Just before Christmas my husbands brother and his two sons came to our house (from Chicago) for a visit. They were the first of three rounds of house guests that we had over the holidays.
While they were here visiting I noticed that my nephew suffers from really bad acne … maybe it’s because he’s a hockey player and gets so sweaty. I think he plays just about every day and in fact most of their visits to Canada, especially in the summer, revolve around hockey and hockey camps.
I decided that I’d try to do a little research on acne treatments for him … try to find some of the best acne treatments however I’m unsure how to broach the subject with him.
I mean, I want to help him out. I know the teen years are hard enough without having terrible acne, but it must be bad when you have terrible acne!
Any ideas as to how I can bring up this subject with my teenage nephew – especially if I find something that might really help him out?
This indeed is a big problem for teenagers, I know! I trust that it’s best to start discussing by sharing your own experience and then recommend something. It’s always good to know that you’re not the only one with such a problem.
Discuss it politely with him that you actually are trying to help him out. This is something a bit common with the sports player, so tell him in details about his problem, I hope he will be able to understand.
I think you gotta talk to the parents before you talk to the kid… I’ve had to stop my wife from “helping” before, and this advice turned out to be pretty good when it happened. Turned out the kid was extremely sensitive to the situation, and had just started a new treatment regimen – one that ended up being quite successful.
I agree that you should talk with the parents first. Too much of a mine field otherwise. Good luck.
Christopher
Hey there, I think you would need to be really careful with this. Acne can leave individuals with quite problematic psychological effects such as a lack of self esteem, especially in teenagers.
I agree talking to the parents first would be your first bet. It really depends also on how sensitive he is to the subject. I had pimples for years and personally tried heaps of different medications and found that my skin responded best to a healthier lifestyle and diet. I hope this works out!