Children's senses, in contrast to adults'

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Once, as a child/early teen I naturally enjoyed the smell of books. In fact, I adored it, and even the smell of video game CDs that I so enjoyed. Once I bought a game solely due to its colourful imagery (Harvest Moon), and my intuition was right, as I relished in it so.

As I grew up I no longer feel compelled to do this. Sure, I can force myself to smell a book, and I still like its scent... but it's no longer perfect like it once was, I no longer smell infinity in a rose like I once did.

Is this the same situation with all people growing up, or am I just depressed?

I can relate.
The wonder and awe of childhood, the intensity of sensory experience, has faded for me as well.
It could be a manifestation of Depression, namely anhedonia.
I used to hug books and smell them. Loser! I know.

It's a well-known fact that our sense of taste changes with age (due to a decrease in the amount of taste buds.) It's also well-known that our senses of taste and scent are strongly related. So I wouldn't be surprised at all if our sense of smell changes as we grow!

I still love many of the smells that I loved in childhood, though. Like hardware/home improvement stores... I always loved the smell of lumber (which I recall from shop class and woodwork projects as a kid.) I still love the smell of new books (old mildewy ones, though? Not so much.) I also love the smell of live trees, like in a pine forest or a Christmas tree.

However, since the changes I mentioned happen so gradually over time (and I don't associate smell with memories much), it very well could be that my sense of smell has changed over time, too... I just still like the way my brain interprets these particular scents. (Even if I did associate smell with memory, memory is a notoriously fickle thing. You can alter it, insert memories, delete memories, change details... all without realizing it or meaning to.)

You see, what's weird with me is that I didn't recognize some of my senses when I was younger. It's kind of hard to explain to me. When I was sick, I didn't recognize that I was sick until later or until my mum told me I was. Sometimes I didn't notice extreme body temperatures like freezing cold or sweating hot until much later. Sometimes I had to go to the washroom but I didn't notice until later and I was able to hold it in as well. Sometimes I didn't recognize the fact that I was hungry when my body was probably starving. Being hungry didn't bother me at all until I was a teenager. I was very skinny as a child. Also, I've always had anxiety and I was always a nervous child but I didn't recognize this feeling as anxiety until I was around 10-12 years old. Did anyone else experience anything like this?

A lot of it had to do with physical endurance and not really realizing specific body sensations or feelings. When I was an older teenager and I was hungry I recognized that feeling and I got myself something to eat. When I was younger I hated using public washrooms so I'd hold it in until I got home and this habit lasted until high school. Sometimes when I was younger I was sick but I didn't really complain about it unles I was really really sick or unles my mother noticed. Of course when I was a bit older, around 11 I told my parents when I felt sick. I got diagnosed with depression and anxiety at 12 years old but I've had it my whole life, I just didn't understand it until I was around 11ish maybe.

It's weird because I don't find that I have too many sensory issues as of now compared to most Aspies. The only things that bother me are really bright lights and loud noises and crowds which over-stimulate my senses.

I theorize that children have less to be cognitively affected by--less responsibility, less knowledge of worrisome things, less awareness of society, less things that they have to attend to--so their minds are able to focus more on the senses and on sensation. As we age, our minds become bogged with responsibility and worries and tasks to accomplish, so our brains cannot afford to focus so heavily on the scent of a book or on the feel of a blanket.

Hey. I made an album about people with AUtism. It can help you. Please go listen. It will answer your questions.
http://nibirunon.bandcamp.com/album/nibirunon