I'm a frustrated mom -- Little Miss and soap --Argh

[imagine]

So here is the story:

Little Miss was sent upstair to take her shower.

A bit later I head up to see how it was going. She was on her bed,Pj's on, and reading a book.

I ask "You already took your shower?"

Little Miss replies "yes"

Thinking that couldn't be true, I ask "Are you sure?" then process to check the bathroom bar soap and I ask her "Why is the soap dry then?

To which she replies rather hotty "I NEVER use soap!" Did she think this would help her cause?

So I hop her back into the shower especially since I'm still not convinced that she even used water. I give her a refresher course on how to shower with soap. She is very angry with me.

Later she tells me that a boy at school has been teasing her saying that her feet stink. She tells me she thinks he is lying and is smelling something else. I inform her that sometime feet stink when you don't use soap to wash them.

And she heads to bed.

First, thing in the morning, even before good morning and while still in bed, she brings it right up again.

She is still quite angry.

She brings up that she thinks the boy is lying and that her feet don't stink. I try to reassure her that she now knows soap is good for cleaning them and that the boy will probably stop saying that her feet stink now, as they won't.

To which she burst out sobbing.

I guess she just realized that her feet might have actually stunk. I hug her and reassure her again that it will all be okay now that she knows how to take care of her feet. Then she asked what the spray for her shoes was that I had mentioned yesterday (so I guess she was listening yesterday).

This clearly was a hard situation for her.

There is a present for her on her bed for her when she gets home from school. The book Care & Feeding of You and a body puff (it changes color in warm water).

Some of my friends have suggested a body wash.

So do girls need (physically or mentally) body wash?
If we bought her body wash would be detouring from our frugal way?

What are your thoughts on all of this?

[Siebrie]

Maybe it´s something like the first deodorant, make it special. After that, she can go back to normal standard soap.

[Libby]

Awww....puberty is hard no matter what age you are when you go through it (parent or child). *hugs* And no girls do not NEED a body wash, its just a fun luxury.

I suggest teaching her how to lather up the bar of soap with the pouffy. Thats even more frugal then using the bar of soap alone And maybe on special occasions (good grades, long bouts of good behaviour, birthdays etc) you can splurge the $1.50 for a Suave body wash for her? Or better yet, make your own body wash for her (for special occasions only though), there are recipes on here somewhere.

The only thing you need to be aware of - if she starts preferring body washes to soap - she needs to learn to use it responsibly and not squish out 1/2 the bottle/shower. Maybe include a tsp to help her measure?

Also...are her shoes of quality material and not purchased from Payless or Walmart? They tend to use inferior quality materials which do not allow the foot to breathe properly and trap the sweat thus causing the stink. Does she change her socks daily as well?

[imagine]

Awww....puberty is hard no matter what age you are when you go through it (parent or child). *hugs* And no girls do not NEED a body wash, its just a fun luxury.

I suggest teaching her how to lather up the bar of soap with the pouffy. Thats even more frugal then using the bar of soap alone And maybe on special occasions (good grades, long bouts of good behaviour, birthdays etc) you can splurge the $1.50 for a Suave body wash for her? Or better yet, make your own body wash for her (for special occasions only though), there are recipes on here somewhere.

The only thing you need to be aware of - if she starts preferring body washes to soap - she needs to learn to use it responsibly and not squish out 1/2 the bottle/shower. Maybe include a tsp to help her measure?

Also...are her shoes of quality material and not purchased from Payless or Walmart? They tend to use inferior quality materials which do not allow the foot to breathe properly and trap the sweat thus causing the stink. Does she change her socks daily as well?

She has been wearing sandals (without socks) and they are not the leather that we usually wear but the kind that can get wet. I do think that this did speed her stink feet along and we sprayed them with lysol so I think that will help.

Her tennis shoes and dress shoes are the good breathable quality and she does change sock daily with those.

Do you think it could be puberty? I didn't start my period until I was 13 and a half.

[Libby]

Could be the start of puberty. I've read that puberty can last for years ie body starts changing at a young age but the Ms Monthly doesn't show up for another 5 yrs...all depends on your genes?

As for the sport sandals...ugh thats hard. Will you have to spray them daily? My gf has the KEENS sport sandals (also can get wet) and she Lysol wipes them every other night when she's home for the day. Once a wk she'll toss them into a bucket of dish-soapy water for 1/2 hr, rinse and air dry for the wknd. But she does have a 2nd pair to fall back on and alternate...is that something you could do for DD? Is it in the budget to get a 2nd pair?

Ooh, just thought of this - what about using a tiny sprinkle of baby powder on the bottom of her feeties to help keep them dry? Or what about CROCS? They may not give her the support she needs but they are more odour resistant then sport sandals and easily rinsed and quick to air dry b/c they're all rubber. I do notice the higher static shock factor with Crocs though lol Another thing to think about.

[YankeeMom]

Body wash and a bath puff DEFINITELY helped my youngest dd take her personal hygiene a little more seriously. I get it at the dollar store and the puff helps to stretch it (because it bubbles up the soap nicely without needing tons of it).

[imagine]

Could be the start of puberty. I've read that puberty can last for years ie body starts changing at a young age but the Ms Monthly doesn't show up for another 5 yrs...all depends on your genes?

As for the sport sandals...ugh thats hard. Will you have to spray them daily? My gf has the KEENS sport sandals (also can get wet) and she Lysol wipes them every other night when she's home for the day. Once a wk she'll toss them into a bucket of dish-soapy water for 1/2 hr, rinse and air dry for the wknd. But she does have a 2nd pair to fall back on and alternate...is that something you could do for DD? Is it in the budget to get a 2nd pair?

Ooh, just thought of this - what about using a tiny sprinkle of baby powder on the bottom of her feeties to help keep them dry? Or what about CROCS? They may not give her the support she needs but they are more odour resistant then sport sandals and easily rinsed and quick to air dry b/c they're all rubber. I do notice the higher static shock factor with Crocs though lol Another thing to think about.

We have generally bought the sports action sandals from Land's End and the say they have an Antimicrobial but she fell in love with these sandal so we bought those instead. She does have another pair of scandals they are the higher end payless ones (leather). She wore those today as the other scandals hadn't completely dried from the lysol treatment this am.

[TigerGirl1226]

She could be starting to notice changes in her body and is just reacting to it all. I started my period when I was in 4th grade. I'm not sure if I was 9 or 10, but definitely 4th grade. I tried to hide it from my mom for a few months because even though I knew what was going on (had read a book and the girls talked about it at school) it was still embarrassing.

Not necessarily the same situation, but something to think about.

[Mom2-3]

Sounds like its time to get some good smelling stuff for your little miss. She might like to pick out her own "beauty" products. It will help feel like she has some control in this uncontrollable puberty time.

*hugs* to ya. We have all been there.

[imagine]

Or what about CROCS? They may not give her the support she needs but they are more odour resistant then sport sandals and easily rinsed and quick to air dry b/c they're all rubber. I do notice the higher static shock factor with Crocs though lol Another thing to think about.

Just had to tell you.

We just received a bag of hand me downs a few minuites a go and in the bog was a pair of real CROCS Hanna Montana ones with a heel and over strap like these [ame="http://www.amazon.com/crocs-Little-Hannah-Montana-Mary/dp/B0019ZH8LE"]Amazon.com: crocs Little Kid/Big Kid Hannah Montana Mary Jane: Shoes@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41pstR%2B8cbL.@@AMEPARAM@@41pstR%2B8cbL[/ame]

Sparkly purple just her thing

So we will definitely be giving them a try.

[starsapphire]

Wow good score on the Crocs!

Just wanted to say if the soap and lysol doesn't take care of the sandal odor to get her some foot spray like odor eaters foot and sneaker spray powder. It dries clear. I had that problem with certain pairs of shoes and sandals of mine. Not all of them so I think it may be certain materials. Lysol, alcohol, etc didn't work but the odor eaters spray does - it kills fungus which I think grows better on some shoe materials more than others.

Good luck and I'm sure she'll really enjoy those pretty purple Crocs!

[frugalwarrior2]

Sorry. I am voting for P U berty. My DD was fourth grade. First I noticed her clothes stank. I asked about bathroom hygiene. Then the underarm stench. Strategic hair. breast buds. Menstral cycle.
The 6 months before is a swirling maelstrum of emotion. The foot comment made her cry. When she was younger she prob. woulda called him a goofy name,now she cried.
It took clinical strength deoderant before DD was good. Those glands were a working overtime along w/ the hormones.
I too would suggest getting her involved in the picking of product so she can own it. We shopped for bras,cotton panties,breathable fabrics. Frugal takes a back seat to self image.
You may have to do acne and greasy hair soon too.
Have fun. DD is close to normal now. Mostly.

[Lady_V]

I vote for puberty too!

I am going through this right now with mine. She was barely 9 when she started her cycles... I was 8... and we are not even biologically related.

I wrote this a few days ago... hope it helps

Raising a Little Woman

[baxjul]

When my dd got to be her age this year... I took her to the store on a special trip and got her bath poufy, soap, shower gel, deoderant, and some special body spray. I made it a big deal by taking her out to lunch and making a girl day out of it.

[Dancing Lotus]

I'm having a similar problem with mine and her breath! It's bad and she doesn't care. I make her brush, I do it for her sometimes but she is 8 and needs to take responsibility.