“Anti-Aging Makeup” — for 8-year-olds?

The stoopid. It burns!

Actually, I find this rather creepy.

Thank you. I will now go be ill. What the hell is wrong with people?!

I am going to have to write Walmart. Not that they’ll care.

Just gives me even more reason to instill my philosophy of “brains over beauty” in my girls. 🙂

I feel like I am reading an article from parenting magazine and not free-range kids. Buy the product or not, but why have a fit over it, with eyes of judgement. The more I read this blog the less I am feeling the original purpose of the free-range movement.

Disgusting! Yet another thing to make me glad I have a little boy and not a girl!!

Okay, the whole idea of makeup for pre-teens is bad, bad, bad, bad, BAD, but “anti-aging” components doesn’t have to mean they’re trying to make the 8 year olds look younger, it means that over time, the use of it and other age-appropriate products later, will slow the natural aging process of their skin — so they’ll look good when they’re 70.

You tell your kids to drink their milk for strong bones now, partly because you don’t want them to have osteoporosis when they get older, not because brittle bones are a big issue among 10 year olds. It’s the same idea – you use “anti-aging” stuff now for the long-term, not because 8 year olds are “old.”

Again, this whole thing in principle is stupid, stupid, stupid, and worse than stupid, but I think the anti-aging thing is a red herring.

That’s younger than I want my daughters wearing makeup, but I do like the idea of better quality makeup for those ages – not that you can’t just buy regular makeup for them anyhow. Some girls do like to play with makeup.

I’ve generally discouraged that, but I’m another one who doesn’t wear makeup. I rather hope my daughters follow in my footsteps, but if they don’t, I want them to learn about buying safer types. So many types of makeup aren’t good for your skin.

I hope this blog doesn’t turn into the mind numbing parenting “advice” found on most mom blogs. Have no idea what make up has to do with Free Range parenting.Isn’t this the sort of judgmental interference this blog rails against?

If you don’t think it’s anybody’s business but my own whether my kid is old enough to ride his bike to the store, why is it my business to tell a parent her daughter is too young to wear make up?

@Kokopuff: It does relate to Free-Range. Not so much for the kids, but for the parents mentality. As I’ve always said, most of these helicopter parents are doing what they do to make THEMSELVES feel better, and not entirely on the “safety” of their children. Now taking that into consideration, these mothers are so anal that they won’t allow their kids to go out and play with friends with out a full compliment of “security” escorts (insert sarcasm, but close enough, lol). But they ok with making their kids look and feel older than they really are. Yeah, that’s something the PARENT wants. Ever watch that TLC show “Toddlers & Tiaras”? It’s pretty much the same thing. These mothers are living vicariously through their kids.

In short, a lot of these parents pick and chose what’s best for their kids based on what’s best for themselves. That’s pretty f’n selfish.

I’m having a hard time with my daughter wanting to wear make up… but she is 14 , not 8.

Who would want to look like an 8 yo forever???? Just imagine a job interview!

“…the retail giant says the around 70 new GeoGirl products are eco-friendly and therefore “mother approved.”

Yes, this part bothers me a lot – they’re TELLING me that I approve? It turns out that I don’t give a rat’s ass if this product is “eco-friendly” – I, like most people, think that little girls with fully made-up faces are repulsive.

So I guess when an 8 year old acts up in class we can blame it on a mid-life crises? Ha ha ha.

(Sometimes you’ve just gotta laugh, it’s all you can do.)

LRH

I would assume that Lenore’s point here is that it’s not so much the product itself, but the message it is sending to these young girls.

Little girls don’t NEED this stuff, nor should they be made to believe that they do.

I believe that’s the point here.

Maybe it’s not a 100% “Free Range” issue, but had it not been posted, we would not be discussing it.

Lenore, has provided a place, a “sounding board” if you will and I think it’s great that we have a place to post our opinions…for free!

I can see how this plays into Lenore’s overall theme that kids should be allowed a natural childhood. That would include not having to think about their looks any earlier than they naturally would. Even leaving makeup out of it, most 8-year-olds are not naturally focused on how they look in the mirror. I tend to think that is healthy. That said, some little girls do like to “play” with make-up, and while I can’t relate to it, I do see it as a legitimate “play” activity. But no kid of mine is getting out the door with make-up on until she is at least 13 (preferably older). Yikes!

I hope it works! I would love to preserve my 11-year old forever.

That said, “anti-aging” and “makeup” for tweens is the epitome of an oxymoron. And just moronic.

I have no objection to the silly “make-up” that kids often wear — sparkly gels and sticky gems and things — and I have no objection to those things being natural and eco-friendly. But the anti-aging thing gets me, because anti-aging creams don’t even work (in so far as I know anything about the science)– it’s just a marketing ploy to get them hooked early. I think it’s symptomatic of a society that values the appearance of childhood over the experience of childhood.

Also, in sephora of all places I overheard a woman asking what a good starter make up for an 8-year-old was. IN SEPHORA. I think that’s worse…

I think the really ridiculous part is the anti aging bit.
Parents can rest assured that this make up is eco friendly so it won’t hurt their kids and that it has the benefit of anti aging, so yes moms run out and buy this make up….it can stop the aging process your kids must actually go through.

Forget about talking to your kids about make up and that appearance is not important. Buy them anti aging makeup so they don’t grow up and it has no harmful chemicals….overprotective parents this is a no brainer!
Not only can we stop the kids from thinking for themselves we can actually stop the process of physicially getting older

I played with my mom’s make up when I was a kid. We called it “dress up.” I had a little horde of the stuff she didn’t want anymore. My 2.5 year-old likes to play with my make up. She and her 3 year-old cousin play “tea party” and they put on glittery make up and princess dresses and have a grand time.

I agree if the packaging actually says “anti-aging!!” on it, then that’s a little silly. But little kids wearing make up is just part of being a little kid.

I agree they shouldn’t wear it outside the house, but that’s just me. Plenty of my friends were wearing make up in 6th grade, and I was SOOO jealous.

The plus side to playing with makeup as a kid, is you learn how not to look like a clown when you get older. My parents eased us into makeup.

12- clear lip gloss, blush, and brown mascara.
13- colored lip gloss, neutral eye shadows
14- black mascara, and colorful eye shadow
16- eye liner and lipstick (for special occasions)
18- pierced ears

I plan to use the same time line for my kids, because by the time I was 16, I really knew how to make my make up look natural, and I knew that less was more. But until they’re 12, they can play with makeup all they want in the comfort of our home.

@Metanoai: I had a training bra when I was 9 or so and definitely not even slightly curvy. I stopped wearing it, and then started wearing bras again when I actually had something that required support. I don’t think I really needed the “training” (except perhaps for the clasps, but then training bras are usually front-clasping or sports-style). In an odd way that’s like giving a kindergarten class homework because they’ll have to do it eventually. :S

“Mom Approved!” Right. Like the T-shirts for girls that say things like “I only go to school to flirt with the boys” or “My brain is on summer vacation” or “Too cool 4 school” that are available at stores like Walmart and K-Mart.

All mother approved, that is why after the back to school sales, those are the only shirts left on the racks.

Real make up for 8-12 year olds? This is the equivalent of a KidzBop remake of Britney Spears If U Seek Amy. Girls shouldn’t be wearing make up if they’re not ready to handle the “real thing”–which should be 13 at least, hopefully older.

my girls have destroyed so much of MY makeup that I have had to break down to buy them their own or at least rotate mine out more often, given them the bits I won’t wear anymore.

I was one of those girls who was never really shown how to put on makeup as a child or teen by my mother and never really had makeup party sleepovers. So although I know how to put on makeup, I’m not that good at it. If my daughters want to play and have fun, they might as well have stuff geared to their skin, not mine.

although the makeup kits at Daiso are a fraction of the cost…

Sad. Is anything sacred? Perhaps “mommy approved” thongs are next. Way to go WalMart and all of the execs who sat around the conference table discussing this one.

@Kokopuff — Thanks for posting another POV. I seriously don’t know what the purpose of a comments option is, if not to give our honest, polite, opinions. And I’d wanna hope they’re not all identical.
And, btw, I think your point’s a good one.

@ Tuppence – I agree with giving legitimate opinions. Saying that you disagree with Lenore’s point of view, saying that some (including Lenore) are being judgmental, saying that this is not a big deal are all legitimate opinions. Telling Lenore that this post was pointless and should not have been included in her blog is where I have an issue. It’s her blog. She can blog about the price of milk if she wants to do so. We don’t get to decide what is posted here and what is not. We can choose not to read a particular thread if it doesn’t interest us. We can choose to express our opinions about the topic however unrelated to Free Range Kids. But we can’t tell her that she shouldn’t be blogging about a certain issue on her own blog.

I went and read a few articles and press releases on this, and the disturbing thing (well, one of them) is that they go out of their way to explain that this is intended not as play make-up, but is – in fact – “real” make-up.

How the fact that they are sending out this sort of confusing message about childhood is *not* a concern for FR parents is beyond me.

Childhood innocence is sacred, in our society, to the point where people are attempting to protect them from even the normal growing experiences of being a child. We are supposed to assume that there is someone out there eagerly waiting for the slightest chance to rip that innocence away, should we let down our guard for even a second. We should suspect every stranger (and pretty much any man) of looking at our children in a way that is unnatural and perverted. Because of the sick people out there who view children in such a twisted light, we cannot allow our children to roam free and just be kids. We should be careful of even posting their photos online, because these creeps will find them and think awful things about our sweet, innocent babies…

And in the meantime, we should by our pre-teen girls “real” make-up, because for some reason they need to accent their eyes, show off their cheekbones and define their lips. Luckily, they recognized that youthful skin doesn’t need covering up, so they are not selling a foundation, but they did make sure there is a mascara to emphasize those lashes… so they can better flutter and bat them..?

Um.
What??

Add this to the state of little girls’ clothing these days, the majority of which some of us dubbed the “Prostitot Collection” a few years back, and you’ve got some very strange messages going out about what is appropriate for our kids. Low rise jeans (when my daughter was 7, I couldn’t find any jeans in her size that actually came up high enough to cover her little girl underwear, so I went with boys’ jeans until I located a couple more-decent brands), cropped tops, provocative sayings, high heels, way-too-short skirts…
There was one memorable day when I saw an outfit in the girls’ section that was, I kid you not, an almost exact replica of the school-girl costume on display in the window of the stripper-shop next door to my favorite used bookstore. It was possibly the only time I have ever wished I had a camera phone, because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

I let my daughter play with make-up and face paints. Mostly, this means she wants to “look like a fairy” or some other such thing. At her school, there aren’t a whole lot of girls in make-up, but she tells me she sees more when they go on trips where there are kids (the same age) from other schools, and when we went to the local theme park, they were *all* over the place. Full make-up, in full-on Tramp style. This was not letting a little girl wear lip-gloss or a little shadow, even… this was more “Floozy out on the town” application, on the same age set as the ones this new line is targeted towards.

And where you can say that it is up the parent to decide what is okay for their child, and it is, I want to know what this is saying about society. Many of us, as Free Range Parents, are criticized for allowing our children to be “in such danger” and told we just aren’t facing “how it really is” and seeing “how scary it is out there.” Open your mouth in the wrong parenting group or around the wrong people, and you can be attacked for your parenting choices, including being told you don’t deserve to have children if you aren’t going to keep them safe. We are told, over and over and over, that there are sick people out there who think inappropriate thoughts about our children. We are told to worry about how they are plotting and planning ways to get close to our children, and that these sickos see them only as sex objects and potential victims and they are EVERYWHERE. (This, of course, being something *we* know isn’t true, but facts have never stopped anyone really determined to criticize, judge and condemn when fear is the issue.)

And then we’re told it is perfectly normal to dress our children up in clothing designed to show off their bodies and the figures they probably don’t even have yet (though, in my family, we’re in bras for a reason by time we’re 10). It is considered cute to dress them up in things with flirty little sayings. And, now, apparently they need “real” make-up before they even necessarily have all their adult teeth?

And of course, then you have things like this.

And we’re supposed to be paranoid about the perverts around every corner who are determined to sexualize our children.

Um… wait. Which ones were they?

well written. thanks for informative article.