teen hygiene | ADHD Information

Yes!  My daughter is also a freshman, and we have problems with hygiene.  I think it is mostly that she tends to be lazy and doesn't want to bother.  Last week, she went to the dentist for a 6-month checkup and had 13 cavities after having none 6 months ago.  She has an electric toothbrush but apparently was not using it or at least not long enough.  We've also had problems with her room smelling like B.O.    Now we have to supervise her bathroom chores.  The deodorant problem seems better now, we have put a container of deodorant in her room and in each bathroom so it's always available.My D is a high school freshman and we are having a problem with body odor. This has been going on for at least a couple of years. She showers daily (although I'm not sure how carefully she washes all areas), and I remind her pretty much every morning to make sure she has good deodorant on, and most days this works, but some days I think she still forgets and she stinks when I pick her up from school. I've bought her clinical strength deodorant and I believe it works, but not if she's not wearing it.

She just got through weeks of dance rehearsal and a performance without an odor problem (when you would think there might be one), so I thought she'd finally got the importance of using deodorant, but now this week already there has been an odor problem twice. She also has her first real boyfriend and I thought that might have helped her see the importance of smelling nice, but ???
Part of the problem, I think, is that she also has allergies and tends to have a stuffy nose so she can't smell her own odor.

I had a talk with her today and explained that I worry that people will think she has bad body odor and stressed the importance of being absolutely sure every day that she is wearing enough deodorant. Hopefully it sank in. But has anyone else had this problem and, if so, how did you get your forgetful ADHD kid to remember good hygiene??

"She has an electric toothbrush but apparently was not using it or at least not long enough. "

There is also a proper technique, she could use it for 10 minutes twice a day but if she's not using it the right way she'll still have cavities.  Ask your dentist/hygienist to show her how to use it, and bring the brush with you so they can watch her using it.  It seems like it should be easy, but it's not necessarily.

Ask for those tablets that dye the plaque so she can see how she's doing every so often at home.

Good luck!