Posts Tagged Kids
Testing developed for measuring kids’ ability to smell
Until recently, there were no good tests available for measuring the ability to smell in children. Available studies were too lengthy for kids, and measured response to odors that kids hadn’t necessarily been exposed to, even if they could smell them. A new study has changed all that. Australian scientists found 16 different odors that most kids ages 5-7 can identify. The 16 odors represent 4 sections of the palate: salty, bitter, sour, and sweet. (There was no mention in the study of the fifth category umami, the savory taste for which receptors are available everywhere on the tongue.) The 16 odors represented include floral, orange, strawberry, fish, chocolate, baby powder, paint, cut grass, sour, minty, onion, Vicks Vapo-rub, spicy, antiseptic, cheese, and gasoline. Because of the study, several standard smell and taste tests are now able to diagnose the level of smell and taste function in young children.
Read more in Medical News Today
Add comment August 16, 2008
Scent marketing and education for kids
Check out P.U., The Guessing Game of Smells, where kids can sniff their way around a game board Village by correctly identifying scents from scratch-n-sniff cards. Is it skunk? Or is it manure, peppermint, BBQ sauce, cut grass, popcorn, apple pie, doggie doo doo, or burnt rubber?
The game includes 30 cards, with additional refill packs available. Thanks for the tip to Gizmodo AU, who is calling for an adult version of the game.
Also see: Board Game Geek
Add comment August 4, 2008
Kids associate alcohol odors with drinking mom’s emotions
Scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center have done a study showing that kids’ response to the smell of alcohol is related to the reasons their mothers drink it. The study presented kids with pairs of odors, and the kids chose which odor they preferred. Kids of mothers who were classified as “escape drinkers” were more likely to prefer the unpleasant scent of rotten eggs over beer, while kids of mothers who were not “escape drinkers” preferred the beer scent. The study was published in the journal Alcohol.
Read more at Monell.org
Add comment August 2, 2008
Scented pencils for kids go green
Check out the latest scent-marketing effort aimed at kids, the Smencil. What’s more, it’s green: recycled newspaper rolled around sticks of graphite, then hardened so they can be sharpened like wood pencils. They’re soaked in “gourmet” scent and topped with erasers. The scent is guaranteed to last two years. Available in standard pencil-gray or brighter colors, and the ten available scents include what you’d expect for kids: sweet and fruity. Smencils are offered with custom labels as promotional products, too.
Source: Ecopreneurist
Add comment July 29, 2008
Reebok makes Kool-Aid scented shoes
Mmm, what foot fetishist wouldn’t want a pair of sneakers that smelled like grape Kool-Aid? Soon you’ll be able to have your very own. The scent is delivered via scented sock liners in grape, cherry and strawberry flavors. There will be a matching clothing line, too. All available on February 1 at retailers everywhere. More in the Cleveland Leader
Add comment January 30, 2008
Kids undergo sniff test
Minneapolis’ Children’s Hospital has been studying how kids of different ethnic backgrounds interpret different smells. This study is among the first scholarly research on the effects of ethnicity and gender on kids attitudes toward fragrances. The study involved kids from Hmong, African, and African-American backgrounds, sniffing fragrances that are being used in medicine to help deal with anxiety, nausea and headaches. Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune
Add comment November 12, 2007
