Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Speed Stick in Kindergarten

It's been a while since I've visited some of my favorite blogs or their Blog Frog communities, but the other day I decided to post a topic over on McMama's forum. I had been thinking about it for a while, and I wanted to get some feedback from moms over there before I wrote about it over here. The question I posed went something like this:

"Within the last month or so, I have noticed that my son has had that smell at the end of the day - you know the one - when you know it's time for the good ol' deodorant! But here's the thing: he's only six-years-old! It's not a typical, need a bath smell. It's that distinct, body odor, I don't want to sit next to you smell! Doesn't that seem early?"












There were a variety of responses, all of which were women who had children who also had to begin using deodorant at an early age. On one hand, it made me feel better to know my son was not the only kindergartner on the planet who had to use Speed Stick! But it also made me very sad.

I had often heard about the hormones in our foods making children mature at an early age, but I had only associated it with girls and periods. That is probably even more upsetting to me. Like this comment on my post: "My daughter's classmate started menstruating at age 8. I found this so cruel. Not a child and not an adult and she still believed in Santa." Can you even imagine? A small girl, still with so much innocence, still believing in Santa, and having to understand such a womanly thing. I agree with the one who wrote the comment - so cruel.

What do I do now? The "early maturing" has already began in Caleb, and that means Sarah is next. Can I reverse this for them? Is it too late? I feel like I've let them down by the choices I've made for them. I understand some of the changes I could make, but if you've ever seen Food Inc. (which I would HIGHLY recommend) it's almost like we're fighting a losing battle.

But something just has to change...


7 comments:

thechattymommy said...

Man- I thought this was going to be a funny post- now I just have to think about what I am feeding my kids- bummer.

....But you are right.
Sad.
Don't worry too much about Sarah- still a lot of doctors are saying that girls usually menstruate around the same time their mother started.

Angie said...

I have heard that if you only buy one organic thing, it should always be milk. I am looking forward to see what everyone else says. Is this something preventable?!

Much love,
Future Mama
http://expectingablessing.blogspot.com/

thechattymommy said...

sorry to comment again- just wondering...
But, have you thought about a natural deodorant for your son? - something like tom's of maine - without aluminum and maybe it won't seem so bad.

Mindy said...

Wow... this scares me. I can see why you were concerned. We just talked about puberty in adolescent psychology. The age of the first period in the US is leveling off (they say) but it can actually start that early. That is crazy! Do you think the body odor is from hormones, or could it be something else?

Unknown said...

Wow! Well, that does seem early, but then again, I was one of those very early menstrators {is that a word!} so I can relate. Hang in there! No fun having our children mature before it seems time, but I guess what can we do?!? ugh!

Sylvia Plathypus said...

Wow, and I thought mine got started early!! (My twelve-year old has been cursed for almost 2 years now. Poor kid!!) I wasn't really aware of the whole hormone thing until it was far too late, and I had a 10-year old who looks 18 in certain womanly aspects. It's sad, but mostly scary!! I'm afraid to let her out of the house, lest some perv get the wrong idea about her age. LE SIGH. I'm sorry your son has to "grow up" so early!! It's a terrible thing for these kids...I guess we as moms just have to do the best we can to be supportive. Lord knows I don't know what else to do!! =S

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

I see what you mean. I'm amazed when I see kid's today. My own niece who's 16 started wearing a bra in 2nd grade, and she's also looked older than me for 3 or 4 years now. (I'll admit I look young for my age, but a 13 year old should never look like they're in their 20s.)

It's definitely not your fault; so you shouldn't feel that you've let down your kids. There's a lot of parents that are going through the same things.

I was watching Dr. Oz several weeks ago and they had 3 mothers on, and they showed pictures of their daughters alongside pictures of the mothers at the same age. It was remarkable how much older the daughters looked! I believe the recommendation was to buy organic meats and dairy products.

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