Oh God. The stench! Help!

[LaraMN]

NoelMN has a friend staying for a sleepover tonight and the kid frickin' REEKS. I mean he stinks SO bad.
They just went outside to play and I can smell everywhere this boy walked in my house. It's like rotten b.o. stench.

It's not as though I can tell the kid he smells and he needs to take a shower; he's only nine or ten and he'd be mortified if I acknowledged his odor.

By the time he leaves, my entire house is either going to smell like this kid or my vomit.
What the heck do I do? Nothing? It's really, REALLY bad.

[warrior1]

1. Just make him take a bath

Make it fun, with toys and stuff. Kids really don't mind getting clean.

[LaraMN]

2. He's about ten years old; that might be a little weird.

Hence the whole problem...

[Mrs.Matcom]

3. can you tell both boys

that they have to shower before bed?? Good luck with that one! Tough call. :hi:

[LeftyMom]

4. I see two options:

1. is there a public pool open? First of all, he'll get immersed in chlorinated water, then you can order the kids to clean the pool water off afterward

2. can you suggest some activity that involves getting dirty (painting or something,) so you can order the kids to clean up afterward?

[malta blue]

7. I agree with the getting dirty option....make them do a little

yardwork or something.

[LaraMN]

9. I think that may be my best option.

If I tell them they both smell, it won't be so bad.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. Great idea!

:thumbsup:
He did bring a change of clothes, right?

[LaraMN]

24. This is really sad.

According to the boy, his mom can't bring his clothes because she's out at their farm house (I don't even know where that is)and doesn't have enough gas in her car, or money to pay for gas, to bring his clothes here.

I'm washing the stuff he wore over and he's wearing NoelMN's stuff.
He has a single mom and I think she bar-tends for a living. I'm thinking she may have some issues with being able to afford the necessities to keep him in clean clothes and deodorant. Now I feel really bad.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

25. Don't feel bad...

He's getting a sorely needed bath.

Are you sure they aren't homeless? Or it's possible that their water has been shut off.

When I was in Jr High, I remember these twin girls who were in the same grade as I was. They always wore the same dresses to school, and as the year went on, they smelled progressively worse. They showered at gym; but they'd always put the same smelly clothes back on, so it didn't help much. I always felt sorry for them, because they were shunned by the other kids. It didn't occur to me until years later that they might not have a home to wash clothes in.

I think it's great that your boy has befriended him; and you're wonderful to give him a little practical mothering for an evning. :hug::hug::hug:

[flvegan]

5. Put him in the clothes dryer with half a box of dryer sheets.

Nothing like Mountain Rain Fresh scented kid.

And yes, I'm kidding.

[LeftyMom]

10. I'm not sure if I want to you to be baby leftyvegan's seahorse daddy anymore.

I mean yeah, we all think about throwing the kids in the dryer and turning it on sometimes. But dryer sheets= not vegan. :P

[DS1]

6. lock him in the garage for 2 hours with the minivan engine running

the smoke will hide the smell of b.o.

[LaraMN]

8. I don't have the minivan anymore!

Will a station wagon work?


:P

[matcom]

11. I smell funny TOO!

will you give ME a bath? :P

[sasquatch]

12. I thought TM hoses you off after you get home from work

:hide:

[Mrs.Matcom]

13. No, that is still my job...TM gets to

scrub him with a toilet brush!! :rofl:

[sasquatch]

14. I hope she uses bleach to REALLY make sure he's clean

:rofl:

[matcom]

15. Fresca

:eyes:

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. I had one come over with really funky feet one day. I asked him to

wash up and I put his shoes outside.

[redqueen]

17. Spray around him with an air freshener.

He'll get the point, and you don't have to say anything.

Problem solved!



Seriously though... I wonder what his family thinks... are they not buying the kid deodorant? Not pointing out that he needs to use it? But... how could he not know? This is a real puzzler...

Ooh and it reminds me of the time I worked for this place and a new employee smelled really bad and I did payroll but somehow it became MY job to talk to her about it. Yeesh.

[quip]

19. Take an Axe to him:

[Wcross]

20. I wonder if he has some medical issues?

Call his mother & ask whats up with the odor. Maybe ask her if it would be acceptable to ask her kid to wash up. If not I would fake a family emergency and return him to his owners.

[MsKandice01]

21. OMG, I could just imagine that call...

"Hello Mrs. So-and-so, your son stinks. Does he not bathe or does he have a medical condition??" I think I'd be absolutely mortified if I got that call about my son.

I actually think I'd go the "fake a family emergency" route.

[Chan790]

22. Advice from my friend, the morgue assistant:

Rub Vicks Vapo-Rub under your nose. Just a dab, not a lot. I think Vasoline works as well. You won't be able to smell him anymore.

[Withywindle]

26. I have to do this because of a co-worker sometimes, for real.

He has a LOT of issues, that's just one of them.

[Inchworm]

23. LoL

You forgot boys stink at a certain age? They have cooties! :rofl:

Talk to his parents about introducing deodorant. Sounds like it's time.

Too funny. I can about guess the age of the kid.

:P

[yewberry]

27. Oh, gee, that's pretty young for body odor.

Fourth grade, maybe?

At my school last year, we had one girl (a fourth-grader) who matured earlier than the rest of the kids, and she really smelled awful. Not her fault that she didn't know how to handle it it--I mean, she was a kid and probably didn't know exactly what to do. And it was a similar situation, in that she was coming from a stressed household without a lot of time or resources. Ultimately the school's family service worker stepped in and helped with talking about "adolescent changes" and with family strategies and assistance.

I think the suggestion about getting the boys really dirty and then having them both clean up is a good one. Also, if this child's school has a family service worker (or anyone in the school that you trust to handle this situation in a compassionate way) please contact them. Seriously, if you're noticing it, so are other kids, and kids can be pretty cruel about this stuff.

Good luck.