Top Beauty Tips for Teenagers - Keep Your Pre-teen Clean

Tips For Parents Who Want to Teach Their Pre-teens Good Hygiene

Advice Seeker: Dear April,

My 12-year-old son is starting to hit puberty and I'm getting worried. He hates taking baths and will only get in the tub twice a week, and that's only because I force him. But if he doesn't bathe more than that, he starts smelling and his hair starts getting greasy! He's starting to play a lot of sports after school and gets all sweaty and gross almost every day. I'm trying to tell him he's getting smelly but that only seems to upset him and making him more defiant. I just want him to pick up a bar of soap! Do you have any advice for how I can get my nice, clean son back?

Sincerely,

Mother of a Dirty Boy

April Masini's advice:

Dear Mother of a Dirty Boy,

Oh, the joys of having pre-teens! It's a tough age; not quite a child anymore, but not yet a teenager. It's hard for kids of this age to get into new habits but with some time and a little bit of help, your son will be just fine. The best and healthiest way to motivate preteens to practice good hygiene is with positive reinforcement. Giving them negative reinforcement — telling them they look ugly, dirty, greasy, etc. will damage their self-esteem.

Tips for getting your preteen to practice good hygiene:

* Explain to your child that they will FEEL a lot better if they take a shower nightly. If you focus on how they’ll feel if they take care of their body, you’re steering away from looks — a hot button at this age.

* Take your child on a hygiene shopping spree or gift them with hygiene items. A child with some new body wash, hair products, or a fancy toothbrush will be much more likely to practice good hygiene than without the products.

* Remind your child that they will be healthier — fewer colds, etc. — and more time to have fun that way — if they keep their bodies clean.

* Plantar’s warts are big locker room problems. Buy your teen some great flip flops, their own yoga mat, and lots of new socks so they can help themselves take care of their own feet.

* Use the looks card carefully at this age. Tell your child they look gorgeous when they are clean. Stay away from saying you look thin, non-pimply, etc. Use general adjectives like gorgeous, terrific, handsome, pretty, etc.