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Children and Deodorant

Growing children often do not realize as much about hygiene as you might think. Small children will realize that mom or dad uses deodorant, but not really what for. Young children can have body odor, and sometime it is going to be that they need deodorant, and sometimes it is really a reaction to where they have been playing, or what they are eating. In this article, I want to help you understand your youngster more, and how to know when the small child may need to start using deodorant. 

Some people, children, as young as five and six have a need to wear deodorant because their skin is different or they are working out heavily or sometimes children have sweat gland or thyroid problems causing them to be a bit smelly. Deodorant used in the proper manner is going to help these types of children adjust and be confident about what they do and how they smell. 

Physically active kids, children that are in to sport heavily often sweat more than other children. But that doesn’t mean that another six year old is not going to need deodorant, it simply means that one may need it a bit more than another. There are also children who do not start using deodorant until they are ten to thirteen years old because of their body types. Some people don’t sweat like others, and some don’t smell as some other people might after the same physical activity. 

Children will need to start using deodorant when they are going through puberty. This will also vary from child to child, between the ages of nine and sixteen. Most often girls are going to go through the process of puberty before many boys do, but there are no stead fast rules, as our bodies are each different. 

If you have problems talking about puberty with your child, or discussing the facts of life and their changing bodies, there are books, movies, videos and such that will fill in those gaps to help them learn more about what they are going through is very normal. If you have problems with a young child and puberty, both in understanding or in their development consult your family doctor or your pediatrician for more help. 

Learning to control body odor
Controlling body odor is a life long task that every person who is aware of his or her body odor is going to face. When you are teaching your young child about body hygiene and cleaning their body here are a few simple tips that you can follow to make sure they learn most everything that basically is needed. 

Along with using deodorant, it is important that a bath or shower is taken every day. While some children find it hard to make time to take a bath, you must help them make the time to get a bath. When they take a bath in the morning they are going to feel more awake, and they are going to wash off the bacteria, germs or skin that can make a person sweat or smell after activities. 

If your child is involved heavily into sports, remind your child to take a shower after practice and after games. This washes the sweat away and keeps their body odor down. Using soap and water is the only way to get the body clean and this will include reminding young children to wash all parts of their body. 

Children often will need reminded to wear clean clothes no matter what age they are. This includes a reminder to change their underwear and their other clothing that they might wear in layers. Clean socks are a must everyday to keep foot problems from starting and from smelling. 

If you have a child that is often known for sweating during any type of activities, you might want to have them wear clothing that is a little looser. The looser the clothing is the less the body has to work to release the heat from the body. Loose clothing allows your body to breath and will lessen the amount of sweating. 

If you find that your child still has a body odor even after you are sure that they are changing their clothes and bathing regularly, it could be time for deodorant to come into play to help them control their body odors. Along this line, if your child is sitting with the dog or another pet often, they could be getting some of their smells on their body. The foods that a person eats contribute to body smells also, like onions, garlic, sugar and lemons being some of the food items. Help your child feel more confident about their bodies as you teach them good hygiene at the same time for a future that will not include problem odors.