Child hygiene

[Liverpool1996]

Hello,

This is a rather strange one and I'm interested in other peoples opinions.

My child has a regular playdate with my friends child as they have a very small age gap.

I get on with my friend really well and it's nice to have that support from another mum.

However it's come to my attention that my friends child has an extremely foul body odour. I'm not even sure if body odour is the correct way to describe it or if its just a general smell.

I did once raise the subject in conversation just naturally said how often do you bathe your Child as I'm worried I bathe mine too much. That's when it came to light that they only bath their child once a week which for a 2 is no where near enough (in my opinion)

It's awkward as I get on with my friend so well and wish her no upset or harm but I don't know how to approach the subject on her son and keeping him clean and hygienic.

What is the smell? It's not like he'd have body odour. Does he looks clean? Are his clothes clean?

Could it be a 'house' smell rather than body smell?

I’d be surprised if he has bo
Might be clothes not dried properly.

I bath my boy every day
But
I bath every day

Is it the nappy that smells?

I’m a nanny now and I bathed my boys daily. I regret this.
My boys have children who have any grubby bits wiped but are very rarely bathed, certainly not once a week! They all smell amazing, little children don’t have BO.

What sort of smell? Toddlers don't generally have BO so is it poor hygiene in the nappy area? Is he potty trained and wiping himself (badly!)?
General house smells (from cooking fish / spices or other stinky foods that create a smell that might linger in his hair)?
Bad breath could be poor dental hygiene or tonsil stones.
There are some medical conditions that make people smell funny. There's one where they smell fishy and someone with untreated diabetes can have a sort of pear-drop smell on their breath.

I work with children and have worked with many from neglected homes. There is a very particular smell that children often give off when they are not cleaned enough, regardless of age. It's not BO, it's like a sour foosty smell. It tends to be particularly strong around their hair.
I'm not sure what would be the best way to approach it with your friend, that's a tough one.