Stinky boys

by mrsjones5 29 Replies latest jw friends

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  Balsam

  I had three sons and even with daily showers mys boy could stink up a storm. Mine ended up with taking showers before bed and first thing in the morning. They had a friend they really liked who lived near by and he did not bath daily. He hung at our house daily. My boys didn't seem to notice till I pointed it out the kid never bathed and never had on clean clothing. So we all talked on what to do about it. The think was that if they boy himself did not bath then likely his parents hygiene were not good either so it useless to talk to the Mom of the boy.

  So here is what I did; I talked to him by himself aside and told him his lack of bathing and having clean clothing really made his smell bad. I told him I understood that he did not smell it himself but everyone that came into contact with could. He need to put on clean clothes every day and bath or shower every day with soap and shampoo his hair at least 3 times a week or preferably daily. The boy ended up telling me Mom didn't do the laundry much and the bathtub was dirty most the time with dirty clothing in it. So I explained to him what he needed to do and showed him how to use the washer and drier and how much soap to use in the washer. Well with a little help the kid did much better and over all he smelled much better. He ended up washing his own clothing from then on which made his Mom happy. With boys I've found it is best to be totally direct, kind but direct. No just hinting but direct talk. I told him he would make many more friends and no more people avoiding him. I also helped him aquire a tooth brush and toothpaste which his Mom didn't bother to have for him. I got him care packages of soap, deodorant, shampoo, laundry soap every so often since Mom was such a slacker. The boys remained friends with him through high school.

  Good Luck,

  Ruth
• 

  Save My Soul

  I had a witness cousin who had a condition called trimethylaminuria. He had an odor despite bathing 4 or 5 times everyday. He was a clean freak but regularly smelled like rotton-garbage. We (me and many of the servants and elders) made fun of him in secret for many years. At about 18 or 19 he became inactive. We thought he was just weak, despite the fact that many of the youth were involved in immorality, smoking and the like, we were still better off than this inactive (former high school regular pioneer). On a sheparding call with the CO and my dad the PO. He was asked why he stopped attending the meetings. It was an indication that he stopped loving jehovah. He said, Finally after an hour of telling him how wicked he was for not pioneering anymore and attending meetings, he looked the CO in the eye and said, "If you smelled like me, would you attend the meetings". He went on to tell how cruel the friends were at our hall and assemblies. He said how he never stopped loving jehovah and said he never stopped reading the publications. He described his condition to us in detail. We were dumbfounded. He said how the simplist thing that we took for granted, he struggles with every second of his life. Of course at the end, the CO said this was no excuse.......yadayadayada.....Job was faithful to jehovah....and he would die at Armageddon if he did not go in service.

  I tell this story to say this condition may be a possibility. I had the same negative sentiments about my cousin, but I was totally wrong. He was very clean, but battled this problem for years. He said it was internal and he could not cure it. He never came back to the hall. He never had any friends other than the ones that mocked him as a youth. He became a fireman. Although not a witness he still has morals. He told me about a year ago, "Life is hard enough without voluntarily subjecting myself to harassment from self-rightous Witnesses".
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  JWdaughter

  My DD actually went through this a few years ago (she is 15 now) and trust me WE KNEW and we made her shower daily and STILL she stunk. She had a brother who went through a mildly stinky adolescent phase, but she took the cake. UGH. Eventually all the hormones calmed down and she apparently figured out how to use the soap properly (I think part of the problem was a lack of body awareness and awkwardness with dealing with body changes-hers were quick and dramatic.) We went WAY beyond hinting, and I think I was actually mean a couple of times (she has forgiven me!) We have had two teenagers now and a few of the friends have experienced it also. Thank God they all seem to be over it. . . .I have noticed my 6 year old has some seriously stinky feet ALREADY!!! And the wheel keeps turning. . .
• 

  lisavegas420

  Thank you MrsJones for starting this thread. I was dreading today and you made me smile.

  You even drew a newbie out of the closet...Welcome Save My Soul. It's very nice to have you hear and we are looking forward to getting to know you.

  I love the gift basket idea. That's what I'd do. Too bad Christmas is over a month away. Maybe this year you'll give "Thanksgiving baskets"...

  My son also had a stinky friend. Let's call him Matt..I think that's what stinky's real name was. I remember telling him he had to leave his shoes out on the porch when he came to visit. His shoes smelled liked stinky feet. I bought him new socks too.

  lisa
• 

  LittleToe

  Balsam:

  With boys I've found it is best to be totally direct, kind but direct. No just hinting but direct talk.

  Just boys??? Us guys need the direct but kind approach in just about everything!

  LT, of the "obtuse male" class.
• 

  smellsgood

  OMG Mrs. Jones, it may be raunchy to you, but it is reealllly funny reading what you write about it.
  
  I don't really know what you could do except put together a toilettery bag for him or something, or maybe just rush him when he shows up next hose him down. Poor kid! It's obviously his parents ill regard for his hygeine. He probably has no clue how filthy and horrid he smells.
  
  I've had so many experiences with smelly people. Particularly at my school where it is in a more rural area, and um, there are them one toothed vagabond types with a whole litter of children who wallow in their own muck. The thing about it is most of these parents will smoke/drink or do both, but won't buy a 30 cent bar of soap.
  
  In the fourth grade I had three outrageously smelly classmates. And as luck was have it, throughout the seating rotation of the year, I had the pleasure to be seated next to one or the other consistently.
  
  One was a girl who had severe bladder problems, and though she couldn't help it, she would basically urinate on her self and her seat every single day. It was particularly foul smelling though. Beyond what other pee smells like. I had a little perfume bottle in my schoolbox that I'd spray on my finger and stick my finger against my nose. The two boys across from me always had me spray their fingers too. And they insist you take hats off because HATS are distracting!!?? I got paranoid about sitting in a puddle of urine, so I was smelling my chair at school, til I finally got one with my name on the bottom of it, because I just couldn't take it.
  
  Then there were two boys who literally never bathed, one didn't have electricity or running water, and they smelled so awful. One of them literally lived with pigs. He had like nine brothers and sisters I think they were actually FOSTER children, and these people were allowed by the state to be foster Parents, and the younger foster girl my Mom cared for in the school. They would bathe her in the preschool, and she would start crying if she even spotted the shampoo bottle, just screaming and thrashing and throwing a fit. My mom said that dirt was literally caked on her scalp.
  
  Anyway, one day the boy who lived with the pigs LITERALLY POOPED HIS PANTS IN CLASS!! It was soooooooo raunchy. Sticks really well in my memory. Pleasant.
  
  It's just a shame for the kids, but parents who have their children that way would probably not care, or be highly offended I suppose for you to even mention something "don't tell me how to raise my kids" "mind your own business" or "don't tell me how to live my life."
  
  One recommendation for your car,, get a can of Ozium :)
• 

  MsMcDucket

  Found this on the web:

  Smelly Boys

  Teaching Young Boys Good Hygiene Habits By Laura Paul

  10 Tips for Teaching Boys About Hygiene 1. Talk about good hygiene practices while involved in another activity. 2. Keep the bathroom stocked with an assortment of boy-friendly grooming products. 3. Encourage your son to change his socks frequently and keep a pair of "good shoes" for school and family outings. 4. Give your son personal space at home and a sense of privacy, especially after school. 5. Keep his dresser stocked with clean socks, boxers and an assortment of clothes he likes to wear. 6. Avoid flowery smells or feminine-looking product packages that boys might be embarrassed to keep in their gym bag. 7. Leave helpful literature about good grooming on your son's dresser. 8. Teach your son at an early age how to operate the washer and dryer, and stress the importance of not wearing clothes that are still dirty from the previous day. 9. Allow him use of his own bathroom in the morning, or give him an allotted time when he won't be disturbed. 10. Encourage your son to take his shampoo and deodorant with him to school for days when he has gym, recess or after school sporting events.

  http://childrentoday.com/resources/articles/smellyboys.htm

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  http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p2765.htm Quiz! Test Your Grooming Smarts!
  
  
  
  
  You've probably heard parents or teachers ramble on about the importance of good grooming and proper hygiene. Good grooming and hygiene habits are important if you want to live long, look good and more importantly, get the babes. If you don't take care of your teeth, you'll be wearing dentures by the time you're 30. If you don't wash regularly, you'll smell and even your dog won't wanna hang out with you. Have you been paying attention? How much do you know about looking good and smelling nice? Do you know who invented the toothbrush or how to treat athlete's foot? Kidzworld wants to test your grooming smarts with some squeaky clean trivia. So, sit up straight, wipe that food off the side of your face and take Kidzworld's Guy Grooming Quiz.
  

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  Hey, Charlie Brown had his stinky friend. Remember Pig-Pen?
• 

  lonelysheep

  This is a man that is being raised, afterall. A boy might be able to get away with stinkin for a while, but not forever. Unfortunately, his parents are not doing anything, but you lending a hand in raising him will be good for him!
• 

  daystar

  I caught this one after the sequal thread you created.

  Stinkiness in a boy could just be a phase, or it could be symptomatic of a more serious problem.

  The stinky kid in my elementary school had all sorts of family problems. I saw him, years later, working as a cook at a Waffle House. He was just out of prison for selling drugs and was hoping to move up within the Waffle House hierarchy.

  If you can be, be there for the kid. I would hesitate just yet on contacting cps unless some obvious signs of abuse become apparent. But I'd keep an eye on things.
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  jstalin

  Peer pressure is the second most powerful force in the universe. Your son should say something to the kid, nicely, before he gets mocked.