Body odour in 7 year old dd.

[mykidsmum]

my dd asked me to smell her armpits and they definately smelt of adult body odour. It is not offensive enough to smell if not sniffing iyswim, but I'm still a bit concerned. Anyone know anything about this in younger children? TIA

My dd has just started the same and she's only 5 but tall like her dad and wearing clothes for age 8. She too has to wash with soap under her arms every night in the bath - bless - she seems too young for this sort of thing.

My next door neighbour's little girl is only 5 but she's bigger (height and build) than my 7yo. She has a really sweaty niff. Perhaps it's becoming more common, like other things, perhaps kids are maturing earlier?

get her some roll on?

at the moment I'm pretty sure it can be controlled with washing. She is on the small side for her age though, I've had a quick check today for signs of early puberty but nothing obvious.

debbiewebweb I feel a bit sad about it too

dd1 had this from about 6 on and off. THought it was a bit odd but she isn't developing early and justmade sure she washed properly and used a bit of roll on deoderant.

is she nearly 8? if so, probly a sign of puberty starting. hopefully just normal puberyt.
however, if she is nearer six, thna 8, or maybe regardless, it may beearly puberty, which really needs looking at.
a child in ds's class developed precocious puberty. it was recognised at about 5.6ish, or slightly younger. and one of the signs her parents had noticed was teh smell. the doctors were more worried about her bones, than the actual puberty itself, which they could control with the right hormone injections.
but, because of this to me, shocking and deeply disturbing,situation, i am always wary about early puberty. she is only three months older than ds, and he really is still a baby. he isnt even dry at night yet

please please please debbie, observe her carefully. without scaring her obviously. but just check her. make sure it isnt precocious puberty.

sorry, i seem to be going about this a bit. this lovely lovely girl, in year one, was amongst the tallest in the class, and hadvery obvious breastbuds. she also had a very adult look about her fac,e instead of thebaby look she used to have.
it is under control now, through the injections, but her bones are always going to be a worry. apparently she has the bones of an eleven year old gilr, a the age of six.

im not scare mongering. but please just observe to rule out.

Will keep an eye on her - am not sure what particularly to look out for . Dh is 6 and a half foot so always expected her to be tall, which she has proved to be but seems no different in any other way to other girls in her class. Will keep an eye out though and will try and put off deoderant until necessary which hopefully won't be for a good while yet.

it probly is just her tall father. but when you see something like this to someone you know in rl, it just makes you so much more aware.
i think her mother just noticed signs of being more grown up. body odour was one of them. they took her to the doctors who took notice, and referred her on immediatley.
but hopefully will benothing at all like that.

definitly dont use the deodorant. its something natural there to tell us. so masking it isnt a good idea

thanks for the info Pukka. my dd will be 8 in march, she has no obvious signs of onset of puberty other than this smell, which the first time she pointed out to me was quite strong. I bathed her tonight and had another sniff and it was definately there again, by no means strong though if i wasn't actively sniffing it out. I feel sad that she has noticed it, she said another girl in her class smells of it, but this girl, liek the others mentioned in this thread, is alot older looking, tall etc, whereas my dd is one of the smallest in her class.
What is also a bit odd is that she has an identical twin, who has no odour, i guess I thought with twins, being the same genetic make up that these things would happen roughly around the same time.

I don't think letting an 8 year old little girl smell so her friends notice is a good idea at all Pukkapatch. It's a recipe for bullying, sadly.

yes, but, theres the whole nature versus nurture debate as well.
hoepfully, it is nothing, and will go away soon. please try not to worry about it, or let her worry about it. but please, still keep an eye out for other synptoms.
i hesitat to say google it, because that can bring up really scary scenarios. i remmember goodling pre eclampsia, fortuantely long after i had it, but, the scary stuff i read meant that i spent my second pregnancy petrified of getting it again.
best of luck

yes it is coldtits. i was only thinking about themedical aspect of it.

I will certainly keep an eye out, but obviously don't want to make a huge issue as her emotional well being is more important than anything else. It is for this reason that at present i'm reluctant to take her to the gp.

DD2 is now 11 and is still not entering puberty. (Read previous post)

thanks smartiejake that is very reassuring

i didnt get my periods till i was 13, and that was =very late amongst the rest of my class, but still well within the spectrum of normal.
lots of luck mkm.

I wouldn't worry too much that B.O. is them entering puberty. Just like some adults sweat more than others, so do some kids. And all sweat, child or adult is a bredding ground for bacteria, so if they sweat alot in that area, then they will probably get that typical smell. Also some kids maintain warmer body temperatures than others - especially when classroom ect are heated excessively! That would obviously cause more sweating.
I wouldn't use deoderant unless it really is noticeable to others, and think that you are doing the right thing by just ensuring she keeps nice and clean, and has a clean t-shirt/blouse (cotton, not synthetic) each day.

I also would not use harsh chemical soaps, but go for something like a very mild hempseed bar soap with tea tree oil in it (or a drop of tea tree oil in their bath).

You could even put some lavendar and tea tree oil in a spritz bottle and fill with water, then give her that to spray inder her arms to keep them cool and fresh (and kill bacteria). Good luck!

Is there any chance that she is nervous or anxious about something? I was very frightened when an adult died after I wished them dead after they had really frightened me when I was about 9 or 10. If a child is anxious or frightened about something it can cause additional production of adrenaline which can cause a slightly sickly sweaty smell.

thanks people, it has all been most reassuring. The nervous thing makes alot of sense actually, as the first time she smelt it, and me too, was after she's played a big part in the xmas play.

I remember always smelling a bit after a school play, as the lights make it so hot on stage!