Would You Let Your Child Get a Manicure?

March 13, 2009

As parents we stress about how the examples we set shape our children's habits, and health and beauty routines are no exception. We may ponder whether pampering sends the right message, but for better or worse it is rooted in our culture's gender stereotypes. Madonna's mini-me, daughter Lourdes Leon, is known to express herself with dark polish and even little Suri Cruise has been spotted flaunting red nails while shopping with her mom, Katie Holmes. Would you let your child get a professional manicure, and if so, at what age?

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16 Comments

WarEagleNurse 2 years 39 weeks

Why not?

WarEagleNurse 2 years 39 weeks

Why not?

2 years 39 weeks

no reds, no dark colours blah blah blah. these sorts of people are sooooooo boring. i was alowwed to wear nail polish when i was five or four but i didnt really wear it that much but i liked it.

imcs 4 years 10 weeks

first off, nailpolish damages nailes, turns them yellow after a while, so the last thing I would want is for my daughter's nails to turn yellow when she's still young. secondly, can you really get a kid to sit still for a mani/pedi? third, there's a time and age for everything. If they start painting their nails too young, what do they have to look forward to when they're teens? ~ I wasn't allowed to paint my nails till I was 12, and at that it was only clear, till I was old enough to just do it myself. I don't regret the way my mom raised me, and I think I'd do the same w/my daughter if I had one.

imcs 4 years 10 weeks

first off, nailpolish damages nailes, turns them yellow after a while, so the last thing I would want is for my daughter's nails to turn yellow when she's still young. secondly, can you really get a kid to sit still for a mani/pedi?third, there's a time and age for everything. If they start painting their nails too young, what do they have to look forward to when they're teens?~ I wasn't allowed to paint my nails till I was 12, and at that it was only clear, till I was old enough to just do it myself. I don't regret the way my mom raised me, and I think I'd do the same w/my daughter if I had one.

Kimpossible 4 years 10 weeks

Even my 17 year old hasn't had a professional manicure yet, let alone my 12 or 6 year old girls. Heck I've only had 3 professional manicures in my life. I guess I just don't see the big deal with them. And even if I did let the girls get manicures it would be to emphasize the health of nails, not for a beauty treatment with polish and all that.

Mojo Jojo 4 years 10 weeks

she would have to be old enough to take care of it, honestly, she can go when she can earn money to pay for it, 15 or 16. If she saved her allowance for it, I would let her go with me, but no grown colors like red and nothing too dark, no crazy designs...little girls grow up too fast these days, save some of it for college!

hippiecowgirl 4 years 10 weeks

I think it would be a fun treat for special occasions. I agree with kmckay that I wouldn't take her until she was ready to handle the sitting still and being relatively quiet so as not to disturb others in the salon.

RunninginBoston 4 years 10 weeks

Ewww...I won't even put polish on my nails after reading the ingredients. Ethyl acetate and other nasty organic solvents on my fingers? There's a reason nail shops smell like chemical factories. No thanks!

kmckay 4 years 10 weeks

i think it's fine as long as they can handle it- i can't tell you how many times i've gone and spent good $ to relax and get a mani while sitting next to giggling/loud/whiny/ little kids. grrr

care0531 4 years 10 weeks

I tried getting a mani and pedi with my daughter and sister but my daughter was too scared and just sat on my lap the entire time. I think i will wait till she is 8.

lickety split 4 years 10 weeks

we do this for special occasions, last day of school, that type of thing. started when they were in kindergarten. one time we were in the salon getting our pedi's and ran into another woman i know who has 4 daughters. she told me that she couldn't afford to give her girls pedicures, and in the next breath that she was there because the next day her whole family was going to hawaii FOR THE ENTIRE SUMMER. a kids pedicure is $12 with tip at our salon.

meandtheo 4 years 10 weeks

i can't wait to take my daughter to get her first manicure! i take my niece every chance we get and she absolutely loves it...she tries to sit there like a big girl with me but she can not stop smiling and laughing because she is so happy! we started going when she was about 5, she is now 10 and gets a mani/pedi with me.

Nak Nak 4 years 10 weeks

My daughter, now 7, probably had her first home manicure probably at 4 or 5. But they are usually for an event (she's been a flower girl way too many times). Also, there are rules, no dark colors, no reds. Gernally she is limited pastels - 1) because they are youthful looking and 2) since she never really properly takes off the nail polish the remants of a soft pale color are not as tacky as a darker color. I should say, though, that I finally sort of relented on the red just this year - she had alternating pink and red nails for a school color/spirit day.

Lily Inferno 4 years 10 weeks

If I had a girl, I wouldnt mind for special occasions, like her birthday. But that wouldnt start til she was about 6. With maybe a few friends? I think it would be cute.

katedavis 4 years 10 weeks

I'm not sure what age, and I wouldn't make it a weekly or even monthly ritual, but if I was going to get one, I'd take her with me every now and then. Oh, and I'd probably get that fume-free kind of polish to take with us for her.

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