Son being told he smells

[TennisBallx]

My son comes home from school most days telling me children tell him he smells, he showers every single morning, clean uniform every morning, sprays deodorant/anti persistent, aftershave, body sprays, brushes teeth etc but he still tells me they say he smells, what is going on?? It’s making him super paranoid and he’s spending ages in the shower in the morning (making all my hot water run out) making himself late for school, spraying deodorant on himself for ages including his hair?! His bag?? Hes now being late for school as it’s taking so much time. Are they just being mean I don’t know what’s going? He doesn’t smell to me

How old is he? Can you smell him? He shouldn’t smell with everything you’ve said he’s doing.

Is there someone outside of your immediate family who is kind and trustworthy who can just check that he doesn’t actually smell and that you are not just nose blind to it?
If he really doesn’t smell, which seems unlikely given what you’ve described then, yes, they’re just being mean. How old is he and is it the same kids every time? Any other issues with them?

He doesn't smell (or at least not a bad smell) it's just a way of saying they don't like him, bullying really. It can be prevalent in a particular school or class

Yes to PP recommending a safe person to smell him. Might it be your laundry? Are you line drying indoors?

Or maybe they are just bullies. Tell the school anyway.

His clothes? Trousers and jackets washed or dry cleaned regularly?

OP, is it perhaps not the boy but the clothing itself that smells? Do you dry clothing near where you cook, or somewhere there are pets? Does your house itself have an aroma that others might find off putting?

Just something to consider, but I may be wasaaasy off base.

It might be bullying. Poor boy. Only thing i can think of is food smells on clothes other than that.

This happened to my son's friend in school. The girls would say it to him but it was never true. They did eventually get reprimanded for what was bullying. It started when he wore aftershave one day and a mean girl noticed and thought she would make him feel insecure

If he's using 'sprays deodorant/anti persistent, aftershave and body sprays', could the other kids be meaning he smells (of scent). I still remember the horrid stench of Lynx Africa from the sixth form common room.

I'm really sensitive to musty smells and there are a few people I work with who smell like their clothes haven't been hug out to dry. I have no reason to believe that's the case and there is nothing to suggest there are any personal hygiene issues - but I can smell something which to me is unpleasant.

I have never said anything - just avoid enclosed spaces.

Are you absolutely sure it’s not your house / does anyone smoke? Pets? I was bullied mercilessly for years by everyone saying I smelt and it was because my Mum and Gran smoked and we had 4 dogs. I used to take my uniform straight out of the wash and hang it in my bedroom and never used to wear my coat, ever because it smelled so bad. It was horrendous. My Mum thought I was exaggerating because she washed our clothes and I had a shower everyday but it was just the household smells etc.

Not food smells I don’t dry clothes in my kitchen it’s tiny, as mentioned in my OP his uniform is fresh every day (only the blazer he wears again) we have cats as the only pet, I will ask someone to check outside of the family

I don’t smoke no one in my house does, we have cats but not dogs

He is 12

Do you use biological washing powder? I swapped to that when my son hit puberty because non-bio wasn't dealing with the smell in the armpits of his school shirts.

You’ve avoided rhe question, does he smell?

clothes can smell musty if dried in a house that’s not warm and ventilated, but past that you see him when he comes home, so you’d know if he smells or not of body odour or bad breath,

Yes he does use lynx, it is very strong, hes spraying it so much it makes me cough

I haven’t avoided it? I said in my own post i cant smell anything

Make sure he is using proper deodorant, not Lynx or whatever

Right Guard is good

Also check his school shoes, PE shoes and bag for smells.

“He doesn’t smell to me” i didnt feel I needed to repeat that as I already said he doesn’t smell as far as im aware but I am also aware of nose blindness so I don’t know if they are being mean or it’s possible despite all of that he still smells

He uses loads he has a good mixture of different products

Maybe it is not him that smells but his clothes. Sometimes washing at too low a temperature too quickly means that clothes can smell like BO when worn again.

Right, but if he is using loads of products that aren't very good for BO specifically then it isn't much help

My DD has awful BO if she doesn't use the right deodorant. Her dad can't smell it at all. Some people just can't smell it

Also OP. If the armpit of some poly/cotton blend shirts are not pretreated and subsequently washed at 40° or below, they can often not be as clean as a whistle. I found this out the hard way, when my own son was going through puberty and, even though the clothes, especially shirts had been thoroughly washed (not a 30 min quick wash) the smell when I ironed the shirts was utterly vomit inducing!
Maybe check that?