Does your 7yo sort out their own hygiene?

[L0gLady]

We can't trust 7yo to brush her teeth properly, to wash her face, to wash her hands after the loo... We have to give constant reminders and actually watch her to make sure she does it. She won't wash herself in the bath, we have to do it for her. We are extremely bloody bored of having to do this every night! Especially as she always turns it into an opportunity for a cry and a moan and it's driving us all mad. None of us want to be dealing with this as constantly as we are!

How old were yours when they started to just sort themselves out, hop in the shower etc?

Ds is just 8 and would bypass all forms of washing if he thought he could. Dd is 7 and actually pretends to wash her hands after going to the loo.

Your ds is totally normal I hope.

Was wondering this today. Used to love doing bath time when dcs were little-6 years on its turned into a bit of a chore!
I can usually trust dd (6) to give herself a reasonable wash in the shower but she would come out of a bath dry from the waist up if it was up to her.
I brush her teeth for her as I'm a bit OTT on dental hygiene-I guess one day I'll have to let go and let her do it herself!
She sometimes remembers to wash her hands after the loo and in the last few months has started to occasionally wash her hands and face in the morning.

We are extremely bloody bored of having to do this every night! Maybe you should consider part-exchanging her for a cat.
Of course a 7 year old needs supervision/assistance/reminding to do this.

Mine at 5 wash hands and face after toilet/ meals without prompting. But I definitely still do their teeth, and actually bath and help them shower.

Our dentist said an adult should always clean their teeth until they are at least 7 to get it done properly. Mine both clean them for 2 mins themselves using tooth timer, then dh or I clean both again. Means they gain practice as they grow but we still do the essentials.

I think my mother helped me wash my hair until I was about 14 ( before everyone had showers)

My eight year old actually sat at the dinner table this evening chatting whilst I did dinner. When his dad said 'time to wash your hands son' he actually said 'already done it dad'. Unless he's been using some form of clone or I'm hallucinating, he never left that flaming chair once in 30 minutes so when he washed his hands I don't know!

And we've both watched him load up his toothbrush, suck it (!) and turn to us to say he's done his teeth. For some reason he was surprised when I took the toothbrush and did it for him and wonders why we time him now.

So, short answer, no my DS does not take responsibility for his own hygiene. My sister had to remind her son to have a shower regularly when he was 12!

DS 10 fine, DD 7 nightmare. I must sound like a stuck record "have you flushed the loo, have you washed your hands, have you cleaned your teeth ????" Ad infinitum cos she never does it!

DD1 is pretty good at 11 and only needs to be prompted / reminded to wash hair (she usually does it every 2-3 nights in the shower but sometimes it does need more than that).

DD2 just turned 9 and needs a heck of a lot of supervision in the bathing department. She is a super duper hand washer though.

My DS is nearly 7 and always needs to be reminded to wash his hands after the toilet and I wash him when he has a bath because he just seems to focus on his stomach, he joins in and helps. He wants to brush his own teeth but I do them because I know he will just do a quick in and out with the tooth brush and I like to do a thorough clean. I think this is normal, I haven't expected him to do this stuff himself yet.

I read somewhere that your child is old enough to brush their teeth when they can tie their own laces, not sure myself!

DD2 is coming up to 11, and has improved immeasurably on these things in the last year. Mainly now if I say 'have you brushed your teeth?' then the answer is yes. Not always yet though.

My 7yr old is the same and seems pretty normal to me.

Try being positive and building your child's self esteem to help them become independent.

You can make it a positive experience that they really want to do. I use a shower puff and nice shower gel for the bath and get my kids to pick their own supplies from the shops - hand soap, hand towel etc. They love using things they have chosen, I just have to ask if they washed their hands and am more than happy to scrub them with a shower puff - at least I know they're properly clean! They can't clean their backs or manage to clean all their teeth thoroughly at this age.