO. I'm not sure what age that was - maybe 11-12.

It's not negotiable in my house. I haven't had to resort to this with my 12 year old - but things like screentime and seeing friends are privileges, and you need to follow the house rules to get the privileges too. The extent my younger two - (10 and 7) give me a hard time about a bath - I try not to fight but they can't do screen or go out and play until they've bathed.