15-year-old son doesn't shower unless his mother reminds him: "When I stopped, they told him he stank"
Adolescence is a complicated period, both for children and for parents, who must be able to manage various situations that arise in the least intrusive way possible. It is not easy to deal with arguments that seem to never end. One mom, for example, asked Reddit users for opinions on how she handled a personal hygiene issue regarding her 15-year-old son, Mike. Mike, like many young kids, never really wanted to take a shower and preferred to play video games instead, despite his mother's reminding him to do so several times a day. Mike's mother was desperate, but one day, the boy learned an important lesson.
via Reddit
The mother described her 15-year-old son as a nice kid who does pretty well in school. His only problem is his addiction to video games and the fact that he won't take a break or stop playing. "He loses track of time very quickly and forgets to do other things unless he is reminded several times (and gets angry when he is reminded)," explained the mother, also giving an example: "When I call him to eat, he gets angry if I call him more than once, but then he comes down half an hour later and he gets angry because his food has gone cold." As the boy's grades began to drop, his parents confiscated his video games. Since then, his academic performance has improved. The problem of not taking showers, however, remained.
Mike's mother often asked him to take a shower, but the young man only remembered to do so at around 10 or 11 in the evening, and inevitably ended up disturbing everyone. Despite constant reminders, nothing seemed to work.
In the end, Mom gave up trying to get her son to shower: if he didn't want to take a shower, it was his business. "So, a few days ago I decided to give up reminding him. I wouldn't remind him 10 times a day. He didn't shower for 4-5 days in a row. He does sports. He stank. But he still didn't shower," said the woman. On the fourth or fifth day without touching showering, something happened: Mike came home angry and wearing a sweatshirt, despite the fact that it was very hot. As soon as he got home he immediately took a shower, after which he started yelling: "Why didn't anyone tell me I stank?". Apparently, Mike had learned the hard way how important it is to wash frequently: his friends had started behaving strangely towards him because of his bad body odor. Indeed, a girl he had a crush on told him he stank and he even offered him her deodorant. Of course, Mike was deeply embarrassed, but we're sure he has now learned his lesson.
What do you think?