Here's a little background on our appearance on the show. Of course it was a total cluster. We were scheduled to be on for one segment on Thursday morning. Wednesday afternoon, a craptastic snowstorm hit the DC area and managed to shut down pretty much every major road and bring down the power grid for 300,000 people. Including both of us. So we were under 8 inches of snow, in freezing dark houses and of course Kate was like: "WE ARE NOT CANCELLING."
So unshowered and nasty (Editor's note: Kate actually took what she referred to as a "prison shower". It was two minutes long, ice cold and in the dark), we piled into her Volvo and slowly made our way into the city while our husbands took care of the beasties at home. I thought going on TV and leaving everyone at home was a terrible idea. Until we got there. And there were bagels, and hot coffee, and heat. It was awesome. And a surprise. Since not everyone was as
So this is us, with no preparation (or personal hygeine) speaking on the fly about little girls and make-up.
A quick note about our names: A couple people were like WHUCK? Your names aren't actually Kate & Lydia? The answer is no. When we started this blog, we decided to protect our families' privacy. So we never used real names or showed photos of our kids or ourselves. When after about a year, we had an opportunity to become contributors for other websites and to appear on TV, we had to come out (but we still don't show our kids or use their names). But at that point, we'd been writing as Kate & Lydia for a year and we liked it that way. So in Mommyland, we remain Kate & Lydia - but in real life, we're Kristin & Julie. Sorry if that's confusing! We're going to update the "About Us" page to make that clear...
(c)Herding Turtles, Inc. 2009 - 2011
Love the stupidity label. Completely agree! 8 is way too young! 12 is too young!!!! Highschool is my limit. I am so glad I have a boy.
ReplyDeleteMakeup on kids? H.E.L.L. N.O.
ReplyDeleteoh no no no!!! your NOT 16 you have NO need for make-up!!! want to add a little sparkle ok I can live with sparkle and lip gloss. but the is NO way my 8 year old is gonna where make up.
ReplyDeleteI love the phrase "human parade". Awesome!
ReplyDeleteok so something is up w/ the internet or that player for me so I can't see the interview right now..
ReplyDeletebut I guess I'm an odd one out... my daughter is 9 and last year she was allowed on very rare occasions a bit of eyeshadow and quite often had lip gloss... I see no reason to make a big issue out of girls wanting a bit of glamour occasionally. For Christmas this year, a few days before she turned 9, I gave her a bunch of makeup, nail polish, smelly bubble bath and lotions and she was more excited than any toy she got from anyone else.. she just likes being girly... the bigger thing is teaching her to use it modestly and to remove it properly.. I do insist that she is only allowed makeup on Saturdays or special occasions however b/c no 9yr old needs to wear makeup to school or church... Also she does not wear foundation or anything like that, just a bit of eyeshadow blush and lip gloss, and never more than 2 of the 3... a bit of playing with makeup and making it a teaching process, maybe she won't go as far overboard as some kids will do later..
I think make up is okay for play, but not for wearing out in public. I will probably start letting my daughter wear non-whorish make up when she is in 7th grade. I don't have an issue with sheer shadows, lip gloss, or tasteflly applied mascara. I do have an issue if the make up makes her look like Lil Kim.
ReplyDeleteI am not bothered by this… it is nothing new. Daughters will play dress-up and I see make-up as part of that. Would I let my daughter wear full face covering makeup to school? No. But when she wants to experiment with makeup I let her. Who am I to say no, when she is just trying to be like mom?
ReplyDeleteAnd, I would much rather her have her own makeup than to destroy mine. But will I buy this line from Wal-Mart? No, probably not. I will opt for something with all-natural ingredients.
The only thing that I think takes it too far is the exfoliant. That is really bad for their skin. I also agree with the previous post about the teaching process. My mother taught me about good skin care at an early age and I am extremely thankful for that.
My 9 year old has some makeup, and because she likes being girly and we have a ton of allergies and sensitive skin in our family (little princess has eczema herself), she has REAL makeup not play makeup. I started teaching her how to properly apply it and remove it. She's allowed lipgloss, and occasionally some eye shadow, but ONLY on special occasions. She does NOT wear it to school, or any time that we wouldn't normally dress up.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Kate and Lydia on this one. I'd be okay with a little bit of lip smackers lip gloss but before about 7th grade, there's no place for it outside of playing dressup/princess, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful I'm the mom of a boy...
Make up on 8-12 year olds...how about the implant birth control (you know, the hormonal matchsticks implanted in the upper arm) IN 12 year olds? At work last week (school nurse) I had to gave a 12 y/o some pain meds for her sore implant site. Wonder if the first led to the second ~ sigh.
ReplyDeleteAmen for having boys. I think I would die if I had girls. That being said, I was not allowed to wear makeup till I was 12, same age as ear piercing. I was also taught to take care of my skin (too bad I never listed about sun screen, as now I have "ol' lady chest skin") and didn't have trouble with acne till after I had kids.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with Kate and Lydia. I wasn't permitted make-up until 9th grade and even then it was clear mascara and lip gloss until I was 15. Wearing make-up for dress-up/play is perfectly fine but adding make-up to your daily routine for an 8-12 year old is ludicrous.
ReplyDeletePlay make-up for dress-up at home at any age is fine... but real make-up out in public? Hmmmm... so glad I have boys! I would probably say 11 or 12 for lip gloss and 14 or 15 for anything heavier...
ReplyDeleteI think the issue here is not 8-12 years wanting or being interested in makeup. All girls are intrigued by the types of makeup available, the makeup their moms by and wear. Even three year olds want to have some blush and lipstick - and when it's for dress up time, it's fine. My problem with this line is that it is MARKETED to 8-12 year olds. The product is created to attract and entice even younger girls into consumerism. Sadly my opinion is Walmart is exploiting an already challenging problem of self-image.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is 8 and NO WAY! I let her do lipgloss if its for something special, but even that is very sheer. No makeup till high school.
ReplyDeleteOf course, both my kids have thick eyebrows and many relatives with the lady stache. I may have to wax early. Their cousins started at age 11. Yikes.
Oh, I am a "dress-up only" mom.
ReplyDeleteI wore my Tinkerbell Lipstick when I was little (really pale pink, smelled nice). But if I attempted to step out of the house with it? NO.
Likewise for my littles. I have a boy and a girl (7 and 9), and they BOTH play with my big eyeshadow collection -- which I hardly ever use. They do all kinds of ridiculous things. I think of it as playing with costumes. They have lots of costume bits (crowns, hats, cloaks, etc.) and it's all fine at home.
But out the door? Please, people. Never. My kiddos know this, and sometimes we'll get to swim lessons and one of them realizes they still have heavy black eyebrows or purple cheeks, and they squeak and run to the bathroom to scrub off.
--kate in Michigan
Its silly and little girls should only have a little blush and gloss on special occasions, family portraits, etc.. Its a rite of passage that does not need to occur at age 8. Plus the skin problems that will follow because of the cheap quality. I say no way.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree - I wasn't allowed to wear makeup until high school. I wrote about the clothing thing a little while ago too. Some of the stuff I see is horrendous, and I can't imagine what goes through the minds of mothers who create a market for stuff like that by buying it.
ReplyDeleteI was completely horrified when I went to the Kindergarten music program and saw little girls (not very many, but a handful) with blush and eyeshadow... Whuck?!!! But then again, I'm one of those moms (of 2 girls, 9 & 12) who wouldn't let my daughter dance in those dance squads which insist on makeup and sparkles and shaking their teeny tiny little asses. The whole thing makes me want to vomit. Not sexualized? really? Not my kids. Walmart sucks! T-Boxes rock!
ReplyDeleteThis is a no-brainer. There aren't very many kids under 12 who wear makeup, and honestly, yes, most of us draw unflattering conclusions about the moms. Don't the moms realize this? We're not thinking "oh, she looks so pretty," we're thinking, "oh, her mom is an idiot."
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Kate & Lydia and the tv hosts! I have 11 & 9 yr old daughters. They wear Avon lip balm because we live in a cold climate, so if they didn't their lips would be cracked. Very, very occasionally I will apply eyeshadow for them. My girls won't wear real makeup until 8th or 9th grade. Both of them have flawless skin. And even if they were wearing makeup, I wouldn't buy it at WalMart, who knows what is even in that crap.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all there is a HUGE gap between 8 and 12. Let's just get that out of the way. Would I let my 8 or 9 year old wear makeup out of the house besides for a dance recital? NO. But if I had an 11 or 12 year old girl who was already suffering from acne, yes I would. But I would teach her the proper way to apply it, and it would be as minimal as possible.
ReplyDeleteAcne can destroy a person's self esteem, and at this age, girls already have enough to deal with. Kids are so cruel, they will make fun of anything. If I can teach my daughter to properly conceal her acne so she doesn't get made fun of for it, I will absolutely do that.
It is important to teach good skin care habits at a young age. It can help prevent a lot of future skin care problems. BUT, the products used should have gentle and SAFE ingredients. Unfortunately, it is very hard to find products that do not contain harmful surfactants, binders, fillers, and preservatives at this low of a price point.
But of course most of these young girls won't know any of that and they'll be lured by the TV commercials and will annoy their parents into buying them this crap (or they will use their allowance and secretly buy it on their own).
So while I really can't stand this particular product line and how they are targeting young girls, I don't hate the idea of good skin care practices and minimal makeup for the purpose of camouflaging acne.
Ridiculous! Such craziness! I do let my girls play with my makeup on occasion, for at home dress up. But this is along the same lines as the belly shirts and crotch length skirts they are selling for 8 year olds. Icky! Icky! Gag! By the way, you all look totally cute on TV and not at all like you were unwashed or (gulp) prison-showered.
ReplyDelete