I'm involved in a production of A Christmas Carol that has...I don't know...at least 20 kids in the cast.

Some of these kids reek. Bad breath...BO...dirty hair stink. It's as if some of them have never seen a bottle of shampoo or the business end of a toothbrush.

These are not underprivileged kids. Their parents have the means to enroll them in drama classes and take the trouble to get them to auditions and rehearsals. Why don't they take the time to teach them how to brush their teeth, at least?

No wonder they want to get them out of the house.

how old are the kids?

Yuck. I hate that shit.

Make sure your children SHOWER, and know how to clean themselves PROPERLY. This means you have to TEACH THEM. Don't just tell them to brush their teeth, SMELL THEIR BREATH, and do a fingernail-scrape plaque-test for good measure every now and again.

For Christ's friggin-ass sake.

ZombieKitten said:

They range in age from 8 through high school.

The older kids are fine, for the most part. The stinkiest seem to be the ones from 10 to 14.

Genesia said:

Makes sense. They're starting puberty and that makes you stink. Their parents are in denial, and so don't make sure their nasty-ass hormoney kids are showering and using deodorant.

PunkMistress said:

I totally get out-of-control oily hair and a little bit of BO. But shouldn't these kids have learned how to brush their teeth by then?

One of the kids had stinky hair on Thursday. Today, she still hadn't been washed (that I could tell).

Genesia said:

I hate stinky-hair head. As soon as I catch a whiff of it on one of the kids, they are ordered to shower immediately.

PunkMistress said:

You are a good mother.

Wanna come talk to some of these parents?

Have you tried spraying the fuckers with Lysol?

Genesia said:

YES

I went to school once in 7th grade with hair that was a day overdue for washing. I was so miserable all day that I flipped right around and turned into Joan Crawford.

It's lasted to this day.
[Edited 11/8/09 20:37pm]

PunkMistress said:

I'm taking notes over here

ZombieKitten said:

Seriously. Moms tend to not notice that their children are getting stinky. Get vigilant, for their sake.

My kids make dirt soup every 2 days... full scrub down!

PunkMistress said:

what age should deodorant be started?

ZombieKitten said:

There's really no age. Some kids start to get B.O. when they're 8, some at 12, some not really at all. My 9 year old was really sick this week and didn't shower for two days. I caught a whiff of her underarms and realized that for her, the age is 9.

PunkMistress said:

I need to get someone else's opinion, I'm paranoid my smell doesn't work when I sniff my kids.

ZombieKitten said:

They're boys, I'd say get 'em deodorant and make it part of their daily routine starting at 9 or 10.

PunkMistress said:

good idea I'll give Oscar a little toiletry pack for Christmas, get him started

ZombieKitten said:

Yay!

You will not have the smelly kid in class!

PunkMistress said:

Or out in the world. Grown-ups everywhere thank you.

Thats just sad... My kids bathed EVERY nite till they got old enough they did it by them selves EVERY morning! Dont even get me started on teeth! I have some realatives who have so much tartar built up on their teeth it looks like they had just eaten bread and its all stuck up in their teeth!!





spelling edit
[Edited 11/9/09 4:52am]

I think some kids should police their parents' hygiene !

mine's has been using deoderant since he was 6 LOL!

Got his rotted teeth fixed (gotta wait a few more years for braces)

Sometimes he thinks he is slick, trying to not brush his teeth or shower properly. I think some kids go through a phase they just don't want to do what they have been taught to do and some parents go, fuck it, and send them out in the world to be embarrassed by their peers so that maybe they will learn to groom themselves for their own sake. I know I have taught mine how to clean himself and I really don't want to still be standing over him when he is 10-14 telling him to do something like he is a baby.

At the same token, I have seen grown ass individuals reeking like homeless people when they are not homeless with green rotted teeth that appear to have never seen some Colgate, greasy hair, and pit odor. Some people just like to stink!

I knew a chick once that could not figure out why all her birthday and Christmas gifts came from Bath and Body Works....let's just say if you aren't known to have a B&BW fetish and that's all you get, then folk are trying to tell you something

Theres a patient at work who I refuse to hook up because he smells so ungodly awful i dry heave when I walk past him... Whats sad is he is very quiet but a really nice guy but he will smell up the whole half of the room and I cant get close to him... They say they have talked to him but yet every time he comes in I instantly know what day it is because of the odor... Its not even BO... I cant even explain it... Its the most sour intense smell... being in the medical field you have to do alot of things that turn most peoples stomachs and i have no problem with that...but I cant do bad smells!

some people eat stuff and it exudes from their pores (ie. curry, garlic, onions, alcohol) and smells rancid.

some folk make you want to throw them down and scrub the shit (literally!) off of them.

it's like head lice. how the hell do you get head lice? I've been around scabies, ringworm, lice, fleas, and have never had a problem!

at what point do you stop watching them bathe to make sure they lather up all over- what age?

tinaz said:

Well, see...at some point, I think you cross over into the realm of mental illness. Refusing to take care of yourself even when others have talked to you about it (I think) just means you ain't right in the noggin.

That "sour" smell is usually a result of repeatedly sweating through clothing without washing it. It isn't an underarm thing...it's a between-the-thighs smell.

Look at it this way: This is Dickens' England. These children are supposed to stink!

Evvy said:

Well, i stayed with them until maybe kindergartenish age, then Id leave door open and pop in to check if things were going ok...then you just re-enforce the dont forget to wash your ENTIRE body...if they dont comeout smelling like soap you know they didnt wash....