need mothers of girls

[wishingfor3rd]

my poor 8 year old daughter was cursed with thick dark hair from both her father and i and i have noticed the hair on her legs is becoming very noticable lately. she has not mentioned wanting to shave them (but i think she may be afraid to ask too?) i do not want her to be teased by other kids but i also dont want her to have to worry about such grown up stuff yet either. so at what age do you guys think its o.k. to let your young daughter shave her legs. AND how do i bring the idea up to daddy? or what about nair or something less ''grown up'' and painful? any and all advise is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[going_crazy]

My 9 (almost 10) year old daughter has had noticable hair on her legs for the last year or so and hinted at me a couple of times that she didn't like it. I held off for as long as possible (didn't like the fact she is getting so grown up!) but recently, she told me that some of the older girls in the school told her she had hairy legs, so I bought her a razor and gel and she now shaves her legs! We did have an interesting conversation about hair on other parts of the body too(!)
I literally just told my OH that she wanted to shave her legs and he just shot me a "she's not old enough yet" look!

I think it's ok for a girl to shave her legs once she is a bit self concious and understands that it's something they'll have to keep doing - it's not a once off thing (unfortunately!)
Maybe wait until your daughter starts dropping hints (or you could drop a couple to see if it is bothering her?)

I did think about using nair or veet, but I think they may be harsher on the skin? Anyway, I hope I've helped a little!

Good Luck! xxx

 

[wishingfor3rd]

yes!! thanks so much. how do you think i could bring it up without making her feel like i am making a big deal about it? also did you get an electronic one for wet and dry or just a regular one with the blades?

 

[cooper2010]

Once you start with somthing whether it be nair or shaving your going to have to keep up with it. That can be a giant pain. I would just wait until she brings ut up. My husband brought up the leg hair to our 8 yr old and I was mad! She is kind of hairy, but she is also blonde. But I was thinking, dont bring it up just yet! We are not ready for that! (I am the one who has posted about 8yr olds and puberty).

 

[clothbottom1]

Yes don't shave it unless your girl didn't started to dropping of hints about teasing and uncomfortable situation although shaving kids legs is not bad as it sounds.. Thanks

 

[Lucy22]

I think 8 is too young, being honest. I'd try to hold her off till at least 12, but if she is too uncomfortable or unhappy with the hair I'd suggest you get her a hair removal cream, such as veet, or something similar.

I think 8 is far too young to be using a razor, as she could cut herself quite easily.
So unless you'd be shaving with the razor for her, I think a cream would be better.

Hope that helped

 

[seoj]

That's a tough one... to be honest, not sure I would bring it up first. As not to bring attention to something she may not really have thought about yet??? Or maybe she is just too shy to ask? My step-daughter is not shy... lol... so she asked for some time before we allowed her to shave her legs for the first time. She was 11. And really, I wasn't thrilled with her being that young- but her lower leg hair is pretty dark... and she was starting to get embarrassed to wear shorts and skirts during the summer. So once summer hit, I taught her how to shave. She only had once or twice she cut herself... and I even had her try some different things (like Nair) but she left the Nair on too long one time and it hurt her legs (even though I reminded and reminded her to watch the time)... mine are sensitive, so that was never my first choice. Now, she prefers to shave (no issues since very early on)... and use good shave gel and razors.

I think it's a very personal decision between mom/daughter. Sometimes we aren't ready for what they are- lol. But there can be compromise.

Unfortunately- it may not be JUST shaving the legs to come up and time passes. My SD mom has her part time (every other weekend only)- but commented on her hair down below!!! She actually told her she should just shave it!! When she was 12! Um, hello?! So my SD brought it up a few times... and I would just tell her it's natural and there is NOTHING wrong with it and that it's something she can take care of when she's older (if she so chooses). Luckily, she hasn't brought it up too recently again... she's 14 now. But it's tough when she has someone making her feel like there is something wrong with it. But as I didn't even trim till I was well into my 20's... I cannot imagine her doing something like that at such a young age! Yikes!!!! Sorry... kinda off topic.

Basically, just do what makes sense for your situation hun. If she seems concerned with it- then give her options, and be there for each step.

Best of luck!

 

[holly2234]

Im not a parent of an older child/teenager but i do remember what my mum did with me. I kind of hinted that my legs were hairy im guessing about age 9. So she bought me some hair removal cream but it didnt do a very good job the first time so i shaved off the bits it missed! Then she bought me a razor a few days later and just said here use this its yours.

 

[wishingfor3rd]

sorry i have'nt checked the post in a while. but thanks ladies for all the advise! i still have'nt made a desicion but im leaning towards waiting a while longer. if i do decide to bring it up first i would most definatly help/monitor her while she did it. she is still comfortable around me being naked and all but even if she wasn't i guess we could have her wear a swimsuit in the bath?! @seoj - wow! i cant beleive someone would mention shaving "down there" to such a young girl?! so far i dont have that to worry about but i wouldnt even mention that to her, she can decide that when she gets MUCH older and experienced with shaving.

 

[ellemonkey]

My 9 year old just shaved her legs for the first time the other day and in all honesty it looked like she shaved a wookee in the bath judging by all the hair left stuck to the sides. She was mega hairy but luckily the weather has been rubbish down here so she's always worn trousers for school but now the sun is put to play she came down in a dress and a pair of tights.

The hair had to go.

 

[maybebaby3]

8 is a bit young IMO unless she's being teased about it/or has a problem with it herself i would let it be. i'm hoping to make it til secondary school with erin before having to do anything!

 

[emmylou92]

I didnt start shaving till secondary school and mys sister dosent and she has just turned 15 though she has just got a wet and dry epilator(sp) that she uses she said it hurths loads but in the long run its better thang shaving my SD is very hairy but she dosen't seemed botherd by it...i'm sure she will let you know when she is ready...but id keep your razor out or reach just incase she tryes to have a go herself

 

[Blah11]

id wait a while until she asks. I didnt shave mine until i was about 12 cos some boy at PE pointed it out but I am blonde.

 

[Weeplin]

I would wait a while unless she starts getting picked on. My daughter is going to have this problem soon with her legs and her eyebrows but she can still get away with both. I especially don't want her to have to deal with the eyebrows until she is a teen.

 

[5-a-side]

My dd1 has just turned 10 and has been asking about her legs for around a year and a half now, yes they are hairy and dark haired too but we've compromise that when next summer comes she can start and then she'll be ready for secondary school.
It makes a difference to be open and able to talk about these things, especially when the possible next step is periods and the like.
Hope when my dd starts shaving she is better at it that I am
I must say that girls grow up much faster than when I was younger. Its scary!

 

[lesleyann]

I did mine about 9 I think I never asked I was just in the bath looked at my legs and grabbed the razor, I also have very dark hair.. Did not take to long till other body parts started to be shaved.. By 12 I was taking the whole lot off everywhere!

 

[futuremama88]

I never asked my mom or anybody, I just bought razors from my allowance and started shaving by myself.

 

[TwilightAgain]

I have one piece of advice!

Tell her when she's shaving and having trouble shaving the knees (those stubborn little hairs) do not dig the razor blade in and pull up I did this the first time I shaved and it still makes me cringe. Needless to say I took a layer of skin off why did nobody tell me? scarred for life! Haha ok the scar has gone, but i'm mentally scarred.

 

[smelly07]

I also think its too young and would hold off until at least age 11 when they start secondary school... i have dark hair and and my arms and legs were hairy as a kid but nobody pointed out until i was 12/13 when i then took it upon myself to shave.

shaving is a pain in the arse and i think black stubble poking out all over legs is horrid and feels awful she probably would have to shave every other day and thats a huge thing to keep on doing as a young child.

 

[Daisybell]

I too was in secondary school when i started shaving my legs but i also had blonde hair so it wasnt really noticeable.

IMO i think 8 is rather young to be shaving legs i wouldnt feel happy giving my daughter a razor at that age, if she hasn't mentioned it & hasn't said that she is been teased about it then i personaly wouldn't bring up the subject.

im sure she will let u know when she starts to become unhappy with the hair xxx