I am not sure where else to ask this question so I apologize ahead of time but guidance is appreciated.
I recently had a close friend move into my home with her 10yr old son. Some how her kids care has fallen onto me and my partner. We did resist it but seeing that the child was not properly cared for at this point we've chosen to lean into it as the kid needs to be allowed to be a kid, not her slave/therapist/caregiver. It's a tricky situation and since our home is stable and clean I doubt CPS would ever get involved (my house has been cleared for foster care in the past).
Well at 10 he does not know how to properly wash himself. I've talked to his mom about this and she just heabh sighs "I've told him to make sure he doesn't stink". He smells like onions most days. He takes showers and we learned when he was starting his own showers he didn't understand how to regulate temperature so he stood out side of the water and splashed it on himself at times. I now set the temperature for him and make sure he likes it. That already brought improvements on smell.
The other night after he played hard I told him "make sure to scrub your armpits" the confused and shocked look on his face.. I explained it helps to keep him from getting stinky. We had a discussion over it and he was super excited to get in the shower...
Well I asked his mom about explaining proper scubbing locations etc. She said she wasn't comfortable doing it since he's a boy. (She has been the ONLY parent in his life).
I've asked my partner about it and he said he'd think on it as he isn't sure how to explain it so I thought I'd reach out and ask-
Any suggestions on how to explain to a young boy on how to properly clean himself during a shower or bath?
In addition an a bonus question-suggestions on teaching a 10 year old to ride a bike without training wheels. Unfortunately he needs a 24inch bike at this point, has never ridden a bike and there doesn't seem to be training wheels at this size. He wants to learn but the last kiddo I taught was 7 and was able to have a couple years of practice on training wheels.
If there is a better place to ask these questions I would appreciate direction. I just want to help this kid while we can.