Body Odor - Peabody,MA

If she smells, have her use it, better than kids labelling her the smelly kid! Those labels stick, and damage kids!

My daughter has been using Tom's of Maine for a couple of years. She started to wreek (sp?) at about 7/8 years old. I like the Tom's because it doesn't have antiperspirant so it's aluminum free. She likes picking out a different one everytime.

Have you tried a deodorant soap like Irish Spring yet? That may work since it's only part of the time. You should also look at what type of clothing she is wearing when it's the worst you may find she isn't wearing 100% cotton. It's more often that little girl clothing is different fabrics.

Have a look what her clothes are made out of. It could smell a lot worse if she wears a lot of synthetic fibers. Try to go with tops made out of cotton.

My neighbor's daughter (6 yrs) also needs deoderant. It's fairly common I think. I would just think of it as another step, like brushing teeth in the morning and after bath. It doesn't have to be a big deal. Takes 1/2 of a second.

My daughter's been wearing deoderant since she was 7. I thought it seemed early too, but we couldn't stand it anymore. I let her pick out her own in the store. The one she has right now has a black tube with a pink top and a sparkly label. She really likes picking out her own fragrance, etc. It's made specifically for young girls (pre-teens/teens). She doesn't mind using it and I have her keep another one in her backpack in case she needs it at school.

I know to us it seems too young, but our oldest son started needing some pit stick when he was 8/9. I bought him his own "manly" pit stick and it makes him feel grown up. He forgets to use it some time and I have to remind him that he's older now, and that it's important.
I think kids are maturing faster because of the growth hormones that we have all consumed in our milk and who knows what else. If it makes the cows mature faster, it's doing the same thing to our bodies.
I say go ahead and get her her own deodorant.

actally it's not young at all, mines started this at age 5. i asked her pedi about it and she says some kids just develop sweat glands quicker, but you should defiatly let her start wearing deodorant instead of trying to mask it with powder, it wont hurt her, u dont want her walking around stinky do you? buy her the deodorant i get mines secret and it works perfectly for her

I have four sons and I keep telling myself that each of them are unique and different so their needs will be different. The two older children did not have the need for deodorant until they were much older 10 and 11 years old but my twins needed something for body odor at 7.5 years old.

I used baking soda under their arms to see if that would help the smell. It did for a short period of time( a year). Now, I use an anti-perspirant by Avon on them and it is helping both of them.

Hi, My son at age 9 has body odor at times under his arm pits. I have him shower every night and scrub his armpits, then in the am put on natural deodorant on his armpits. This helps! My husband said he had odor at that age. If I was worried I would call the pediatrician. Good luck! L.

Think you should take this little girl to a doc and be very insistent about it. A seven year old should not even perspire so you could smell it.
There is something amiss...not necessarily serious, but something for sure.
Best wishes and God bless
Grandmother Lowell

Food choices may be playing a role in this. Culprits would be things like luncheon meat, nitrates, artificial colors/flavors, and msg. There's major lymph nodes there, so it is common for the body to send toxins in that direction if the liver is having trouble keeping up. A good natural choice of deodorant would be a crystal salt. It neutralizes the bacteria that causes odor. They can be more expensive than tradition deodorant but they last forever (my $6 crystal is 3 years old now).

Hi Tricia,
Make sure she's drinking enough water! BO can begin early if the body isn't cleansing itself naturally enough.
E. K.

Our skin is like a sponge that obsorbes everything that comes in contact with it. Deoderants have chemicals that are not good for us. Try having her drink more water. She may also need more fiber in her diet to clean out her system. I'd google body odor and natural remedies first.
Good Luck,
S.

My 8-year-old had the same problem, so she started using deodorant. I was surprised that it was happening so young also, but perhaps different children have different experiences. I checked with our pediatric nurse practitioner first who said to make sure you get one that does not have aluminium in it. Most deodorants do not, it's the deodorant/anti-perspirants that do have the aluminium. She shouldn't need an anti-perspirant at this point, so the deodorant is fine. Perhaps try using it every other day at first and see if that is enough. With the cooler weather coming, perhaps it will be less of an issue now.

My son started using deodorant at about that age. I asked the pharmacist and he was able to recommend a couple of brands that were mild and could be used by a child. I felt the same way as you - isn't this a little young?, so I asked him if it was unusual for a child this age to be using deodorant, and he kind of chuckled and said "it's more common than you realize because nobody really talks about it that much!"

Also my son's teacher at the time mentioned that the B.O. can get really awful even in a class of first graders, especially after they come back from gym class or playing hard at recess. Who knew!?!

Your daughter might enjoy choosing a scent she likes, if perhaps you want to give her a choice of 2 or 3 to select from.

J.
http://www.SpecialNeedsParentCoach.com/

My daughter is 8, I consulted my pediatrician and asked if underarm odor is unusual and if it's related to premature onset of menses--mine was much later and I was concerned hers would be sooner. She said NO. She says my daughter has every indication of being later as mine was. She said that in most cases the under arm smell will go away. It's a matter of scrubbing under the arms with a wash clothe and soap. I use an all natural soap bought at whole foods.

My kids have rarely drunk milk, and when we did it was non-growth hormones. However we prefer a calcium supplement and veggies because milk is related to making allergens worse.

My suggestion is consult your pediatrician if you are concerned your daughter might have early onset, and talk to her about the odor to make sure it's something harmless.

Good luck,
S

I agree with trying a natural deodorant first - Tom's of Maine is a big brand that is readily available, but there are others. I would think that the powder, while a good thought, might be contributing to the development of yeast in moist areas. That could contribute to making the odor worse, although it obviously didn't cause the problem. This is the time to start with extremely good hygiene too. Good luck.

My son also starting having BO at 7 yrs old. We were pretty shocked too. We have him use Tom's of Maine deodorant in the apricot scent and it helps a lot. We can certainly tell when he doesn't apply it. :)
Whole Foods sells a variety of Tom's but we got his at Target. His pediatrician and teacher said many of the kids his agge were going through the same thing.

Hi Tricia:

My daughter went through this as well. I also thought she was a little young for deoderant. I then realized that it only happened when she was wearing certain clothes. I read the tag and noticed what they were made of. I then washed the clothes to be sure they were clean.

AFter a few tries I discovered polyester and my daughter are not a match no matter how cute the outfit. For some reason this fabric makes her sweat more and when blended with her chemistry makes a really gross smell.

She is not able to wear the polyester jammies because she will go to bed and wake up smelling like she has not showered in days.

I suggest seeing what her clothes are made of first and see if there is a connection between the fabric when she wears it and the smell.

Hope it helps.

Jenn

My son is 8 and started having the same problem. I started asking around and it is amazing how many 7 and 8 year olds (boys and girls) need deoderant at this age. Most moms I talked too are using the "natural" types likes Tom's of Maine. Good luck!

My son had the same issue starting at about age 4 he is now going on 10. I went to the pediatrician and they said as long as there were no secondary signs of puberty just use deoderant. ie:facial or body hair, acne ect.. He has to shower more frequently than his brother and I do put deoderant on him most of the time but not all of the time. If I dont he does gets really stinky really fast.