Question
HI there - I have another question about my 6 year old - she has been allowed to develop some sloppy hygeine habits. Perhaps this is my fault for not supervising properly. Following on from not completing chores or anything thoroughly, she also does not flush the toilet after pee (leaving it to smell terrible after several hours - she shares a bathroom with her brother), does not wash her hands after use of toilet. Actually neither child flushes (the younger sibling is 3 - and he uses the toilet independently).
We found recently (after wondering why the toilet smells terrible even after the bowl is cleaned, is that she does not sit far enough on the toilet bowl so that pee runs down the toilet bowl and onto the floor and then dries there! Despite several reminders, she continues to have pee spill out onto the floor. Her 3 year old brother rarely has issues with spillage as I have been observing him - and because she's 6.5, i've let go of toileting habits with her and not observed). I have been asking her to use a spray and wipes to clean up but she's only doing it if I discover a bad smell.
The more pressing thing is she's developed a terrible rash on her inner legs and privates that is not going away. I thought this was because she wasn't rinsing off properly during shower - and we have supervised this for 2 weeks, and the rash continues to rage and hurt. I have since then realised it must be because of the pee spillage, and then probably not cleaning up after herself properly.I know this from history of her babyhood that any pee or poo left there, burns her extremely sensitive skin badly.
What do I do? This is an area I'd like to let go of, she's getting into the primary school age and I'm not always aware of when she's using the toilet (especially in school). She does have a painful/itchy rash that is not going to heal unless she changes her habits. Any suggestions for a child of this age - keeping in mind we are also working of her listening first time and talking back (with 3 tickets daily) - and this is a smaller issue than obedience/respect.
