My 7 year old step daughter can't seem to grasp the concept of wiping herself after using the bathroom. She had a yeast infection right around christmas time and we all thought that would get her to remember to wipe after peeing and pooping but it doesn't seem to affect her at all. Her "private" area is red and usually has dried urine clumped in there because she just will not wipe. We have tried almost everything to get her to wipe, I remind her when she is with us that she must use one of our wet wipes for not only when she poops but to also wipe out her girlie area twice a day to try and keep it from being so red. Her mom reminds her at home and we both are at our wits end to get this girl to be concerned and wipe. Anyone have any ideas as to how to get her to do it? She knows to do it, she just doesn't care about her hygiene. HELP!
R.
Well, we have been reminding her to wipe when she pees because she will "forget", that seems to help and she has been using the cream the doctor prescribed for her. She uses a wipe to wipe away the cream and put new cream in there and it has been working. I was looking for ways to help to get her to remember that she needs to use toilet paper when she goes to the bathroom, and looks like I'm just going to have to keep doing what we've been doing and hope that helps. Thanks for the input!
Have you tried setting up a reward system? Maybe a sticker on a chart or a marble in a jar each time she wipes and she can earn a reward (trip to the zoo, outing at a park...), when she fills up the chart/jar. Maybe a little motivation will help her grasp the importance??? Good luck!
R., We have an 8 yr old and have the similar problem. Its like pulling teeth to get her to take a shower and when she's in the shower its like pulling teeth to get her to even wash her body. Here's what we did. I just always remind her that she needs to keep that area clean. We also bought some wipes and keep them right by her toilet. I tell her that when she goes to the bathroom she needs to wipe with the wipes. I bought those kid kadoo wipes so it makes it kinda fun. I hope this helps you.
The wipes might actually be too harsh and upset the flora of her vulva causing the irritation to continue and possibly encouraging further yeast overgrowth. She shouldn't be "wiping out" her vagina at all. Plain water or a mild vinegar solution might be a better option. Also, I have found that for me, OTC yeast infection creams cause more of a reaction than yeast does (boric acid suppositories work wonders!) -- she could have reacted to that.
Here's some more on soap on "girlie parts": http://www.helpingteens.org/article-0075.html
Maybe you could try hypnosis. She has shut your words out of her mind to anything pertaining this subject. Get throught to her by her subconscious.
