This is not the typical chronological blog. Each blog entry is the beginning of a discussion of a problem that parents of adopted children may face. For these issues, I do not have all the answers but I do have questions. I invite you to comment on the blog under the specific topics and hopefully together we can help each other work out the problems we face. Please feel free to vent about your hard times and/or share advice on what may work for others. If you would like to suggest new topics please email me at hinkson@pcu.net. Check back often to see if any new comments can be of help. Also all the comments have to be OK'd before they post and so don't panic if they don't immediately show on the site. They will be posted soon.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Hygiene issues
Many adopted children have not been taught what you may consider "proper hygiene." Does anyone have any tricks for instilling good habits of personal hygiene?
Once the kids experience how nice a hot/warm shower is and the good feeling that comes with being clean, they seem to graduate to "choosing clean." Keep reminding and don't let this issue weigh on you too heavily, it is one of the first to pass.
However, when young feeling clean isn't as rewarding as rushing through a bath without soap or worse, just wetting your hair and putting some hand soap in it to trick your mom that you actually washed your hair! Bathing was a HUGE issue with us for about six months. Using soap that is and actually washing. I use to do a sniff test and had to shake things up and smell things like his leg and his belly. After getting back in the bath THREE times because he was only washing his arms so they would pass the sniff test-he finally figured out it was easier to just wash with soap all over the first time. Now that he's all about impressing girls-bathing is not such an issue!
Once the kids experience how nice a hot/warm shower is and the good feeling that comes with being clean, they seem to graduate to "choosing clean." Keep reminding and don't let this issue weigh on you too heavily, it is one of the first to pass.
ReplyDeleteHowever, when young feeling clean isn't as rewarding as rushing through a bath without soap or worse, just wetting your hair and putting some hand soap in it to trick your mom that you actually washed your hair! Bathing was a HUGE issue with us for about six months. Using soap that is and actually washing. I use to do a sniff test and had to shake things up and smell things like his leg and his belly. After getting back in the bath THREE times because he was only washing his arms so they would pass the sniff test-he finally figured out it was easier to just wash with soap all over the first time.
ReplyDeleteNow that he's all about impressing girls-bathing is not such an issue!