At last year’s BlogHer conference in New York, I had the honor of being invited to Unilever’s Penthouse Pampering event, where I got to meet reps for Dove, Degree, and Suave deodorants. Unilever knows that the tween and teen years are when Moms have to help their kids navigate through the tricky years of hormones, which can produce, well, odors. To help Moms broach the subject, Unilever created the Don’t Fret the Sweat campaign.

As you know I have two sons, and they both started asking to wear deodorant in the 6th grade. I asked my oldest son why he wanted to wear deodorant then in particular, and he told me two things that I thought might help other parents whose kids are approaching that age -

1. 6th grade was when the kids started being shown those videos in Health class that talk about changes to the body. The videos mentioned the wearing of deodorant.
2. He also said that it was important not to smell at all offensive, i.e. smelling like deodorant and not b.o.

Unilever wants to help parents and kids remain cool, calm and confident throughout the day – especially during those sweat-inducing moments.  Their line of deodorants provides something for everyone. Really active tweens might like Degree, which provides 24 hour odor and wetness protection.  Girls who like to smell pretty should definitely check out Dove’s deodorant and body mist pairs, which also provide 24 hour protection plus all-over freshness. Dove Ultimate is hypoallergenic and fragrance free for sensitive skin, and Suave deodorants are proven protection at a great price.

Unilever’s Don’t Fret the Sweat Facebook page  is packed with tips for picking the right deodorant, a discussion page for asking questions, and expert tips, tools and real life stories about how parents are communicating and transitioning their tweens into confident and self-reliant teens.

Here I am at the Unilever event in the Don’t Fret the Sweat suite (you can see part of the logo behind my head), meeting the wonderful Rosalind Wiseman, author of  Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World, which was the basis for the movie Mean Girls. She’s an internationally recognized expert on children, teens and parenting, and provides expert advice for Don’t Fret the Sweat. She’s also a really nice person!

Don’t Fret the Sweat and Unilever worked together with Bliss TV to create three conversational episodes featuring Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bees and Wannabees and various bloggers to share tips for making the tween “stink” years easier to deal with. You can watch all three episodes right here!

Take it from me – there’s no reason to be embarrassed when talking to your tweens (or even pre-tweens!) about body odor and deodorant.  It’s not easy for parents to realize that their precious toddler who smelled like graham crackers and baby shampoo is now smelling more like b.o., but that day will come and it’s better to be prepared!   Head over to Don’t Fret the Sweat on Facebook and click the Products tab to use the Product Matchmaker and find the perfect deodorant for your “little stinker”!

disclosure: information provided by and post sponsored by One2One Network.