For most kids, body odor is part of growing up. Kids start to have body odor around the time puberty starts and hormones change. Usually, this happens when females are 8–13 years old, and males are 9–14.
For baby, their sense of smell begins to develop before they're even born. Nostrils form in the first trimester, and scent receptors form by the second trimester. In the womb, baby breathes in their mother's amniotic fluid, which helps them to become familiar with scent—specifically, their mother's scent.
Babies this age are maturing rapidly, and so is their understanding of the surrounding world. As they grow, they'll be seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching things that are all new.
Our ability to smell gets better before it gets worse. Newborns can only smell a few different things, such as their mother's body smell. Sense of smell improves up to about the age of eight. But from the age of 20 (or even 15, according to some studies), the sense gently declines.
We all know armpits stink, but we don't expect it until puberty. It's not actually uncommon for younger kids to have armpit smells. This smell is due to bacteria, sweat, and hormone changes. And as long as your child doesn't have any other signs of puberty, and they're under the age of eight, it's not a concern.
Some kids develop body odor before the usual age of puberty. Talk to the doctor if your child has body odor and is younger than 7 or 8 years (for a girl) or 9 years (for a boy). The doctor can check for signs of puberty starting early, which sometimes needs treatment with medicine.
There's no specific age for a child to start wearing deodorant or antiperspirant. Many start in their teens. Some start as soon as puberty starts to cause body odor, which can be as early 8 or 9 years old for some children. Then again, some never use it, even as adults.
At about age 40, the body subtly changes the way omega-7 unsaturated fatty acids on the skin are degraded. These acids get exposed to the air and create a compound called “nonenal.” Nonenal most likely gets produced due to hormone imbalances. These imbalances occur as people age, resulting in more lipid acid.
Many children experience strong negative reactions to smells that surround them. This can happen in restaurants and school cafeterias. Consequently, children may react with acting out behaviors when faced with sensory sensations that are adverse to them, and/or they may just refuse to enter these triggering settings.
Genetic variants that cause a loss of function of the ABCC11 gene are very common among East Asian ethnicities (80-90% of the population). In other population groups, it is rare to have no body odor. In fact, only around 2% of Caucasians carry the 'no body odor' version of the gene.
Test your kids' power of odor detection by spraying a washable object, like a clean sock or towel, with a strong scent (perfume or room deodorizer works well). While your child closes her eyes and counts to 20, quickly hide the sock in the room—and see how long it takes her to find it by using her nose as her guide.
But as good as their sense of smell is, Amperayani explains, young children lack characterization of these smells. "What this means is that toddlers realize smell, but may not be able to effectively differentiate between pleasant and unpleasant smell," he says.
Infant body odor is subjectively pleasant to parents and activates reward areas in the brain. Hence, body odor perception might contribute to parental bonding. However, it is unknown whether the perceived pleasantness of children's body odor varies over the course of a child's development.
"It's all about association, and kids often sniff things that conjure up pleasant memories that they find comforting." These soothing smells can simply help a child feel more safe and secure—or relaxed enough to facilitate sleep.
For people with autism, this sense can be heightened and more sensitive than for those who do not have autism. They may experience strong reactions to certain smells, which can significantly affect their behavior and well-being.
Smell is linked to our memories, our emotions and our taste. For a child dealing with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), smell sensitivities and defensiveness can feel very suffocating. What is this? A child who is hypersensitive to smells is overwhelmed by the onslaught of odors and scents from all directions.
Our children's sense of smell could be just as sensitive. The smell, or olfactory sense, is unique to every individual, and just like with each of our senses, we could have a very poor awareness of it or be hyper-aware (aka sensitive). It's sort of like a spectrum, all of us falling at different points of sensitivity.
Body odor change usually is a sign of puberty
“Body odor signaling the start of puberty can start as early as age 7 for girls and age 9 for boys,” said Dr. Kathryn Schaus, a Marshfield Children's pediatrician. If body odor starts before age 7-9 or smells strange, make an appointment with your child's pediatrician.
Body odor in children mostly occurs as a result of poor hygiene but there are cases where kids with good hygiene have a smell to their sweat. Body odor is normal in kids starting early puberty. Some genetic metabolic diseases, like trimethylaminuria (Fish Odor Syndrome), could also cause body odor in children.
Body odor is caused by a mix of bacteria and sweat on your skin. Your body odor can change due to hormones, the food you eat, infection, medications or underlying conditions like diabetes. Prescription-strength antiperspirants or medications may help.
They may feel self-conscious about sweating and smelling. Deodorant is safe for your kids to use when they're ready. In fact, many brands make a deodorant that is specially formulated for younger wearers.
Natural ways to treat body odor in kids
Regular bathing, which can be either every day or when they get dirty, sweaty or start to have B.O. Eating a healthy diet that includes fresh, leafy vegetables. For some children, drinking soy or almond milk instead of cow's milk can also make a difference.