So recently I have been surprised at my little cousins in Pakistan wanting makeup as gifts. These girls are 5 to 8 years old. They want lipsticks, mascaras, eyeshadows, nail polish etc. I don’t know if this is a laughing matter or should it be concerning? I feel like that’s too young to always be talking about makeup. Every time I saw them they said they wanted makeup. Now my mom is going to Pakistan and they gave a list of makeup they want. My mom bought nail polishes for them so far. My question is how much is too much in terms of the fascination with makeup with little girls? I am kind of surprised because when I was around those ages my wish list contained a toy or something of that sort. I can’t remember wanting makeup items. Yes my sister and I had fun when my mom applied a little blush on our cheeks, but that was it.
Not taking sides, just want to know people’s opinion. I feel like my cousins are maturing too fast for their age and I have noticed this in their topic of discussions or questions. What happened to innocent childhood? Lol maybe I’m just too shocked.
I know I used the word makeup too many times back to back. Too tired.
I think parents are responsible for this carelessness.. like when i was around 5,6 age my preferences are watching cartoons ,eating lollypops lols..was far away from any kinda cosmetic, but now our little girls are allowed to watch stupid and unrealistic kind of dramas instead of cartoons, they prefer to watch dance and singing shows ,so these kind of malicious programmes are destroying our childhood innocence,moreover now facebook charm or other social medias are at its peak..
Nail polish as a special treat sounds ok but the other stuff is too much imo.. and a child that young giving a list for makeup doesn’t sound right either..
I don’t remember thinking about makeup at all till I was in my early teens.. and then it was just subtle stuff like a bit of lipgloss..
I know I feel like they are too obsessed with it all. I think my aunt just makes it worse by pushing makeup on them. Makeup isn’t the only thing, they say a lot of things that will leave you bewildered. For example my 5 year old cousin cheekily asked me if I sleep with my husband, while my husband and her father (my mammoo) were sitting right there! Eeek! I am not really sure what she meant lol, but I was shocked and tried to quickly change the subject, but she kept asking it then I had to get up and take her away. I am glad neither my husband or mammo heard it. I mean what do you day to a 5 year old who asks this haha? Too much Bollywood without parental supervision according to my grandma.
i agree that the parents are to be blamed for this. I was just talking to my sister in law about this a couple days ago because it was one of my friends daughter’s bday (she is 4!!) and my friend put full on make up on her - like eyeshadow, mascara, liner, lip liner, lipstick, blush EVERYTHING!!! plus heels and honestly i really dont find it cute. I like kids to be kids! when I was that age - forget that age! even a lotttt older my dad was not at all okay with me wearing make up! I think now that I am married is probably that im okay wearing make up and even then i dont wear crazy amounts unless its a special occasion. even my little sister who is 7 right now doesn’t wear make up AT ALL! we DO paint her nails at times and I have bought her chapstick or lip balm like the kids one but no color. even at my wedding last year she was probably the only kid with no make up (but THE CUTEST if i do say so myself hahaha) all my cousins/friends kids/cousins kids her age were wearing lots of make up! its become such a pet peeve for me.
i honestly think people need to let their kids be kids as long as they can! that includes avoiding bollywood movies/dramas! grrr.
Lol my father was the same way! Up until I graduated highschool. Once I was wearing some eyeshadow to my orthodontist’s appointment and he was angry. He didnt mind us wearing makeup for occasions in our teens though, but as kids he even disliked nail polish. I think nail polish is ok for fun. I did however watch Bollywood movies as a kid, but my mom made sure they were the non adult ones like ddlj. 90s Bollywood was more conservative I think. I guess I was just a very naive kid because I didn’t pick up anything from the movies from what I remember. I was more interested in cartoons though and other kid programs.
Anyways, my mumannis upbringing is causing the little girls to not be interested in school.
Their neighbor complained that the girls are maturing too fast mentally for their age because they play with her granddaughters and she notices it .
Mom’s are to blame for this. I don’t think I’ve ever met a dad push makeup on his daughters so yes, this is entirely the fault of the mother. If a little girl always sees her mom applying makeup and wearing a full face all the time, she will want to be like her and copy her. Girls naturally want to copy their mothers. Moms wear makeup. I get it and that’s fine, but they need to make it clear to their daughters that makeup is for grown ups and not for little girls and that in fact they are very beautiful without it and do not need it at all. I am baffled to read this. At 5-8 I was playing with dolls, riding my bike, watching cartoons and playing house! I did not start wearing makeup until first year university! I was 19! Kids these days grow up WAY too fast!
Seriously, I have a daughter. I cannot imagine her growing up too fast. She is SO innocent and pure. I want to keep her innocent for as long as possible. May Allah guide us and help us provide our children with a proper upbringing…
Little girls look at their moms as role models. If mommy is plastering makeup on every day, and makeup/beauty/cosmetics form a huge part of her life, the daughter will think that is perfectly normal too. It is up to parents to set the norm on what’s more important - good behavior, education, health, learning an art or sport etc.
Don’t get me wrong - there is nothing wrong with grooming or looking good, but it shouldn’t turn into an obsession.
Honestly i find it so disturbing to see a little girl wearing a “smokey eye” look and at that age, I wouldnt even have the guts to go in front of my dad with that much makeup on. I started wearing eyeshadows after university.. before that, it was only cover up and eyeliner for me. I think mothers need to be careful about what they are exposing their kids to.. it can really damage their perception of beauty and result in low self esteem. Them talking about inappropriate things definitely has a relationship with their interest in makeup since makeup is commonly used as a tool by women to look attractive and certain makeup looks like the smokey eye are considered “suggestive” Bollywood is a big NO these days.. if any parents want their kids to remain kids, they will know not to expose them to bollywood. In a way, I feel kind of sorry for little girls growing up today because they are growing up in an age where media everywhere is becoming more and more inappropriate and sexualized. Parents need to learn that putting the tv on and leaving their kids in the family room unsupervised is not necessarily a safer option than sending them out to the backyard and letting them play.
Hmmmm, I wonder how professional makeup artists feel about this, if they have daughters, what’s their mindset on makeup for kids? There’s quite a few here on GS, I’d like to hear what they think.
^ Just to clarify, I wasn’t criticizing professional makeup artists and their parenting.
I’m very interested in knowing how they maintain a balance in their kids’ lives too - how do you prevent young girls from thinking that beauty and physical appearance is the most important thing?
OMG this reminds me of the show ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’…fine, the kids are on a show and its a beauty competition but kids look beautiful without the pretentious act and all the makeup, glitz, haircolor, waxing, tanning etc! Totally taking away their innocence and making them grow up wayyy to fast. I honestly started putting on makeup after I got married, before that it was just basics like kajal and gloss for university and liner and some blush for weddings/social gatherings etc…my mum never used to let us put on makeup or even wear heels till my o level farewell
I don’t think the fact that the mother applying makeup will lead to her daughter getting obsessed with it. The mother should keep explaining to the girl that this is for grown ups and she is beautiful without it. My cousins mother doesn’t wear makeup daily, heck she can’t apply makeup to save her life LOL. It’s just that she pushes it on them or probably talks about makeup with them. I know she gives them her makeup to keep.
I love makeup and like looking “done up” when I go out :(.
My mother had loads of makeup when I was a kid, but the only thing I was allowed to play with was glitter during playtime only.
Lol at someone’s suggestion of play makeup! I would do that! My mom’s a softie .
yea i don’t think that “the mother applying make up everyday” is the culprit here. mothers do A LOT of other things that we simply don’t let our little ones do so why can’t we stop them from putting make up on? i do think mothers are to be blamed (NOT FOR USING MAKE UP but instead for not STOPPING their daughters!!) like my cousin she is CRAZY about make up she is also a make up artist (part time) and she is obsessed!! she has 2 daughters (ages 14 and 9) the 14 year old hatessss make up and shes always running after her forcing her to do lots of make up (i get that shes older now and what not.. but i honestly think shes gorgeous and doesn’t need make up!) and the 9 year old is obsessed with make up herself so shes always taking mommys make up and going crazy with it but then at my wedding last year when she was 8 my cousin herself did smokey eyes with blue/black eyeshadow for her along with red lipstick and i was just like omg…why?!! i think mothers forget that they are moms and kids don’t know the best for themselves so they need to be shown the right path.
Mom applying makeup is fine, the question is how much importance does she give it. For instance kids are home after school, and mom spends hours dressing up and doing her makeup and hairstyle. If this is a regular occurrence, naturally a young girl is going to be awestruck by the whole prettying-up thing and wants to try it out herself. If this is happening at the expense of mom spending time with the daughter doing constructive things like reading, playing board games, helping with her homework, or even just talking to her, it does send the wrong message.
Kids don’t learn as effectively from being told what’s right and wrong, they learn better when they actually see their parents doing it.
It is kind of shocking to see that, but hey isn’t barbie also fully made up ? I’m not trying to justify their passion for makeup but to girls dolls have a bright red lipstick and rosy cheeks with green blue eyeshadow. This is their first ‘role-model’
Parents need to be strict in this matter, like they can’t apply kajal until they’re 10-12, they can apply nail polish from time to time…
I know a lot of women who wear makeup daily but they don’t let their daughters wear anything apart from a lip balm.
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