Body Odor in a 3 Year Old?

Yes, you are not the only one! My youngest actually went thru a year when he was a baby of having the same problem. He grew out of it by the time he was 2. My older son, who is 6 now has been wearing deodorant on hot days for the past year. So I guess it starts earlier then we think :) Good luck!

I think it may just be a sign of the times. I have four children and they are like magnets which brings their friends to the house... I spend a lot of time around children and I have smelled b/o in children as young as 18 months. I use potatoes. Cut a potato and rub the potatoe under the childs arm pits. It works just like deodorant.

not to freak you out, but talk to your doctor about this. There is a VERY RARE disorder where body odor is the major sign. But usually it's all over the body, not just the armpits, so it's probably not that. But better safe then sorry.

My son developed the same issue when he was almost 3. We used baby powder with cornstarch and baby lotion to tone down the smell. It did go away for some time but as he got older the smell got stronger. He is now 9 and he does require daily baths and deordorant. My mother-in-law suggested cornstarch full strength but the baby powder mixture worked fine until he was about 6. You may want to examine your childs' diet. lots of processed foods could be the culprit.

Maybe talk to you pediatrician--maybe she has a systemic yeast infection or bacterial on her body? Could try switching soaps and cutting sugars.
Yeah, I wouldn't think you'd want to use a deodorant until puberty hits.

S.,

My 3 1/2 yr old daughter has had armpit odor (kinda bad) for the last year or so. I usually don't put anything on her unless we are going somewhere (party, etc) and my ped. said it is o.k. to use a mild deoderant like Toms.
He also said it is not something to worry about.

C.

Eating too much sugar gives me body odor. So, I stay away from sweets, especially in the summer. My daughter has body odor too, which I assume to be too much sugar, but I've been unable to test it since it would be a battle and my hubby isn't on board with fighting it.

Hi S. Maybe you should bath them everyday especially if they're every active. This could cause them to sweat or make sure you give them a good sponge bath and wash very good in those areas(armpits and between legs). Those areas have folds and can traps odors. If this doesn't work take her to see her pediatrician.

I also have a daughter with body odor. She was around 3.5 when I started noticing it, maining when she was hot. I giveher a bath everyday but still noticed it. I talked to her doctor about it and he stated there was nothing to worry about because she had not other signs of earlt puberty. At about 4 years old, I began to have her use just deoderant. It is had to find, but all the research I found was that the antiperperant was what caused problesm so I thought if I got one without the bad stuff I'd be ok. I found an all natural one at Target that was just doederant and it has worked wonders. She is now 5 and it has just become part of her morning routine to put it on. If she goes to family to spend the night, she makes sure it is packed. I tried the scented powders and they did not seem to work either.

Hope all works out. To ease your stress mention it to the doctor and see what they say.

Do you feed your child foods that are processed with artificial ingredients, chemicals., and sugars? You "detox" all these things when you sweat and that would make for some foul odor . Look at the ingredients of her food ...is there a huge list? can you easily read the label? would your grandmother know what those chemicals are? Do you know what they are? I would also give her a probiotic with good bacteria to eat the bad bacteria in her body. If she has been on antibiotics then she will need to restore her friendly flora as the antibiotics dont discriminate between the good and the bad in your body. Yogurt contains some but not enough to recolonize. Look for Culturelle at CVS or go to WHole Foods. Good luck!