Why This Mom Wants to Remove Her 6-Year-Old Daughter's Body Hair
The acceptance of body hair on females and femmes has become increasingly widespread over the last few years. We have bloggers, social media influencers, and celebs like Bella Thorne, Miley Cyrus, and Paris Jackson — all of whom have repped their body hair loud and proud — to credit for the newfound (relative) tolerance. The attitudes around stubble, fuzz, and fully grown-out hair are finally starting to change when it comes to women.
Despite this promising progression, not everyone feels at home with their body hair, and children afraid of being teased by their peers are at the top of the list. For example, the Irish Sun reports that a distressed mother turned to the parenting forum Mumsnet to seek advice about what to do with her 6-year-old daughter, who hates her leg hair.
The mom, who goes by TellerTuesday4EVA on Mumsnet, wrote a detailed post about her dilemma of whether or not to let her daughter, who she calls "DD", remove her leg hair. "A big part of me knows this is ridiculous but there's another part that wants DD to make her own choices," she writes, before adding that DD has always had very hairy legs and a hairy back. "I presumed it was baby down & would go away in time, but it hasn't & it's gone darker as she's gotten older."
She reveals that she thinks it could be linked to hormones and then goes on to explain how insecure it's made her daughter. "In the summer, she became aware of it & that the other girls at school didn't have the same [and] she asked me if there was a way to get rid of the hair." After having a discussion about everyone's bodies being different, DD's doubts were allayed for a while; however, her mom says they returned once school started up again.
The mom also addressed the fact that none of her classmates have mentioned the hair or teased her because of it, and that it's really DD herself who has the issue. "Now that the weather's getting colder, she's into tights and trousers for her uniform so that's pacified her again," she added. "However, she's now getting upset about swimming and not wanting to go because she says when her legs get wet it looks worse; the hair [is] quite long, so when it gets wet & lays flat she is right in what she's saying."
She says that she would never use hair removal cream on her skin or let her attempt anything herself, but that a part of her feels like she should help her daughter remove it if she's going to continue to be so adamant about it. She concludes by asking for advice before writing, "No bitchy comments please, I do realise she's very young but just want to do my best to help her."
Luckily, the comments were kind and compassionate, including messages from other moms who shared similar stories and gently suggested taking DD to the doctor for a consultation. Some advocated for letting her remove the hair, as they argued that nothing is worse than feeling self-conscious, while others praised the mom for being so supportive. "I think you’re a great mum supporting her with this!" wrote one user.
Whatever she decides, it's encouraging to see moms support one another in parenting and not resort to the all-too-common (and uncalled for) mom-shaming we see so often stateside.
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