There are only two people on Earth who are going to tell a child that he or she smells. The mother and their doctor. And the reason no one else wants to is because it is not the kindest thing to do, but mothers and doctors realize that it is kinder tell a child than to not tell a child. So the reason that tweens start to smell is that they are producing more sweat because of hormones and the sweat grows bacteria. That means that you need to get the bacteria off the skin by washing. So you want to use soap. I want kids to be showering at least once a day and I want them to be washing with soap in the shower, which is a big thing. Sometimes kids think they can just stand under the water and rinse. That won´t do the trick. Sometimes end up when they wash their face at night end up doing an arm pit washing as well just to get some of the bacterial load down and that is a great strategy. For kids who are washing really well and they are still stinky, deodorant or antiperspirant are the way to go. Deodorant does what it says. It deodorizes. It just takes the smell away. You still sweat. Antiperspirant does what it says. Anti-perspiration, you stop sweating. If you stop sweating, the bacteria will not grow and you will not smell. Most of the products on the market are a combination of antiperspirant and deodorant together. The controversy comes in over the heavy metal aluminum. Aluminum is contained in a lot of these products and it helps block the sweating. The problem is that people are concerned that a heavy metal in the arm pit might lead to a cancer like breast cancer. There is absolutely no data to suggest that aluminum causes breast cancer. However, if that makes you uncomfortable or nervous, pick an aluminum free product.

Recommended Product: Tandem’s natural deodorant designed for kids.