What is that Smell? My Boy Hits Puberty
One mom remembers the smell… and then the talk.
On July 10, 1994, I had my first child, a boy. He was perfect. He had smooth skin, soft hands and he smelled divine. Fast forward to today and I wonder what happened?!
I first noticed a change in my son when he turned 8. He had just finished wrapping his pudgy arms around my neck enveloping me in a huge big bear hug when it hit me. I was almost balled over. What was that smell?! At the time, I didn’t associate the pungent odor with my 8 year old. My mind couldn’t believe such a small frame could emit such a powerful odor so I searched high and low for the cause.
I turned my 2 bedroom apartment upside down. I swept, I mopped, and I changed sheets. NOTHING. What could it be? Was it me? I jumped into the tub, exfoliated and washed my hair. The odor disappeared.
Later on as I sat with my little tyke on the sofa, he again gave me a big squeeze. It hit me! The foul odor was coming from him or to be more precise his underarms. Worse, his arms were on my hair rubbing back and forth as he squeezed my neck. I gently pulled him away to talk.
I can’t recall the exact words I said to my little man but I can recall the tone I used. It was delivered in a soft understanding voice. I wanted to reach him, not condemn him, or shame him because of the changes caused by puberty.
As a single Mom, I had to prepare my son for the changes he would face. I did this whenever I had an opportunity, not as a standalone “Birds and the Bees Talk” but throughout the years at one point or another since I knew that preparation would help ease his worries as he entered puberty. Several points I made sure to broach are noted below.
Body odor: As boys hits puberty, their bodies begin to omit more oils
causing a body odor. The smell can be minimized and controlled by bathing and using deodorant.
Skin: During puberty, skin produces more oils which may or may not cause acne on their face, arms and/or back. Use soap and water every day to minimize acne. If it’s severe, parents can have a doctor prescribe medication.
Vocal Changes: Boys’ voices change as they get older. As it is changing, their voices will crack and get deeper. This is normal.
Hair: Boys begin to grow hair in various places during puberty. It normally grows under their arms, on their legs and/or face and above their penis. Don’t be alarmed when it does and understand that everyone grows hair at a different rate.
Body: Certain parts of boys bodies grow faster during puberty, like their arms, legs, hands and feet. During this time boys feel awkward and may appear clumsy. It’s normal and eventually their body will grow into all their parts!
Penis: The penis and testes will grow larger as a boy hits puberty. He may have uncontrollable erections, as well as “wet dreams”. As a boy gets older the wet dreams stop.
At the time, my son was embarrassed, but as he’s aged he’s thanked me for our talks. They prepared him for the changes he’s faced and is still facing during puberty. They also opened up a line of communication that still exists today.
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As a mom to a boy, knowing how to talk to him when he starts going through changes is helpful - Nikki
I think its great that you are able to talk to your son! I'm going to start touching these topics with my 7 year old. Thanks!
While I was reading this, I said to myself, "Does she not live with a man?" and then when I read that you were a single mother, I was like "Ooooooh, that's why."
I'm not saying all guys reek but they do smell pretty strong when they don't bathe often or they sweat too much or heck, not use deodorant at all. If he decides to play some sport that involves a lot of dirt and cuts, you'll be doing a whole lot of cleaning so start getting. Hopefully, your having talks with him about body development. There's no guy in the house so you basically have to play the man's role.
A note about the penis: Make sure he knows how to wash it. If he pees and doesn't shake and clean properly, it will smell and if left too long, get an infection.
Advice to you though: Do not spoil him in terms of hygiene. Eventually he'll have to remember when to brush his teeth, floss, bathe, clean his room, do his own laundry, etc.
As the father of my 11 y.o. son, this stuff is pretty basic to explain. I wasn't a particularly stinky boy, but as I got older I learned that your body odor isn't just a product of maturity but also a function of detoxification. Because your brachial and femural arteries are so close to the surface of the skin in your armpits and groin, respectively, your body treats these areas as an outlet for the impurities filtered from your blood by the liver and intestines.
Emit not Omit. You're getting paid to write articles, you should know the difference between simple words in the English language.
He's eating too much meat and dairy, lady. Thats why your son stinks. Its not puberty, its how the body handles excessive amounts of protein consumption...you sweat some of it out and the uric acid....frankly stinks.
Not to "pile on", but yes, as another commenter noted, the word is "emit", not "omit", which almost means the opposite. I'm a bit dismayed to see that this error hasn't been corrected in the nine months since this article has been out.
"Omit certain odors"? Really? Omitting odors would be a good thing. Emitting too many odors is not so good. Please lern 2 spel.
Aren't you wonderful. Gosh, women really are total substitutes for men, aren't they. Your boy is doing what boys have done for 12,000 years and you act like you're his Florence Nightingale and you have delivered him from evil. Bless you, sweetheart! All this will lead to his wondering if he is sweet enough to be a man for the next 75 years. If you'll work hard enough, he'll be just like you, won't he?
Here's another mistake. >>He had just finished wrapping his pudgy arms around my neck enveloping me in a huge big bear hug when it hit me. I was almost balled over.<<
It's "bowled over," not "balled over."
>>He had just finished wrapping his pudgy arms around my neck enveloping me in a huge big bear hug when it hit me. I was almost balled over.<<
It's "bowled over, " not "balled over."
With the acne remedies people shouldn't scrub their faces every day, it scrapes off the protective layer of skin called the "horny" layer that is a bit rougher and keeps out bad germs and other things. Only scrubbing their face a couple times of week should keep the child in check. If their face is oily I'd recommend Olay oil wipes which are very gentle on the face
Try getting him to use deordorant gel (eg Mitchum gel) rather than stick. My son who is a big beef eater showered at least once a day sometimes twice had very smelly armpits when he was about 17 years old. (The rest of him didn't smell). After about a year of persuasion I finally got him to switch from scentless gel deordorant from scented stick. The smell totally stopped. The gel stops the armpit odour totally even though he still sweats in his armpits.