Pushing Kids

Posted on February 6, 2011 
Filed Under Fathering, Focus on the Family Broadcast, Parenting

Pushing kids too fast. Who is guilty of that? It seems many parents are doing just that, and one trend reflecting that is the news that a major retailer is introducing a line of makeup for grade school girls.

A Wall Street Journal blogger reported the following quote from a major “beauty products” marketing director:

“Girls start cosmetics usage really as young as six years old in categories like clear lip gloss and nail…Then at a certain age, and that’s becoming younger and younger, she begins to want to enter real cosmetics as an enhancement.”

In the same piece, about her 2nd grade daughter wearing make-up, one mom observed that

“If she doesn’t play with it at home and learn to do it, when she turns 12 or 14 or whenever I let her wear it, she’s going to overdo it…I try to downplay it being that she’s eight.”

I’m aware of “pretend” makeup. Our girls had some when they were younger, usually getting it out when a friend was over or they were playing “dress up.” But we’ve been reluctant to let them wear much makeup until they were in middle school, at the earliest. I think they have a lifetime ahead of them to use the stuff, and I’m certainly not going to press them toward using makeup too soon.

When in doubt, wait. At least that’s what I think.

Last fall we aired a broadcast with Dannah Gresh and Ron Luce that addressed some of the issues about this matter. They know kids, and the pressures affecting them. You should give it a listen.

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