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Preschoolers can be stubborn little creatures, but can you imagine getting the attitude of a teen before they’ve even celebrated their sixth birthday?

One mum is dealing with a cosmetics obsessed five-year-old who refuses to leave the house without makeup, and it’s putting a strain on her marriage.

The mum explains that when her daughter was just four-years-old, she started watching YouTube videos of young girls doing their makeup. These two young YouTubers, who were aged around seven, would say they felt ‘ugly and sad’ without makeup.

“Then their parents would gift them makeup and they would become extremely happy,” the mum explained on reddit. “I found the show inappropriate but my husband let our daughter continue watching, calling it harmless fun.

“Soon our daughter got hooked and started asking for makeup. I myself live makeup-free and don’t own any products. Reluctantly, I bought her a couple of things and she would spend hours putting makeup on her dolls. After a few months, she started demanding to wear lipstick for outings. I felt we were enabling a bad habit but my husband went ahead and let her do it without discussing it with me. Admittedly, she looked super cute in botched up lipstick so I let it slide.”

‘I threw out the makeup – and I’m in trouble’

While it all seemed like harmless fun at the time, the mum says now her five-year-old daughter refuses to leave home without her face made up. “I once again told my husband that this is not a good habit to encourage as she is starting to show body image issues. There was still time to nip it in the bud. But husband refuses to listen and called me old-fashioned.”

But the mum couldn’t let the situation slide, and decided to throw out every piece of her daughter’s makeup.

“Both husband and daughter threw a fit. I feel she is still young and will let go of this habit easily. There are several other productive hobbies that she can pursue. If she wants to wear makeup as an adult she can make that choice for herself. Husband on the other hand picked up a huge fight with me and is asking me to replace all the makeup.”

The mum says she’s refusing to give in, but is wondering if she’s done the right thing.

What do you think, did this mum do the right thing? Let us know in the comments.

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  • Well…..whats done is done but seriously young children do not need to watch youtube videos. They dont need access to the internet at all. Keep them away from the internet for as long as possible.
    Once she was given makeup its a horrible thing to take it from her and throw it out. Its something she enjoys. Sadly its a ‘start as you mean to go on thing’ … you cant allow her to have makeup and then suddenly change your mind. It needs to be NO from the start.
    I think the more fuss you make over it the more you are playing into the body issues thing. It should be treated as if its no big deal. This is like little boys wanting to wear sparkly dresses and such. Just leave it be.

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  • I agree with the mother that the child is too young, but I also feel that her marriage is on very shaky ground and just maybe the couple need some outside help to get through this. Parenting is one area where both parents have to be in agreement.

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  • The makeup isn’t as much of the problem here, as the parents not parenting together as a team. For your child’s sake -get some help.

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  • It is one thing to play with make up at the age of 5, but completely another to not leave the house without it on. I would probably have done the same thing, but spoken to the child and husband about it first so everyone was on board.

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  • I agree with this mum. She is too young.

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  • Dad rookie errored bad. Children copy everything they see. I thought it was bad my 11 at the time, now 13 y.o step daughter was to young for those tutorials and wanting to copy them. You stand your ground mum, I think you’ve done the right thing.

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  • I’m confused as to how this even became a thing. Watching YouTube tutorials at that age! Interesting.

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  • Good on Mum. I think she has done the right thing.

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  • My now 17yr old daughter is the only one who wears make up here. She started with it when she went to high school and loved the tutorials at youtube. At that age I didn’t mind so much, and she would do it more at home then when going out.

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  • I’d say the mums done the right thing by nipping this in the bud while the daughter’s still young

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  • My eldest is almost 8 and I won’t let her wear lip gloss! I decided a little nail polish for her 8th party can’t hurt, but as I myself am still a little opposed to it I put on the invites “with your permission” as I don’t want to be making the decision for other peoples children! After the party I will keep the nail polish and only let her wear it on special occasions.
    The mum is 100% correct here and I feel for those girls in the YouTube clip saying they felt ugly without it. I can’t imagine what they are exposed to at home! From a very young age I have taught my children to be happy with how they look, and to never change to appease someone else. When my husband and I agree the time has come for a little makeup my girl will be getting taught about makeup by her godmother, who makes it look so natural you can’t even tell she’s wearing any. But at this stage she will be around 13 before we even discuss it!

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  • First of all I can’t believe the husband is of a view that his young daughter should be getting ‘made up’! Second, it all comes down to the content. You need to be extremely careful about what you let your children watch and You Tube isn’t really that great a thing in a lot of cases.

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  • She is way too young to be demanding make-up before going out of the house. It may just be my untrustworthy nature but it seems like your husband wants her to look older than she really is. She did the right thing throwing out the make-up.

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  • I don’t know how i would even go about that!

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  • I totally agree with Mum. Playing with makeup at 5 is Ok but obsessed is not good, I would have thrown everything out too. Wonder why she started watching Youtube to begin with.

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  • I agree daughter is far too young for this. I wouldn’t have done it behind the back though and do everything to share my concern with husband and daughter and ideally throw it out together

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  • I totally agree with throwing it out. I’ve never fully understood the concept of make up and haven’t worn or owned any in 5 years haha
    Stick to your guns mumma, it doesn’t sound like a healthy habit for a 5 year old

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  • I have a daughter due in February next year so I guess I have this to look forward to! I don’t wear much make up so I guess she won’t see me put it on all the time but still….

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  • My 4 year old is the most beautiful and sassy at times daughter but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I dont think what the mum did was wrong, she parents the way she feels right.

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  • Yes, mum, you have done the right thing, and your husband has done the wrong thing, by going behind your back and aiding and abetting a habit that your 5-year-old daughter doesn’t need at her age. She doesn’t need her beautiful skin being clogged up with make-up and if not removed properly she will end up with skin problems. There is plenty of time for her to use make-up when she is of age. I’ve seen too many young girls pack on the foundation and colour when they don’t need to as they have perfectly natural beauty. I’m glad you are a make-up free mum because you are setting a good example. Your husband should be more supportive of you and work together with you, not against you because in doing so, he is putting a wedge between you and your daughter. And that’s not good. Keep up the good work mum, you’re doing a good job.

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