Whiff of teenagers blamed for family rifts

Mothers fall out with their teenage offspring because they stop liking the way they smell, according to research. A series of experiments showed that mothers instinctively prefer the smell of prepubescent children. Babies are known to smell pleasant to their mothers, and it is also established that children change the smell they emit during adolescence. Until now, however, it was not known the extent to which this altered feelings of attachment between mother and child.

MOTHERS fall out with their teenage offspring because they stop liking the way they smell, according to research.

A series of experiments showed that mothers instinctively prefer the smell of prepubescent children.

Babies are known to smell pleasant to their mothers, and it is also established that children change the smell they emit during adolescence. Until now, however, it was not known the extent to which this altered feelings of attachment between mother and child.

Researchers in Germany conducted a series of experiments on 164 women, presenting them with body odour samples of their own and four unfamiliar, sex-matched children who varied in age, from infants to 18 years old.

Odours they found more pleasant odours tended to be classified as prepubescent, even from older children.

“This study reveals that children’s body odours are an important factor affecting the mother-child relationship, and hints toward its importance for affection and care-giving,” said Laura Schäfer, lead author of the study at the Dresden University of Technology.

She added that post-pubescent classifications “could be interpreted as a mechanism for detachment, when the child becomes more independent and separates itself from parental care”.

While the research suggests that a child’s body odour does convey developmental cues, how the human nose is actually capable of sniffing out that information remains a mystery.

For instance, hormonal levels did not appear to be a factor in how a mother classified samples.

Some studies have noted an association between postpartum depression and poor bonding.

One found that women with postpartum depression had prolonged difficulties with bonding compared with women who were not depressed.

Recent research identified the scent of a baby as the key to helping women deal with the fraught first few months of motherhood.

A Japanese team said that giving birth rewires the female brain so the odour of an infant fires up the part which keeps people rational, thoughtful and caring for others.

Another study by Canadian scientists found a baby’s scent also raises levels of the pleasure messenger dopamine in the centre of the brain.

 Childline has seen the number of suicidal children aged 11 and under almost double in three years. On average, 67 children a day receive help from the service as they struggle with suicidal thoughts and feelings. Most were teenagers, but there has also been an 87 per cent sharp rise among under-11s since 2015-16. According to figures published today, the number of children aged 11 and under calling the helpline for help regarding suicidal thoughts has also risen dramatically.