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Home › Articles › Appearance › Smelly Boys

Smelly Boys

Teaching Young Boys Good Hygiene Habits

By Laura Paul

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Peel says The Procter & Gamble Company spent two years researching and developing the line of grooming products for boys. They found boys like to smell the same all over their body. "The No. 1 concern of boys ages 9 to 16 is their appearance," she says. "Until now, the options have been either sister's strawberry banana shampoo or sister's deodorant or dad's. It made it harder because they did not have any products of their own."

School and Self-esteem

"When my boys were in school, they took health in the sixth grade and learned some hygiene tips," Peel says. "Now, they teach it in the fourth grade. Boys are going through puberty earlier; they are starting to play sports earlier ... and they are smelling earlier. Sometimes boys 9 or 10 don't even want to shower every day. That's the first key – to get them in the habit of showering every day."

Peel tries to stress the fact that teaching a young boy good grooming and hygiene is about a lot more than body odor and looking good. "When a boy feels good about how he looks and how he smells, if he is not worried about that, he can pay more attention in class and do better in school because he is not thinking they are snickering because he does not smell good," she says.

A boy who feels good about the way he looks and smells will have higher self-esteem. As a parent, it's possible to prevent embarrassing moments in a boy's life – such as a popular girl holding her nose as he enters the room – by teaching him early on the importance of good hygiene.

10 Tips for Teaching Boys About Hygiene

1. Talk about good hygiene practices while involved in another activity.

2. Keep the bathroom stocked with an assortment of boy-friendly grooming products.

3. Encourage your son to change his socks frequently and keep a pair of "good shoes" for school and family outings.

4. Give your son personal space at home and a sense of privacy, especially after school.

5. Keep his dresser stocked with clean socks, boxers and an assortment of clothes he likes to wear.

6. Avoid flowery smells or feminine-looking product packages that boys might be embarrassed to keep in their gym bag.

7. Leave helpful literature about good grooming on your son's dresser.

8. Teach your son at an early age how to operate the washer and dryer, and stress the importance of not wearing clothes that are still dirty from the previous day.

9. Allow him use of his own bathroom in the morning, or give him an allotted time when he won't be disturbed.

10. Encourage your son to take his shampoo and deodorant with him to school for days when he has gym, recess or after school sporting events.


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