I have just washed the face, hands and feet of a fourteen year old boy

Why?

In my World its not normal.

Sometimes they just need these sorts of things and they will never forget that you did it for them either.

If this is not a special needs boy, then why did you have to do this jingl?

Oh flip! I didn't mean this to be taken seriously.

Am I the only one with a teenage GS afflicted with a bad case of holiday shower avoidance?

The younger one's not much better.

Was it to make sure that they were actually clean to your standards (not his?)

You were lucky to get a 14 year old boy to stand still long enough in my opinion. When mine were 14 they were already far taller than me and much too strong for me to think of washing forcibly. They might have needed it, mind!

jingl that really made me LOL. I can just picture you doing it and the terrified look on GS's face He'd be so traumatised that he'd need therapy afterwards I think Cleanliness Aversion is all part of the initiation for some boy teenagers - apologies for sexist remark.

I try not to notice if it's school holidays. I am not on duty until term starts. You could grow things under his nails though.

Jings as I said earlier! He will not forget!

Precisely Minimouse!

I swear his face is several shads paler now. And not just from the shock of it.

He was surprisingly docile over the whole thing. I was amazed.

Sounds a bit like Maundy Thursday!

In many years to come, he will regale his own children about this, jingl. I do hope his friends were nearby..... !

Jings perhaps you are scarier than you think!

My grandson, 9, has a shower every morning, but last time he was over with us, I happened to look in his ears and was appalled at how dirty they were! You could have grown potatoes in there. I wonder if DD actually looks at them. She doesn't supervise his showering any more. I asked him if he ever washed his ears, and he looked totally bemused, as if this was an alien concept - which it obviously was! I then spent fifteen minutes chasing him round the house in order to sort the matter out. His idea of washing his hands is to squirt copious amounts of hand wash on and then immediately rinse it off down the sink without any washing action at all. I dread to think what he'll be like at fourteen!

I thought that this was some sort of religious thing at first. You are very brave going anywhere near a 14 year old boy's feet IMO.

Not unusual for a 14 yr old boy to need it but I don't think I would do it.
I think a lot of children don't get shown how to wash properly. GS (nearly 7) has a bath every night but whenever he's at mine I have to scrub his finger nails.

DS3 was caught out running the shower but not actually stepping in to it ! He was about 10 , when he hit 14 he was a shower addict !

Were you wearing Marigolds?

He won't dare tell his friends -
"Why are you looking so pale, .....(soandso)?"
"Er .... well, I have a date tonight "

I have a 14 year old who empties the hot water tank and half a bottle of bubbles into the bath every night. He gets into the bath with his iPad and the water is let out about 5 minutes later. A soaked towel is found on his bedroom floor later. What happens in the bathroom is a mystery!

When DS was about the same age he used to have a bath regularly but I realised that he obviously never washed his neck when I noticed a tide mark round it