Boys/puberty/"armpit stink?"

[morgainesmama]

dd first started getting noticeable "armpit stink" shortly after her 8th birthday. I was expecting the boys to get theirs a bit later, but ds1 just turned 8 mid-April and now he's got "armpit stink." Noticeable enough that when you hug/cuddle/etc or he's jumping around in front of you, you get the waft.

Is this an indicator of puberty? Is it younger than average? I hadn't done a ton of reading about the intimacies of boys' puberty yet, but I'm wondering if this is the sign I should start preparing. I've mentioned the overviews to him, including ejaculation, before, but when I brought it up again last night he'd forgotten about it (hair growth, ejaculation, and so forth).

Good links/resources for parents to read about the intricacies and ranges of boys' puberty?

Also, good books for boys? I got DD the American Girl book when she was about 8; somehow I thought it would be irrelevant for another year or two at least with my boys, but wondering if I'm just blatantly misinformed?

[One_Girl]

I was reading a puberty book from the library to my dd that talked about the stages of puberty in girls and boys and underarm odor and hair growth were in them. The book on early puberty we read mentioned that before 8 is early for girls and before 9 is early for boys. Here is a link for the Mayo Clinic, I am not sure how reputable they are but I have heard of them.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pre...uberty/DS00883

[robin3]

a couple of books....

What's going on down there? (I can't remember the entire title but that is the beginning)

What's happening to my body? for boys (there is one for girls, too)

[Jaesun's Dad]

The stink is really stale sweat though. Specifically, bacteria which enjoy living and prospering in the sweat. The apocrine glands don't kick in until puberty, but certainly kids sweat before that age (our newborn has been sweating since the beginning of his life .. thanks to dad's lineage likely) and while it will almost definitely get stinkier later in life I don't think that necessarily means he's at puberty already, it might just be the natural presence of bacteria already in your environment, summertime, etc, all combining. Not that it's impossible I guess but I didn't start masturbating until a few years later. When that happens you'll know about it sooner than later I imagine. While I didn't mark it on my calendar my best guess was age 11 for me when it all started to turn.

[oceanbaby]

I'm curious about this as well. Ds1 (9yo) has no noticeable odor, but he has complained that after PE or some other sweaty activity that he can smell his armpits, and he's asking to use deodorant, like his dad. But, I feel like it's pretty normal to smell a little sweat after being particularly sweaty, but that I would notice if it was at all a problem. Even on hot days I don't notice anything about him. So, I have told him no about the deodorant, talking about why, but I feel wary of not honoring his request.