Newborns and babies’ tiny noses can differentiate between different odors well. They can pick up on new odors too and soon learn associate these smells to certain things and people. As sense of smell develops in a baby, he can associate good smells and aromas with good feelings and they can soothe and delight the baby. Sweet scent of lavender or aroma of a cake being baked can actually make a child happier. Babies can also identify mom’s smell from other right from birth and finds more comfort when this smell is near the baby rather than the smell of someone else.
In a few months, babies forget to use their keen sense of smell and sniffing to recognize things and people and start using their senses of sight and hearing more and more. While babies may dislike some foul odors as spoiled food, they may actually like to play with some other things that stink and think of it as fun and can bear the stench of pet dogs and cats because they think of them as family. Older kids may even put their hands through debris to find something, when you may find it repulsive.