Ria: Hi, guys! It's Practical Mommy.
Suzanne: And Zen Mommy from My Mommy Manual. Today we were just talking about talking to our children about body care.
Ria: Yes!
Suzanne: And we thought, wow, we've got to do this online.
Ria: Right, and there are some issues that are more sensitive than others like how do you introduce the subject of body odor.
Suzanne: This is the word we have --.
Ria: We are already giggling.
Suzanne: Well, I will tackle it -- Here are a couple of things I would do. Number one, I would talk about when I was a kid. So if my child was having this body odor, I would talk about it like if I could smell or to take shower a lot frequently, I would probably say, you know, I remember when I was a kid and tell a story about that age myself, maybe that I never talked to my mom about deodorant.
Ria: Absolutely -- one day.
Suzanne: See, I wanted to just tell her, because what it's going to start is it opens things up and gets them talking. So the more I ask questions, so like, does anybody you know at school that you think is stinky? And actually she has a friend and she is nine, who has already using deodorant and she told me that.
Ria: Because I do. I think the whole point is as your kids get to these stages, they hear about it from their friends and they talk about it. They see commercials, but it's a little bit confusing, because the connections are always like way glamorous and not really into the details of why people stink.
Suzanne: when do you need it and why and I think already at nine she knows one of her friends just needs it more. She has it, she started using everyday. So this is really -- for us it's a non-issue, I think it's the matter of talking about it. And I am lucky, because I have a child who will talk, but I can imagine if you have got a child, maybe it's a boy or girl who is more --.
Ria: Right. How do you approach that subject or if you haven’t been doing whole time during where you have been helping them shower, you have been helping them take care of themselves, how do you all of a sudden rush to you stick.
Suzanne: Yeah, you need a shower frequently. I think depersonalizing it, so either you tell stories, you ask questions or new family rules like we shower twice a week and it's runs twice a week with girls on the run, so we would make that her shower night. So it's just kind of a family rule like, okay, so your shower nights are Monday and Friday.
Ria: And probably that inspires some why.
Suzanne: Or you kind of just stink. Okay here is one. I remember sneaking --
Ria: Yes, me too.
Suzanne: My mom’s deodorant.
Ria: Like they wouldn’t notice.
Suzanne: It was kind of three blades and you sneak it and I did my legs.
Ria: I did -- from the airline.
Suzanne: No, mine was the double edge that I can take the blade out and not disposable. They were only razors. It was my dad’s face razor and I use it on my legs and I came out bleeding just like cuts all the way down my legs and I think momma was like how did you -- it was so uncomfortable, because we never talked about anything like that.
Ria: See, I would get in trouble.
Suzanne: Oh! I was in denial. No, I imagine doing the legs. She was like okay. I know we are going to talk about it. Seriously, I had blood on my knee and my legs. It was like then when she bought me my first razor.
Ria: I was like it hurts.
Suzanne: Yeah. She was like, let me talk to your kids.
Ria: My kids watch me now shave my legs. So it's not like a mystery and they ask why.
Suzanne: At what age do you think when little girl that you would be okay with her -- especially if she has darker hair.
Ria: Oh! Yeah, mine has darker hair, for sure.
Suzanne: What do you say, have you talked about it?
Ria: No, I haven’t. She hasn’t shown any interest in and I keep thinking the one thing that I do agree with when my mom finally did talk to me about it was that once you start you are going to have to keep it up.
Suzanne: You don’t stop.
Ria: You don’t stop. So I would hate for that burden to be her for starting out eight which seems like nobody cares.
Suzanne: Yeah, nobody cares.
Ria: I kind of with a lot of moms would say like protect child as long as you can.
Suzanne: So couple of signs for would be as they asking about it, are the kids in their class doing it, do they have -- So those would be the things that I would look at. If all of those are nos, I will just wait until --
Ria: And I have like the hairiest arm. So my kids really --
Suzanne: Oh! I too.
Ria: So we will talk about it and there is no self-consciousness about that. It's kind of bizarre. I don’t think about it, really. You can have very arms, but not legs.
Suzanne: Well, and one of my children inherited that from me and the other one didn’t and they will talk about that. The one doesn't like it and he is already a little more self-conscious. So if she asked, I would probably allow her to short – you know what I mean, like one of those little buzzers that boy use to do their hair. I would. Yeah, you can. Look, see, let me see your arm.
Ria: Oh! No, no, no. I have got a very hairy arm.
Suzanne: They will show you and like I would be upstairs totally. I only started to -- razors when like my sisters had got married and I had to wear -- it was like two years ago and I said I will shave that. Now like with the razors. So you just have the buzzer, like a short my secrets.
Ria: We just shared with you.
Suzanne: You know you are starting.
Ria: You are starting.
Suzanne: It's hard to so good to start. It's hard. Alright, so tips, talk with your family, open the door.
Ria: Yup, I think that’s really the key to everything.
Suzanne: Wait till they ask, tell stories about when you are --
Ria: And if you can don’t giggle so much.
Suzanne: Like, or giggle. Good luck, and if you got any stuff or question that your kids.
Ria: Absolutely, or share kind of those responses too it would be interesting knowing.
Suzanne: Alright. Bye-bye.
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