Hair removal and a Kindergarten diva?

I agree that Kindergarten is too young. Someone above mentioned that she didn't think kids this young would even notice hair on each other's legs, but that is actually not true. Kids are starting to pick on each other younger and younger. Last year my son didnt' want to wear his Disneyland shirt to Kindergarten because he said his friends would not think Mickey Mouse was cool. I was like, "You've got to be kidding me! When I was 5 I would have bowed down at your feet knowing you'd been to Disneyland!"

Regardless, I had these issues myself. People picked on me for it. It sucked and it was annoying, but it gave me thick skin and pretty much anything goes in one ear and out the other now. I think I started using an electric razor when I was 10.

My daughter just turned 4 in July and said she needed to shave!!! I told her no, not yet. I said she was too little. She also has noticeable hair on her legs, but I told her if she started now, she would have to keep doing it forever, and mentioned that mommy doesn't like that she has to do it all the time! I told her when she gets a bit older we can talk about it.. she seemed ok with that..

I got picked on for having dark hair on my legs as a kid.. I wasn't allowed to shave and now it's stuck with me and I hate it..

Maybe get her those buffer pads that are a little like sand paper (they're little mitts) and you rub the hair off.. Or maybe hair removal creams.

She's young but it doesn't stop kids scarring you for life with mean comments.

Either that or get her to wax.. She'll do it once and change her mind

Oh my...5 years old? I don't have kids, but my mom let me use Nair when I was about 8 or 9, then I was allowed to use razors when I was in junior high. Hopefully she can hold out for a few more years? Good luck!

It all depends, but my mother showed me how at age 9, about 2 weeks after my period showed. She figured I hit that point, I should learn all about the "fun" parts .... She showed me, but I never paid much attention until I was 12. But, by that age I was already wearing a C cup bra... so yeah.

5 is probably alittle young for her to do it herself. If it really bothers her, maybe do it for her or get another safer alternative like the sanding discs. Stay away from products like Nair.... if she's too young to do it herself, that is WAY too dangerous for her to mess with. Maybe offer to go buy her some nice tights, new pants, etc.

Hopefully you can figure something out that makes her feel better and comforts you at the same time. Good luck.

Is this the first time she's mentioned it? Was she really serious, or did she sound like she was repeating something she has heard? She could just be repeating something she feels she's supposed to say.. I really hope that at 5 (I have a 5 year old son)things like leg hair, aren't real issues. Good luck and hopefully, it was just a passing thought, because as most everyone else has stated.. I wouldn't want this to be a concern for her, nor would I want a 5 year old using a razor.

Best of luck!

wow, this is tough... i have a first grader & i wouldn't dream of shaving her legs this young... then again, i would hate for her to get picked on b/c of hairy legs... i think it's too young... tell her she's beautiful & so is every part of her, including her legs!!

if that doesn't work, can she just wear pants (or are dresses a part of her school uniform) :ohwell:

All of these responses are great. I agree with pretty much all of them - kindergarten is very young. To the person talking about the issue of her daughter's self-esteem, one thing that pops in my mind is that today she is being picked on for hairy legs (which yes, can be taken care of), but what if tomorrow it's because of something she CAN'T change about herself? Basically, I think a liiiiiiiittle (emphasis here) bit of being picked on will make her a stronger person and help her find ways to verbalize, defend herself, and also plan for herself. Because in life, you won't always be able to make everyone happy and keep everyone from picking on you.

To the OP, I sound a lot like you, I'm 5'4", daaaaaark hair, my mom let me use an electric razor (something to consider later on, since you can't cut yourself) in I believe 3rd-4th grade (I was playing a lot of sports and HAD to be in shorts), then started my period in 5th. Little kids will find anything to pick on others, unfortunately.

Random note: I hope my first paragraph doesn't come across as mean, but I'm now 24 and thinking back to my childhood for instance, I wish my parents hadn't always been so quick to pull me out of uncomfortable situations when I was young. I never went to summer camp without feeling entirely homesick, and always ended up having my mom drive hours to pick me up early to go home. As an adult, leaving for college was horrible, I was so maladjusted from never having to truly DEAL with change. Even now when I move, I am very conscious of how sick/stressed/anxious I feel about it - but at least now I know it about myself and can try to make the best of it. Anyways, just my two cents! There's a saying that if you want your children to be grounded, put a little weight on their shoulders. Having to deal with things themselves, makes them strong! :-)

It is so hard to know that our child is hurting, I know.
I think it is sad though that so many people think to preserve self esteem we need to teach our children to do something that is only deemed necessary by a vain society.
I personally would not allow my kid to shave, wax or otherwise worry about the hair on her legs. my goodness...she is ONLY 5. I would use it as a teaching moment that some kids are unable to understand that what your legs look like is not what is important. it is what is inside. I would try to boost her ego while being understanding that it hurts to be picked on but continue to encourage her not to care so much what others think. and we would have dialogue about it often to try to monitor how she is really handling it.
By allowing her to remove the hair from her legs, IMO, you only teach her that 1. it is ok to judge others on appearance alone and 2. it matters what others think of us. and that is heartbreaking to me at her young age.

Good luck because no matter what we do as mom's the decisions are always hard.

my kid(4) said the same thing after watching me shave(closed doors mean next to nothing to her) so i said sure, and then i showed her my electric tweezers(that i was useing when she let herself in)........:laugh: well she dosent want to shave any more so ima chalk that up to a win for bad parenting:bigsmile:

The notion of shaving a 5 year olds legs is nauseating. Next thing you know some Moms out there will start putting makeup,fake hair, fake boobs and dress them up like grown women and have beauty pageants. PLEASE allow little girls to be children in this hypersexualized society.

THank you for all the replies! I don't have many friends with kids so it's nice to get other views on the subject. Will I probably try and push it off for a while, yes.

Just curious and not sure how to feel about it....I'm a single mom and she's my baby girl...my one and only and has all of mommy's attention. I want her happy but I don't wanna do something to make matters worse

Remember that they will pick on her whether she has hair on her legs or too many freckles, four eyes, etc... Whatever teasing happens, just remind her that she is beautiful and smart and capable every single day and she can start shaving closer to 10 or 11

So many times one of my babies has come home from school in a tizzy about something the "other kids" picked on them about. It is heartbreaking, and I do understand that as a mom, we want to fix everything for our kids that we possibly can. The trouble is though, the more a kid changes because of what the "others" pick on them about, the more things those others will pick about. And when its something about height, color, sex, religion, athletic abilities or the lack of them, eye color, hair color .... well you get the idea, there are a lot of things that NOBODY can do anything about, right?

So, I had to learn to teach my kids to suck it up and be proud of who they are, hairs, scars, height, abilities and disabilities, it all makes them uniq

Use some of the hair lightening gel, it will make the hair more blonde and less noticeable. Safe for everyone.