Tween Chronicles: Sweaty Pits, Chapped Lips, and Ashy Skin

Ok, if you must know my hygiene pet peeves as a mom….It would be all of the above!  I realized when Mr. Tween was about 7 he was starting to perspire and it was not a friendly smell.  When I talked to the pediatrician about it he said in some cases kids will start to perspire sooner than later.   Well the next stop for us was the closet #Target for a deodorant or anti-perspirant.  Intially I tried to stick with an all natural product to avoid exposes him to unnecessary chemicals too soon, errrrrrr brakes on!  This did not work as his hormones were too strong for a mild deoderant so I quickly move him over to an deodorant and anti-perspirant.   The tough part was getting him to make this a part of his daily routine, and oh is that still a task.  One day Mr. Tween climbed into my car and I thought I was going to pass out from the apparent I’ve worked a little too hard at school today smell.  He of course thought Iwas exaggerating but the limited oxygen was making me queasy.    I have to give a daily and constant reminder to “put on your deodorant”.

 I guess it’s all about being a rugged boy  because having scaly and cracked lips is not an issue.   However, it gets under my skin so I find myself constantly buying tube after tube of Chapstick.  Most of the tubes are left in pockets and turn up in the weekly load of clothes and if I forget to check pockets it melts in the dryer and stains all the clothes.  For all the other tubes are usually found buried deep in the back seat of the car.   Another never ending battle……

The one staple that is a must have is petroleum jelly!   Ashy skin especially knees is like nails on a chalkboard for me.   Mr. Tween has the driest skin and I assume one day he will realize it’s not attractive for his skin to look gray skin.

I can see now that hygiene 101 will continue to be a constant struggle for My Tween and I….Stay Tuned!

CocoaMommy