When should girls start wearing makeup?
Maggie Berger, 1, holding her mom's blush brush in her playroom. Credit: Jennifer Berger
There are some mornings when Maggie, my 14-month-old daughter, wakes up while I'm getting ready for work. My husband Jason leaves earlier than I do, so to keep things moving, Maggie will hang out in our bedroom while I blow dry my hair and put on makeup. Usually she scampers around, playing with her toys, drinking a bottle and watching a "Sesame Street" episode we have saved on our DVR.
But today I noticed something that made me laugh. As I'm sitting in front of the mirror, Maggie is sitting right next to me imitating my every move. When I put the brush in my hair, she put her hand up by her hair. So I thought it would be cute to get her brush and see what she did with it. Sure enough, she followed along. She didn't "brush" her hair but she knew where to put it. I thought it was one of the cutest things she's done so far.
When I got to putting on my makeup, Maggie went through my bag and found the blush brush. She moved it up toward her cheek and smiled at me. I guess from watching me get ready she picked up on how to do things. It amazes me how smart she can be! Of course I got carried away and thought about when I can take Maggie for a manicure (maybe when she's 3?), something I did when I was younger with my mom. So it got me thinking: When it comes to wearing makeup, what age should she start wearing it?
Growing up, I went to Catholic school and makeup wasn't allowed in the younger grades. I can remember getting questioned for putting on ChapStick. I'm not a firm believer that there is a certain age when wearing makeup is appropriate for young girls. Do I think a 3-year-old should be wearing red lipstick? No. Do I think a 5-year-old should wear a full face of makeup? Nope. Will Maggie be wearing makeup at a young age? Most likely not — but that doesn't mean she won't wear a little blush or lip gloss on special occasions. At the end of the day, who am I to judge what other's do?
As Maggie's mom, it's my job to direct her along the right path, to guide her to make the best possible decisions. And it's my responsibility to make sure she knows that she is beautiful just the way she is so she'll grow up confident and secure. She may not like it if I tell her she can't wear lipstick to school or when I tell her she's not ready to wear makeup. That's just the way of goes — sort of a right of passage.
I'm curious about what others think about this topic? Do you think a little makeup is OK? Is there a certain age when young girls should start wearing it?
