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We provide him with deodorant, but he refuses to use it. He wants to use that Axe, which, IMO, smells worse than he does. Its so heavily scented it sickens me, I mean, I literally can't ride in the car with him when he uses that. DD also tells me it is overpowering when he uses it.
He is in love with the commercials, that its a "manly scent" attracts girls, kills odor, etc. We can't convince him he smells disgusting when he uses it.
The smell of the doedorant alone is bad enough, but somehow combined with his body chemistry its overwhelming. also, he thinks if he uses doedorant he doesn't have to wash, that somehow it kills the odors. We literally have to stand on top of him to see he washes, otherwise he just crawls out of bed with yesterday's sweat, rubs on some doedorant, then thinks he's set to go.
Obviously, I just don't buy it. Its one of the more expensive deodorants, anyways, about $8-49 a bottle. I buy him unscented Mitchum, which is quite powerful, for about $4 a bottle, which is still a bit much to spend, I should just get him the Walmart brand for 99 cents, but all that is scented. Funny, you have to pay more for less---unscented deodorant costs more than the scented types, go figure!
So, I refuse to buy Axe, which he insists is "cool". At his age, I feel I should just provided him with toiletries, soap, water, clean towels, and a deodorant that doesn't break my budget. Its up to him if he uses it or not. I hate to see him go out the door stinking, it affects his ability to socialize, etc.
My dh feels we should perhaps cave and get him his Axe, at least he will use it. But if he doesn't wash first, it somehow doesn't matter what he uses.
I feel he's at the age he needs to learn to attend to his hygiene and we as parents still need to supervise until he gets the hang of it. So, we just let him run around stinking, or we set hygiene rules he must follow?
My 13y son is into axe also, I get him the rollon, does not cost as much, He wants the spray, but gets the rollon. Also he got some spray as a gift, and way over used it, I think part of it is he does not know how much to put on, so he just goes wild and sprays tons. Also part of it is boys don't grow up seeing there dad and the 'body' maintance anymore, Everyone is off in there own bathroom, so how's a boy/teen to learn. I think your DH need to 'teach' him. (Also i can't get my son out of the shower) so thats not a problem. I put in a endless hotwater heater last year when the hotwater tank failed, Now the showers are even longer.. before at least @ 40gallons the water would get cold.
I'm pretty sure the Axe people have developed some sort of alpha rays that penatrate the brain cells of every 13-year-old male in America with the subliminal message "WEAR AXE OR DIE!"
I suppose its a matter of chosing your battles. If he wants to use Axe, perhaps we should, as long as he's using a doedorant. but he still thinks its a substitute for a shower. If we could convince him its to be used after showering, not as a substitute, I guess I would allow him to use Axe. After all, he's reaching the age where he wants to make his own decisions, and in the greater schemeof things, choice of deodorant isn't a big deal. Except,I can't stand that smell, I just about gag on it, and really feel he is setting himself up for social ridicule going around smelling like that.
MAybe buy him that Axe body wash? It might make him want to wash more.
Now that's an idea!
First, we're on a tight budget, every little expense is calculated, its hard for me to spring for $5 body wash when we can get 10 bars of cheap soap for the same amount. Also, he wastes so much, a bottle lasts about 1-2 showers,he doesn't get it. He thinks if it comes in a unit, say one bottle, then one bottle is what he's supposed to use.
But perhaps we could buy the small gift type bottles then refill them from the bigger ones so he doesn't have so much to waste at once? At any rate, it would keep him from wasting his sister's products if he felt he had his very own.
At least that way he would shower, however, that compounds the odor problem. Well, perhaps a kid smelling like Axe is better than a kid stinking of BO!
Social ridicule? Nah. He'll just smell like all the other members of the tribe.
Better Axe than B.O. IMO.
Has he discovered girls yet? Once some girl (or guy - I'm progressive) gets his interest he'll be in the shower so much you'll be calling flyonpa for water heater advice.
He might be getting to an age where controlling his own "necessities" budget is a good idea.
I think my son was about that age when I got him the upside card. I load "x" amount of money on it each month. With that money he has to buy his toiletries, get his hair cut, buy clothes, etc. It can't be used for anything else. It's like a debit card - but if there isn't enough on the card, it gets rejected.
It's a good way to for them to decide what's more important - that expensive body wash or jeans, etc. My son has become quite the coupon clipper.
He's 16 now. He likes the store brand old spice stuff as far as body wash and deodorant.
As hard as it might be for you - it might taking a couple of kids saying something to him about his odor to get him to finally take care of it. We never had this problem though so I might not be much help in that department!
We provide him with deodorant, but he refuses to use it. He wants to use that Axe, which, IMO, smells worse than he does. Its so heavily scented it sickens me, I mean, I literally can't ride in the car with him when he uses that. DD also tells me it is overpowering when he uses it.
He is in love with the commercials, that its a "manly scent" attracts girls, kills odor, etc. We can't convince him he smells disgusting when he uses it.
The smell of the doedorant alone is bad enough, but somehow combined with his body chemistry its overwhelming. also, he thinks if he uses doedorant he doesn't have to wash, that somehow it kills the odors. We literally have to stand on top of him to see he washes, otherwise he just crawls out of bed with yesterday's sweat, rubs on some doedorant, then thinks he's set to go.
Obviously, I just don't buy it. Its one of the more expensive deodorants, anyways, about $8-49 a bottle. I buy him unscented Mitchum, which is quite powerful, for about $4 a bottle, which is still a bit much to spend, I should just get him the Walmart brand for 99 cents, but all that is scented. Funny, you have to pay more for less---unscented deodorant costs more than the scented types, go figure!
So, I refuse to buy Axe, which he insists is "cool". At his age, I feel I should just provided him with toiletries, soap, water, clean towels, and a deodorant that doesn't break my budget. Its up to him if he uses it or not. I hate to see him go out the door stinking, it affects his ability to socialize, etc.
My dh feels we should perhaps cave and get him his Axe, at least he will use it. But if he doesn't wash first, it somehow doesn't matter what he uses.
I feel he's at the age he needs to learn to attend to his hygiene and we as parents still need to supervise until he gets the hang of it. So, we just let him run around stinking, or we set hygiene rules he must follow?
Social ridicule? Nah. He'll just smell like all the other members of the tribe.
Better Axe than B.O. IMO.
Has he discovered girls yet? Once some girl (or guy - I'm progressive) gets his interest he'll be in the shower so much you'll be calling flyonpa for water heater advice.
Ok, I agree, he will smell like the rest.
Better Axe than BO.
anyone have any coupons for Axe? Now if I can just get used to the smell!
This reminds me of a "hygiene war" I had with my mother about his age. As I entered puberty, my hair and skin became extremely oily. I simlply had to shower and wash my hair daily. If I tried to go every otehr day for washing my hair, it was literally hanging in strings. But my mother was of the opinion one washed one's hair once a month! Yeech! I guess in the oldern days when you didn't have indoor plumbing and hot water heaters, washing hiar was a big event. but we had showers, hot water heaters, it took longer to argue about washing my hair than to simply do it. I remember the anxiety, trying to sneak downstairs to wash my hair in the laundry tubs while she washed dishes, so she wouldn't hear the water running. It wasn't a matter of expense, it was a matter of mindset. In her opinion, one simply didn't wash one's hair more than once a month. She kept saying I would go balkd if I washed my hair more often. Hey, its not glued in, come on!
I was so happy to go to college, live in a dorm, and be able to wash my hair without sneaking around about it. I do't want ds to develop similar anxieties over his hygiene routines, after all, it is his body. I just want him to develop a routine that is acceptable, and doesn't break our bank!
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