Teacher told class they need to wear deodorant.

[Anonymous]

I remember getting that talk from my sixth grade teacher. She told the whole class their bodies were changing and they didn't want to stink. To quote her, "a little dab'll do ya."

[Anonymous]

My kids all wear deodorant and perfume or cologne. They are in 5th and 2nd grades. Showering daily and smelling good are important. I buy very nice perfume or cologne for the kids and I buy them the same deodorant my husband and I use. I can't stand the idea of a dirty or smelly child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Kids with poor diets don't smell very good either. Ugh, that fried food smell just seeps out of the pores (poors?)

Did you intend the double-entendre?

YES! I forgot the , though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids all wear deodorant and perfume or cologne. They are in 5th and 2nd grades. Showering daily and smelling good are important. I buy very nice perfume or cologne for the kids and I buy them the same deodorant my husband and I use. I can't stand the idea of a dirty or smelly child.

Perfume in second grade? Silly me, here I thought this thread was about being clean...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids all wear deodorant and perfume or cologne. They are in 5th and 2nd grades. Showering daily and smelling good are important. I buy very nice perfume or cologne for the kids and I buy them the same deodorant my husband and I use. I can't stand the idea of a dirty or smelly child.

Very disturbing to put perfume on a 2nd grader!

[Anonymous]

Why?

[Anonymous]

I work in an elementary school and a 5th grade teacher I work with started telling the kids to wear deodorant after Spring Break when it started getting warm. The kids don't change/shower for PE and they do get stinky when it is hot. I remember getting deodorant in 4th or 5th grade. I think it is pretty unusual for a child NOT to be wearing it by middle school.

[Anonymous]

My DD is in 3rd grade and a few weeks ago (maybe 2 months actually) I told her to start wearing deoderant b/c she has smelly underarms. It's the truth and it has improved with deoderant.

No big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP just curious what you are thinking about the situation now that you've had all this input?

I will not put deodorant on my child until she needs it. But I can understand if there are a few kids who need it and the teacher can't say anything to them directly. Then it'd be a different post on DCUM I'm sure! "Teacher singled my kid out and said s/he needs deodorant".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP just curious what you are thinking about the situation now that you've had all this input?

I will not put deodorant on my child until she needs it. But I can understand if there are a few kids who need it and the teacher can't say anything to them directly. Then it'd be a different post on DCUM I'm sure! "Teacher singled my kid out and said s/he needs deodorant".

Different kids need it on different days. One anouncement to all is much more efficient. In 3-6 mo almost all will need it on a daily basis. If you have ever walked down the corridor of the 4th,5th or 6th grade hall after PE during a heat wave and survived, you will smell the need. Even in January the 5th and 6th grade hallways have a certain "aura". IME, it is good to get them in the habit before there is a need. That way if they miss a day or two, it doesn't become embarrassing for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD is 9, and in 4th grade.

She came home yesterday telling me she needs to start wearing deodorant. I asked why. "The teacher told us to.". She told the whole class, did not single out my child.

I realize it's getting hot and the kids are getting sweaty at recess. But deodorant on a NINE year old???? My child is not in puberty yet. She doesn't smell. I buried my face in her arm pit to check, no smell.

I think I'd rather delay my child using deodorant as long as possible because I've heard that they can be linked to breast cancer. She'll have enough years ahead of her of exposure to deodorant, she doens't need to start at NINE.

Am I way off base here? Is it normal for a 4th grade teacher to give a blanket directive to a bunch of nine year olds to start using deodorant???

That's the year they start to smell. It is pretty rank in a fourth grade classroom by the end of a day in the spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids all wear deodorant and perfume or cologne. They are in 5th and 2nd grades. Showering daily and smelling good are important. I buy very nice perfume or cologne for the kids and I buy them the same deodorant my husband and I use. I can't stand the idea of a dirty or smelly child.

Please don't have your kids wear perfume or cologne to school. Many people are allergic - asthma, migraines, hay fever, etc. send them clean but not with perfume.

[Anonymous]

It is good to start then. I am a sixth grade teacher and there are many students who do not take care of their hygiene- and it is becoming apparent now (and my classroom doesn't have AC). It is not a good environment. They should be aware at a younger age, however you can talk about it with your DD and make a choice that is best for your family- whether that is a natural product, or " Your teacher said this because X, but in your case, ..."

[Anonymous]

If you don't want her to wear regular deodorant tell her to put baby powder on her armpits.

[Anonymous]

I see nothing wrong with the teacher's request and have been around enough groups of 4th and 5th graders in my time to completely understand why it was made!