I remember I was around 6 years old when I first started showing an interest in make-up. My mother was a very simple woman and would only wear makeup when she was attending weddings. I’d watch her put on makeup in awe and ask her if she could put some on me too, the answer was always a resounding ‘No’. She strongly believed that it wasn’t right for little girls to wear makeup. I’d be upset for a few minutes before forgetting all about it. I was allowed to put on lipstick when I was around 16 years old for a wedding. I moved on to eyeliner and blush when I was 20 years old, and that also was limited to special occasions.
So imagine my surprise when I took my 7-year-old daughter to her friend’s birthday party to find the birthday girl in a full-face of makeup complete with fake eyelashes and bright red lipstick. And there stood my daughter, completely plain-faced, spare for a transparent lip balm. The bright makeup didn’t escape my daughter’s notice and I started preparing myself for the slew of questions and demands she’d have for me as soon as we reached home.
I was wrong. The questions started way earlier than I anticipated, on our drive back home. “Mamma, how were Rhea’s eyelashes so big?”, she asked curiously. “Because they weren’t real. It’s artificial and you stick it on your eyes.” I replied. She kept quiet for a few minutes but knowing my daughter I knew it wasn’t over.
“Can I also wear it?”, she asked hopefully. I was in half a mind to tell her it would glue her eyes shut and scare her into never wanting to wear it. It would’ve been easier, but being a mother means choosing the tougher route sometimes.
“You can wear it when you are older.”, I said and before she could interrupt I continued, “You are too young to be wearing makeup and so is Rhea but that’s her parent’s choice. When you are old enough, I’ll buy you a makeup kit and you can wear all the makeup you want.”
She wasn’t convinced but the idea of having her own makeup kit one day seemed to pacify her a bit. I knew that we’d probably have this talk a couple more times over the next few years, and I’d tell her the same thing until she is really is ready.
But this incident got me thinking. When did it become okay to let little girls wear makeup? Does not letting them wear makeup make you an overly-controlling parent? Where do you draw the line?
What I forgot to mention in my story was that even though my mother never let me wear makeup outside, she’d let me try on her lipstick once in a while and snigger at my horrendous lipstick applying skills. Trying on your mother’s lipstick or playing around with the nail polish when you are young is completely natural. I draw the line at letting them go out with their face decked up or photographing them in makeup and showing it off on social media platforms.
Shows such as ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ assured me I wasn’t wrong in thinking the way I did. The provocative costumes, caked-on makeup, and hair-dos made these toddlers look much older and also sexualised them. These little girls should’ve been worrying about whether they could get enough TV time, not whether they looked pretty enough.
Girls should be taught to value their non-physical attributes more than their appearance and introducing them to makeup at an early age will have the exact opposite effect.
When my daughter is old enough to think for herself and make her own decisions, I’ll be more than happy to buy her all the makeup in the world. But right now, I want her to enjoy her childhood, untainted and innocent.
Wanting the best for your daughter is not controlling her. You wouldn’t let your child place their hand on a warm grill. Even if the grill is not warm enough to cause them any harm, you wouldn’t risk it. So why would you gamble with something that would affect their self-respect and self-image? Like so many other depressing cases, they could become reliant on makeup to boost their confidence when they’re older. I’d rather they gain self-confidence from achievements that aren’t so downright superficial.
What is your opinion on little girls wearing makeup? Do you think it’s harmless or do you believe that it can tamper with their childhood? Let me know in the comments below!
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