Friday, June 3, 2011

This is only okay if she ends up making millions of dollar off her makeup line and buys me a mansion and a car

We've had some trouble in the past about the lipstick.  Remember?

So it shouldn't surprise me that I walked into the bathroom where I left her to wash her hands after a potty trial (that didn't result in a potty) to find her slathered in lipstick again.  Not as bad, this time.  She managed to confine the damage mostly to her face.

Last week my mother got her ready for some event.  "Look," my kid said, "Look!".  At her painted fingernails and painted toenails.

Great.  Great.  My kid is a diva and my mother is a rule-ignoring* enabler.  Great.

My kid is totally disappointed that her fingernail polish has worn off.  My mother is totally ready to paint them again.  I stick to my belief that this is a slippery slope to Toddlers and Tiaras, and I want to communicate to my daughter that she is beautiful without having to don the trappings of female grooming standards at TWO YEARS OLD.

Meanwhile, she's moved on to lipstick.  Which was going to be verboten until she was 16.  I have a battle to fight for the next 14 years, apparently!

Thoughts on a two-year old wearing fingernail/toenail polish?

*Full disclosure: I guess I hadn't exactly set a "no painting fingernails and toenails rule.  I thought the conversation we had in the bathroom the LAST TIME my mother attempted to paint fingernails, or my comments when she got the kids fingernails painted clear at the nail salon, were communication enough.  So she isn't rule-ignoring as much as comment/conversation-ignoring.

4 comments:

Betsy said...

I'm actually fine with nail polish - and Yes I know I have a boy, but I have a Mama's Boy who wants any and all things Mama has, including blue toenails because Mama has blue toenails. I painted a few, he got bored and wandered off. It's paint - it washes off and I think at age 2 it's less about beauty than it is about a pretty color.

I figure it's no worse than the stamp he gets on his foot at gymnastics each week.

Lacie said...

Totally fine with nail polish. But, I should add that most infant baby girls in my family have painted toes and pierced ears. I know, a big no-no for some. It's a cultural thing.

Serifm8 said...

Also no problem with nail polish. Some of my fondest memories of my grandmother are her painting my toes and giving me bottles of perfume.

My mom also let me have play makeup, but she was pretty clear that all makeup and perfume were for playing dress up, at home only. Couldn't go out without scrubbing up.

I was allowed to wear concealer, lipstick and mascara at 13, as long as it was subtle.

Billy said...

I love that you are trying to teach her that she is beautiful as she is.
I don't think a two year old would put polish etc on to make her look pretty. I think that's a notion of us adults. At two she probably believes she's the most wonderful thing :-). My guess would be that she's doing it to be like her mummy/grandma/other adults she knows..

[now lets just wait and see howI'll react when my little girl is two and does that sorth of thing.....]