Puberty quite literally stinks
It’s a fact, puberty stinks! There is nothing that your kiddo is doing wrong even though they might think that.
All life cycle transitions come with a change in our smell; i.e puberty, pregnancy and immediate postpartum, perimenopause etc. These strong smells enter or should I say exit for a variety of reasons that accompany any life cycle transition; a change in hormones and a microbial shift. The puberty funk is one of the first visible or rather odorful signs that puberty has officially “entered the building”.
We all sweat it is part of being a mammal. So why do toddlers still have a delicious sweet sweat smell and tween/teens smell of stinky cheese?
In puberty a new oil called sebum begins to be secreted through our sweat glands. There are a few purposes of sebum, one of them to help retain moisture. Adults all have this oil so why does the introduction of it for kiddos smell way stronger than adults? The answer is carboxylic acid. The interaction between sebum and bacteria produces a compound called carboxylic acid. Scientists have found teens emit more carboxylic acid than everyone else causing the puberty funk.
One Theme that comes up with tweens as their bodies are changing is a resistance to hearing that their bodies are smelling stronger. Parents report that there is anger, embarrassment and other strong feelings to this transition.
Sometimes kiddos think that they have done something wrong and often times they don’t even realize that they smell! Some of the things that help around these big feelings are normalizing the experience, explaining why it happens and perhaps giving them some control around it and even making it a “fun” experience.
Normalizing: All humans go through puberty and all humans smell to various degrees when this change comes. I wish the author who wrote “Everybody Poops” would make a silly companion book like “Puberty Stinks”! Letting your kiddo know that this is a normal part of the change, why it is happening and that it doesn’t last forever can be super helpful.
The Delivery: Bitting your tongue becomes a necessary parenting tool as kiddos age. The first time you catch a whiff of that strong smell coming from your tween, you may have an immediate reaction, “Oh man you are smelly”. This is where one of the many instance of biting your tongue comes in handy. Instead you may want to bring out the puberty book to go through it together or simply take a shopping trip for all sorts of puberty products and maybe even a lunch date added in to sweeten the deal.
Give them control: One of the reasons for the strong emotions around the change in smell is the feeling of a lack of control. All these things are changing for them and they have no control over them! Although the truth is we don’t really have much control over how and when puberty changes come we can help kids, especially those that aren’t wanting to talk about it, by taking action. Making your own deodorant is a great way to give them some control, taking charge of it themselves and hopefully have some fun along the way. The recipe for making your own is found below.
Endocrine disruptors: There are all sorts of products on the market that are made for our sense of smell: perfume, lotions, air diffusers etc. There is often added smells to most of our personal care products. Many of these added smells unfortunately fall under the realm of endocrine disruptors and can negatively impact our kiddos hormonal health during a crucial time. You can use an app called Yuka to scan any personal care/cleaning products to see how safe they are.
Make your own deodorant!
This is a super simple and fun project.
Ingredients:
Deodorant Stick- You can buy empty (bpa free) deodorant sticks on amazon, make sure it is the top filling kind.
Stickers- to decorate the outside and top of stick
1/3 cup baking soda (aluminum free)
1/3 cup arrowroot powder
1/3 cup coconut oil (92 degree melting point kind)
How to:
Melt the oil and add to the dry ingredients. Stir well and add in any essential oil smell you want or keep it plain. Then once the stick is decorated add the mix in and put it in the fridge to set up.
Read More: https://www.sciencing.com/2133366/science-explains-teenager-smell-why-smells-different/