I'm curious to know when other moms have been able to expect their kids to take showers without reminders. My kids are almost 11 and 12 and my husband and I still have to remind them to go take a shower at the same time every day. We've told them that they may take a shower without being told whenever they know they need one and that we are no longer planning on reminding them once school starts. What does everyone think, are we asking too much, or is it reasonable to expect them to see to their own personal hygeiene just like we expect them to brush their teeth without being told?
I guess it must be different for every child then. Well, maybe a simple routine of one takes a shower every morning and one takes a shower every night will help them get in the habit without reminders, but I won't wonder why I'm still reminding them if it doesn't. Thanks for all the ideas and experiences.
Mine always needed "reminding" until they were in HIGH SCHOOL, can you believe that!? Same with tooth brushing, ugh :(
Most kids really don't care about hygiene until they start to be genuinely concerned about their physical appearance, and they start getting "closer" to the opposite sex.
Sweet mother if my 23 year old wasn't actively trying to find a woman I don't think he would shower without a reminder now. :(
You end up reminding kids to take showers until they become interested in the opposite sex. Then they don't have to be reminded.
The same can be said for hair or weight. I had a daughter that tended toward chubby. She said, "I don't care that I gained 10 pounds." I told her, "Xxxx, there is an old saying that has been around for decades. If you don't watch your figure, no one else will." And I went back to reading my book. I guess she thought about it, lost the weight and began dating again.
Good luck to you and yours.
HAHAHA! That's a good one! My kids are almost 12 and 9 and we have to "remind" them every night. If we didn't TELL them to hop in the shower and it was bed time they would just stay up all night. I don't know that at this age you can "trust" that they will do this on their own but you can always try and see how it goes. Good luck!
Amen to some of the other parents - as soon as they get interested in boys/girls the showers start coming on a regular basis. :)
This kind of thing used to worry me too.
I think it's reasonable for them to do it on their own. You may, however, find that until there is some other personal motivation (ie: girls dont like guys who stink), you will need to continue to remind them.
My son just turned 11 and if I didn't force him (remind) him, he would never shower or brush his hair or teeth. I think it depends on the child, my 12 year old niece does it every day without reminding. If they are "forgetting" you need to still remind them.
My son didn't and wasn't interested in showering until one girl in particular became interesting to him. Now he not only showers but wears way too much cologne, deodorant, aftershave and anything else he can get his hands on. My husband told me it would be this way for my son.
I would remind them. They're showing you, through their forgetting, that they need your help.
You could also think about whether it's inconvenient in some way, that might be preventing them from bothering? Maybe they don't like the soap, or there aren't enough towels, or something simple to fix like that.
Oh noooooooo! Thanks for snuffing out the light at the end of my tunnel! LOL
Mine is 8 and I was hoping it would be sooner that 11!
Boo-hoo!
My 7 year old daughter takes a shower every day without me asking her. I actually told her she probably didn't need to do it that often! My almost 10 year old believes that as long as we've been to the pool, then she is clean. We do summer swim team, and I'm wondering if she has taken a shower all summer???
My 12 year old stepson knows to take a shower 1st thing in the morning during school. On weekends, its immediately following chores & he knows that he is not to leave the house before showering, brushing teeth & brushing hair.
Heck, my brother is in his late twenties and STILL needs reminding (very irregular work/sleep schedule).
I teach 7th and 8th grade and I wish more parents would make their children take showers more often. I can't tell you how many times I have had to hold my breath when helping a child. Just remind them. When they find a boy/girl that they like they will want to shower.
"when they need one" is pretty subjective, especially if they don't care/notice that they stink or have greasy hair! maybe making a schedule would be a better idea. they know what day of the week it is, right? how about Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday before bed?
i even had to make a schedule for myself to bathe my daughter when she started preschool, or i'd suddenly realize it had been 4 or 5 days! so, we did school nights (2) and church night.
my son is 16. if I didn't say did you take your shower yet he wouldn't take one lol. just remind them to do it. really in the grand scheme of battles to fight with your kids this one is not one to take a stand on. it doesn't cost you anything to remind them
my big kids are 12, 10 and 8 and I tell them to shower, more because all of a sudden it will be midnight and they won't have taken one yet. It's part of reminding them that they need to get to bed, about an hour before I want them down for the night I tell them to clean up whatever they were doing, shower and get ready for bed. I guess I just don't see the big deal.
