kidlove: When Kids Start Needing Deodorant

I sniffed both my armpits first before coming to the conclusion that it was my ten year old son that was the one with the awful body odor. Oy vey, my boy was starting the bumpy journey to becoming a man. After a few days of not being able to breathe in his presence, I went to the store and bought the most gentle and non toxic looking of the deodorants. I made a big deal about giving it to him- a sort of right of passage speech and then hoped for a fresh smelling son again. Well much to my dismay, the all natural eco deodorant worked as poorly on him as it did on me.

I was going to have to go and buy him a stronger kind. Meanwhile, before I got to the drugstore, his fifth grade class had 'the talk' at school as a part of the sex education effort they provide. They sent him home with a travel size sample of Old Spice Deodorant, which to me smells worse than body odor and is much more toxic to boot. According to the EWG, it is responsible for reproductive damage and is not good for adults much less children. Of course I alerted the school and in the meantime found the unscented Arm and Hammer deodorant that I am going to try as it is without parabens, fragrance and aluminum but still supposed to be effective.

I am sure that soon I will be looking at nontoxic shaving cremes for my son but in the meantime I want to make sure he is not poisoning himself unknowingly with a daily deodorant!