Exploring your toddler’s sense of smell – understanding its importance and development

Our sense of smell is fascinating – it links to emotions, memories and preferences. Your toddler is beginning to show you the connections they are making.  

Our sense of smell is more specific than our other senses, and this could explain why we link smells with particular people, places or events.^[1]  

We have 400 different receptors for smells, which gives our brains lots of information to process. What isn’t known, or agreed upon yet, is how many scents we can actually recognise and process.^[2]  

Scientists think one of the reasons smells are so closely linked with memory is the way they are processed in our brains. The olfactory bulb processes information from scent receptors and links with other areas of the brain, making connections with emotion and being stored in our memory.^[3] 

Your toddler is now beginning to show you the links they are making between smells and familiar people, places or routines.  

You can help your toddler notice these and connect them to what is happening by chatting about what you can smell. 

Your toddler’s sense of smell is still improving, it develops until around the age of eight, then gradually declines in adulthood.^[4] This might mean your toddler notices smells that you don’t, and some children are particularly sensitive to smells.  

If your toddler is sensitive to smells they might find it difficult to be in a room with someone wearing strong perfume or want to move away if someone is eating a food with a strong scent.^[5] 

Playing with smells by using scented playdough, mixing potions with herbs or guessing food by its smell might help them with this, and you could also let people who spend time with your child know that your toddler seems sensitive.  

As with any aspect of your toddler’s development, if you feel concerned about their reaction to smells speak to a health professional for more advice.  

Reference: 

[1] Khamsi, R. (2022). Unpicking the link between smell and memories. Nature. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01626-x 

[2] Tucker, A. (2022). Sniffing out the science of smelling. Smithsonian magazine. Available from: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/scientific-mysteries-smelling-180980756/ 

[3] Walsh, C. (2020). What the nose knows. The Harvard Gazette. Available from: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/02/how-scent-emotion-and-memory-are-intertwined-and-exploited/ 

[4] Villaxon, L. (n.d). Do children have a better sense of smell than adults? BBC Science Focus Magazine. Available at: https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/do-children-have-a-better-sense-of-smell-than-adults/ 

[5] Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHHS (n.d.). Sensory questionnaire. Sense of smell/taste. https://www.nhsggc.org.uk/media/263059/full-smell-taste-questionnaire-2-5-years_version-11.pdf