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Step Daughter has Bathing issues.

kimmyd584's picture

So my 10 year old step daughter has had some issues with showering . over the last 6-8 months, she has failed to stay on top of showering and brushing her teeth on her own. I have talked with her about how important as a girl to keep our bodies clean etc and she says she understands but fails to use soap or just fails to shower at all if she is not with us. She stays every other weekend with her grandparents on her mother’s side. WE are upset with them for not making her shower but also with her since she knows the rules. WE have tried everything to make her learn and nothing is working. We have taken away TV, her DS, her iPod, computer you name it. We have even gone to the extremes of watching her to make sure it gets done. she came home last night and I asked her if she had showered all weekend and she said no. She lost everything last night and couldn’t give me a reason as to why she does this to herself. Any suggestions???

Comments

justanothergurlNJ's picture

Yea leave her alone to the point where she simply stinks and the kids at school make fun of her!! Sounds cruel, but at 10 come on, she's not a baby!

aggravated1's picture

WE had the same issue with SD when she was about that age. We asked her wasn't she embarrassed to be the stinky kid at school, and she said she didn't care. :?
She did get better at the hygiene stuff, though, when she turned 12 or so.

justanothergurlNJ's picture

Ya know I don't know. It doesn't seem to be working!!!

How about stop doing her laundry, I mean what's the point of putting clean clothes on a dirty body!! Let her where dirty clothes!

This is a tough one, my bd 9 showers every night or every other night so it's not an issue for me, my bs13 was like this at that age, and would shower every 3 or so days, and it was gross but I just let it alone and trust me that phase went pretty quick when he hit middle school, now it's shower, hair gel, cologne lol. OH and GIRLS.

Leigh's picture

My SD had the same problem! When she came to live with us, no soap, wouldn't change her underwear, brush teeth, wash hair with shampoo. She has actually had body odor issues since she was 4, she actually smelled like an adult man after a work out. We've taken her to the doctor, dermatologist, etc. But #1, she has to stay clean! We can't make her shower at her mom's. She usually will shower right before coming home to us, which means she goes 3 days without, and takes one right before home. And then we make her take another, because they.must not have shampoo (and.probably no soap) because her hair looks so greasy it looks like her hair has been dipped in oil. When she was younger, maybe 8 or 9, and bathing, at her mom's she would rinse her hair by dunking it in the dirty bath water she was sitting in, and not even getting the soap out. I discovered this because when she came to live with us she had huge shabby chunks of dandruff flaking off.of her head. We would make her take showers, but she wouldn't use soap. Anyway, two of her friend's mothers made comments about her body odor to me. I told her. I know she was embarrassed, but we tried everything to make her understand. I also think kids started making fun of her. She is 14 now, and much better about it, but still not perfect.

Arya's picture

kids go through stinky phases. and usually it's when they stop being "little" and start changing. it's like they're holding on to that last little kid aspect-not being super stinky if you don't wash. it will pass. kids start getting crushes and want to be pretty and smell nice for them.
include her in your beauty regime, even if it's as simple as taking a shower. my mom never wore make up or anything, so she let me pick out the deoderant, shampoo and conditioner i liked, let me start shaving my legs at 10 with a pretty razor, and got me some (cheap) nice smelling lotion.

kimmyd584's picture

We have tried the watching her thing to make sure she does it right. She of course does it the right way when we are in there. SHe told us last night that she was invited to stay the night wiht some girls this weekend, i dot think she should be able to go but her Dad said he might let her. I guess i dont see how letting her go is teaching her anything about this showering stuff. She doesnt seem to be bothered that she has lost tv phone etc, so i feel like if we dont let her go this weekend, that will maybe help teach her? idk what to do.