How do I get my nine year old to understand the daily concept of brushing your teeth and showers?

Rachel - posted on 03/12/2013

i cant get my 9 year old to take a shower or brush her teeth. i have tryed everything i take the computer,tv,ds and her being able to go outside.the only way i get the shower and teeth done are if i do it. i have even told her that she is going to loose her teeth if she dont brush. i have even told her that kids at school are going to start making fun of her and she said i dont care . i just dont know what to do. i have only been dilling with this for a year.

Daniele - posted on 12/11/2012

I cant get my 7 year old daughter to brush her teeth. She has had 5 cavities and could care less. She goes to the dentist every 6 mos and both her dentist and hygentist have talked with her with no luck! She has sealants on her molars to protect then. Any ideas would be great!

Candace - posted on 12/04/2012

tell him it is important cause all his teeth will fall out.

Candace - posted on 12/04/2012

Take away all his privileges for a week.

Kiara - posted on 05/03/2010

Keep up the fight. You have to show him proper hygiene. And children who are playing outside daily or have recess usually are sweating and need to shower daily. My daughter had issues with brushing and showering and really I told her her friends won't like her with stinky breathe and dirty cause she didn't bathe. You probably can set a time to shower at night and make sure he brushes in the morning. Kids don't know how important it is to brush and bathe and he'll understand later.

Amie - posted on 05/03/2010

I would try to make it fun for him. Sometimes little guys want to feel important and "grown up" so if it were me, I would take him to the store and get him a little kit of "grown up" boy things that have to do with daily grooming: hair jel, deoderant, shampoo (just for boys) cologne or spray in addition to a special toothbrush and toothpaste (maybe even that mouth wash that changes color or shows him where all the ickies are on his teeth). Maybe you can have him pick them out himself so he feels that these are his choices, too.

Alison - posted on 05/03/2010

Is it worth fighting over? I heard one approach, which is to leave it up to the child. At some point they will catch on that their peers value good hygiene and they will snap out of it.

Sara - posted on 05/02/2010

It helps when I say time to brush teeth and I brush mine at the same time. My 2 kids age 11 and 6 follow me where every I go. If I am outside in the yard with them and I say I am going inside for something and do not come back out within 2 min they are at my side asking where did I go. I don't know if this is Odd of children but it really drives me crazy! But at times it helps... like brushing teeth.

Joanne - posted on 05/02/2010

It's been pretty easy with my 11 year old girl to brush her teeth....I just take my plate out with 3 false teeth on....and say do u want to end up with 1 ov these......she soon runs up the steps an gets the brush vibrating....lol....

Lindsey - posted on 05/02/2010

I went through a similar situation with my son. I let him go to school dirty, to the point where he wore dirty jeans to school one day.... the kids in his class finally said something to him about it, after I battled with him literally for months.... since that day(yes he came home crying) he has taken a shower EVERYDAY without me having to ask. Sometimes its a little tough love mom so they learn on their own.... It was horribly hard for me to do, but in the end it was worth the lesson learned.

Vicki - posted on 05/02/2010

It is the age, my daughter is exactly the same!! We were at her school fun fair and I got a whiff of her and gagged! First, its so sad my baby has B.O. but she doesn't care!! Just wait in a couple years they will be taking 2-3 showers a day! ( I have older kids too!)

Elizabeth - posted on 05/02/2010

Do not know but if u do find out let me know so i can tech it to my 14 year old and my 11 year old twin's. What ever i say does not work... No matter if i told then they would have falts teeth before they get old... Tey laugh and say that would be cool.... Then i end...

Sherika - posted on 05/01/2010

I am soooooo happy to see this post. My husband just informed me that once again our 8 year old has been showering wih no soap. Sometimes he turns the water on and won't even get wet. He doesn't like to wear deoderant even though he will smell up an onion field if he doesn't. We have done everything. He just complained of another achy tooth - just came from the dentist a month ago for his cleaning. Just refuses to brush his teeth. Would rather say he "forgot" which is super embarassing because we go to the same school and I dress to the 9s everyday then I look at my child who is smelly or sneaks a dirty shirt to wear. Its terrible! Its embarassing and I can't wait until this phase passes. Until then we will just continue being persistent. My husband even writes down check off lists of things for him to do before he goes to school, or to bed or whatever. We are even after him to puleeeze flush the toilet. He will go days without doing this and we don't know anything about it until we go in his bathroom or our house cleaners lets us know. Like I said "embarassing". Until they grow out of it lets just hold hands and rock back anf forth as we sip our favorite "me time" drinks and let our cute adorable dirty children enjoy their squalor. We shall take plenty of pictures for random motivational purposes when they get older. LOL

Michelle - posted on 04/25/2010

Your son is no different than probably every other 9 year old out there, my son will shower if I make him and it lasts about 5 mins if we are lucky he does come out clean only because he does not want mommy to supervise the showers anymore.....the reason behind the shower issue is it takes up precious tv time and with our time schedule his tv time is really precious cause he doesn't get much of it....as for brushing the teeth I basically just hound him to do it. Boys are stubborn but it will change one day they discover they like girls and hygiene becomes important

Char - posted on 04/25/2010

Laughing (I feel your pain!) ... It is an age thing :0) I have an eight year old and a fourteen year old - the 14yr old now religiously brushes (opposite sex now attracts!) but I consistantly have to reinforce with my 8yr old ... it'll sink in - keep up the good work...

Marlene - posted on 04/25/2010

Don't lose heart, Mom of 9 year old. Although, she never argued about personal hygiene tasks, my daughter argued with me about everything else she wanted to do or I wanted her to do or not do. As she is now a grown mother herself, she agrees that she was a difficult child. She is still independent and strong-willed. Really, these are not bad traits, but evidence of strength of character. She is still adamant about her wishes and plans. She is persistent in finishing whatever she starts. She and I are the best of friends, and pretect one another at every sour turn. I believe that her arguing was not a bad thing as I look back on it. As I said, it has been an asset to her personality, not a detriment.
As for your problems with your son's personal hygiene, keep at him and keep insisting. He will eventually see the necessities and the advantages as he grows older. My daughter would never let a day go by without one or even two showers. Your son is at a difficult age for those things, and does not yet want to be bothered with such trivials. When he becomes more sensitive to the need for cleanliness, especially when he becomes interested in the opposite sex, the arguments will surely stop.
You might also take him to the dentist who will surely try to impress upon him the eventuality of tooth decay and ensuing illnesses from the lack of dental hygiene. In any event, be persistent in your encouragement. It will eventually work!!!

Jay Cathryn - posted on 04/24/2010

patience is a virtue...I also do have a nine year old son and he is also like that. I need to remind him everyday... I also have a schedule of what he should do... constant reminding until it becomes a habit. just explain to him why it is important to brush and take a shower everyday- though we are like a broken record... good luck to us :-)

Kytama - posted on 04/24/2010

Maybe you can google some pics of children with rotten teeth to scare him. And pictures of rashes, skinfungus, whatever is nasty. It might scare him and make him understand why he should take care of his personal hygiene...
And I think that Astria Young's advise might work too. And giving him his own stuff like Becky Graff said... Gopod luck!

Janette - posted on 04/24/2010

I have a 9 yr old and it's the same thing at our house! If I'm not on him...he won't do it. I really think it's a boy thing....until he starts to like girls..THAN...I bet he'll start to be more interested in personal hygiene!!!

Martha - posted on 04/24/2010

Being a mom is a full time job that means three shifts 24 hrs a day. Unfortunalty you can't forget to remind kids to do what we do regualry. They are not adults and these things are not important to them. Especially boys. He will grow out of this stage when he discovers girls. Until then you have to be a boot camp sergent and continue to make sure he does his hygene every day and night.

Meghan - posted on 04/24/2010

Boy I am with you on that one....I too am having problems not so much with showers any more but definitely with teeth brushing. He'll say at night time I just brushed them this morning....or he'll wet his tooth brush and lie about brushing them. I keep trying to get through to him that he doesn't want to have them pulled or falling out if he doesn't take care of them! We started a job chart for him! Things that you want him to do daily. It works because if he doesn't do them then he doesn't get special things or to do things that he wants to do.

Rachel - posted on 04/23/2010

I have two girls 6 and 9. Just when the 6 year old starts to remember to groom properly herself each day, the 9 year-old decides to call it quits and we have to remind her constantly each step of the grooming process. It's so frusterating after 3 years of bathing and brushing teeth without a fight. I am thinking of adding teeth and other grooming responsibilities to the daily chore chart...reminding her is a chore for me.

Sami - posted on 04/23/2010

My daughter is 7 1/2 and does not like to shower. Brushing teeth is as if I tell her to go jump off a bridge. I tell her if she does not she will not have teeth and have to eat baby food. i just don't know what to do.

Yadhira Jeci - posted on 04/23/2010

Well, thank you all for the advice. The thing is, I already tried everything suggested! LOL! I guess I just have to keep on him until he does it on his own. The future girlfriend thing didn't work either. : (

Talar - posted on 04/23/2010

Nothing! I already gave up.

Vanessa - posted on 04/23/2010

Hey, with younger kids and bath-time, make it fun! They have special colored soap stuff that they can use to draw in the tub or on the shower curtain (it rinses right off). Let them pick out their own bubble bath, and get them fun water toys (like mermaids, or boats). Let them play for 10 minutes or more, before you get them to wash. Also, get them their own "poof" (you can find travel size ones for $1-$2 at Wal-Mart, Dollar stores, etc). Squeeze some body wash on it, and show them how fun it is to make lots of bubbles to wash with themselves with.

With older kids, let them pick out their own body wash. They make stuff that is targeted towards teen-agers, and usually tweens find it cool, too. Again, get them their own "poof" to use with it. They'll have more fun getting clean (and get cleaner) if it involves lots of bubbles, a fun scrubbing tool, and they like the smell/brand. Sometimes paying the few extra bucks can really make life easier!

ANNELIEN - posted on 04/23/2010

I'm struggingling with the same thing. But i'm hoping that repitition (every morning and every night) will do the thing. They will grow up and it should stick someday...

Dawn - posted on 04/22/2010

Good luck! I have a 9 year old daughter and we have the same problem with her.

Be - posted on 04/22/2010

All the suggestions are great! Agree with bringing child to dentist. Usually they will find build up tartar or hole on the tooth. The dentist will drill on it or put something and that scared my child. The dentist usually explains to the child why and how to brush teeth properly. At 11 years old my child still forgets to brush in the morning and because she has braces on I would see food stuck in the brace. So we let her bring a brush and toothpaste with her and I ask her to bursh where ever we are. Checking on her everyday or randomly until the habit sticks to her. Because our country is hot and humid, My 11 year old now takes her shower everyday. My 5 year old has that problem, not wanting to take a bath , we would really force her when she really needs the bath. She sees adults takes the bath everyday, but with 5 year olds, I think they just want to play rather then spend the time in the bath. So i tried to make it fun .
i put a small laundry tub where he can soak herself, or shower sometimes in the garden.Sometimes I give perks after she takes her shower by reading to her or doing something with her. I hope it helps.....

Nadine - posted on 04/22/2010

I had this same issue with my 5YO. I learned from a parent trainer to make a "task card" so I took pictures of each stage of a particular task (put paste on tooth brush, brush teeth, brush tounge, rinse, wash face) and then put the images on piece of paper describing the task...laminated it and then he would have to check off each step. In the beginning he got a "prize" (watched some TV before we left for school). Now he does it all by himself and if he doesnt get a move on I tell him he has to use the card...which he doesnt want to anymore.

Ljubinka - posted on 04/22/2010

as Vanessa just wrote: Keep fighting the good fight, mom! Someday he'll thank you. =)
I had same problem, from about same time and which ended when my daughter reached 12-13 years of age. Before that she was obsessed with cleanliness . It is only daily pressure on you but you have to go on with it. Nothing will help except good words and sometimes determination not to let him go before he finishes it.:) I think it is just a period in child's life (some more some less) but should not be neglected because it will become habit

Becky - posted on 04/22/2010

Make him a 'hygiene kit'. Get him soap, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste... All new stuff that is just his to use. Put it in a zippered cosmetic bag or a bag with something he likes on it. Give him a talk, let him know that if he doesnt use your hygiene bag, he might become the 'smelly kid' in class, no one ever wants that.

Pamela - posted on 04/22/2010

What we do in our house is a basic routine. Get up, get dressed, eat, brush hair and teeth, then gather stuff to leave. Bedtime is similar. Have a set start time every night to get ready for bed. Shower, pjs, teeth, then bed. Stick to it, supervise if nessassary. Repitition is key. After a while it will become habit.

Carrie - posted on 04/21/2010

i jest with my son about being stinky and nasty and that his breath will be bad his teeth will rot and so on he is almost six, so any bodily function is still funny, but that we can laugh about it and have him still do it.....well it's worked for me....plus many hours and nights spent in the bathroom with the door shut telling him he can't go to bed until he takes care of business has helped

Astria - posted on 04/21/2010

I have two boys 9 and 11 and I am constantly reminding them to brush their teeth. One thing that has helped, was the mouthwash that stains the plaque on their teeth. So they can actually see the build up, another thing was getting them electric toothbrushes. For some reason, the electric toothbrush seems fun and it has helped them brush more often.

Vanessa - posted on 04/21/2010

Keep fighting the good fight, mom! Someday he'll thank you. =)

Marcie - posted on 04/20/2010

He doesn't need to shower every day.

If you have a hard time getting your child to brush his teeth, take him to a dentist. Tell him what the repercussions of not brushing are. Explain how plaque builds up into tarter which causes cavities.

If all else fails, tell him that chicks won't kiss a dude whi doesn't brush his teeth! Haha!