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Smelly Boys
Teaching Young Boys Good Hygiene Habits
By Laura Paul
Finally, give boys options you can live with. If you're going to give them options or choices, don't give them a choice you are going to say no to, she advises. "If you don't want them to have a choice, give them two options, either one you can live with," she says. "'Well, honey, you are at that age now, do you want to use deodorant A or deodorant B or which soap do you want to use?' Give them a little control, but give them choices you can live with because if you give them an option and you don't respect them, you really reduce your credibility to garbage."
Some boys are reluctant to use deodorant, shampoo or some soap products, simply because they have a feminine scent.
Kathy Peel, of Dallas, Texas, the author of 17 books including Family For Life (McGraw Hill, 2003) and The Family Manager Takes Charge (Penguin, 2003), helped launch the OT (OverTime) personal grooming products for boys sold at Target and Meijer stores.
Peel, a parenting and family management expert, has raised three boys who are now grown. "This is such an awkward time in a boy's life because his body is growing very, very fast," Peel says. "Some can grow up to five inches a year. And they are growing up and out and they feel awkward, and it usually falls to Mom to teach them good grooming and good hygiene habits."