Conference moira::parenting

    re: .0
    
    >and the other one only shaved 1 leg.  So now, when the hair grows back
    >one kid is going to have hairy gorilla legs and the other kid is going
    >to have 1 hairy gorilla leg and one normal hair leg.
    
    This is an old wives tale and is not true.
    
    My 10 year old daughter, Nicole started shaving her legs this year,
    mainly because she was getting teased about it at school (Monkey legs
    or something like that).  It wasn't that obvious, although if you felt
    her legs you could feel the hair easily enough.
    
    Bob
    

    I started shaving underarms/legs when I had just turned 13.
    It was getting embarrassing for me.  I probably could have shaved
    earlier, but my mother kept telling me once you start, you'll never
    be able to stop.  I now know this is a crock.
    
    9 seems young to me, but girls do mature a little earlier these
    days than they did 20 years ago.  I think a lot depends on why/how
    the girls are doing these things.  At least in the underarm area,
    hair can trap odor and bacteria, making even a young person pretty
    unsociable, if you get my drift.  And in this culture especially,
    shaved underarms/legs are the mark of a well-groomed woman.  NOT
    true in other cultures, I know!!  Maybe a talk with the girls is
    in order.  Do they really feel like they have to shave?  Is the
    peer pressure to grow up intolerable?  Are "all the girls" doing
    this?  I can see shaving underarm hair, but I'm with you in one
    sense, I would like to see the leg-shaving wait till age 12/13.

    Kat started shaving and all the rest around 9 or 10.  
    
    I figured if she was old enough to want to do it, she was old
    enough to start -- plus being a gymnast her appearance did count
    for a lot.  
    
    Makeup and stuff I was less sure about, but decided to just shrug
    and bear it.  When she was going around at 12 looking like a cheap
    hooker, I thought I'd made the wrong decision, but by 14 or 15 she
    had developed a good hand for makeup, a good eye for what was
    appropriate and looked good, and a good balanced routine of
    hygiene and beauty. 
    
    --bonnie

Our daughter started last summer, a couple months after her 11th birthday.

We didn't attach much importance to it; we wouldn't have been entirely 
upset if she had started a year or two earlier, and we wouldn't have 
been entirely upset if she had not started for a year or two later.  The 
trigger incident was going to an overnight girl scout camp, and being exposed 
to a lot of girls who shaved their legs, and the fact that a lot of her 
friends had started.

Seems to me that this is a good lesson in consequences.  Whether of not the 
"gorilla legs" theory is true, it's certainy true that their legs will get 
stubbly.  The novelty will wear off, and having to shave will become an 
irritant, and maybe they'll think twice before undertaking their next 
"growing up" exercise.  And the consequences are just bad enough to be a 
pain, but not so terrible that it could have long term negative consequences 
(like, for example. smoking or drinking etc.)

Clay

    When underarm odor presents itself, I'll present Alex with a box of
    Mitchum's.
    
    When underarm hair appears, she has my permission (nay, vehement
    encouragement) to shave it.
    
    She's 7 now; if she wants to dork around with a safety razor on her
    legs, I'll watch her do it (just to supervise so we can keep blood loss
    to a minimum :-)).  I really think the novelty of leg-shaving will wear 
    off unbelievably fast, so I don't plan to make a big issue of when Alex
    is *allowed* to shave.
    
    Leslie

    
    Are there any razors out there that are considered safe for first time
    users? I remember using an old fashioned straight edged one and not
    only shaving off the hair but shaving off a huge chunk of skin the
    first time. (it bled *forever*)
    
				Wendy

    
    Also, if you want to discourage your young ones from "shaving" their
    legs, let them use an Epilady. The world's craftiest torture weapon
    that is marketed as a hair remover. Someone evidently has had and
    continues to have a good laugh over this one.
    
    
    			Wendy

Yeah, those Epilady's hurt - and this from a woman who gets her legs waxed
when she does anything about it.  Leg waxing hurts less.

At about $40 for a whole leg waxing (ankle to thigh), a teenager's allowance 
may not be able to afford it, but perhaps they could afford just the lower leg.

One only needs it about once a month, or less, depending upon who you are.  
I think it's a bit much for the 9-15 year olds, but may be reasonable for the 
older teens.

Just another possibility...

Pat

re: .6

My daughter uses a Gilette Sensor, and has had no problems.  She probably 
cuts her legs less than I cut my face.

I relate to what you are talking about, though.  The first time I shaved with 
a "blue blade," I thought I'd need a transfusion.

Clay

After living many years in Europe where women generally do not shave, I gave
it up in the winter.  Great time saver.  After twenty years, there is no
noticable increase in hair growth.  In the summer, when we all go bare legged,
I usually take the time to shave my legs.

Concerning underarm hair attracting odors and bacteria, I have the same problem
with my SON and boys usually don't shave :-)  I insist they SHOWER. This is 
a much more effective remedy than trying to shave the smell off :-)

Now if I could only get them to change their socks more often than once a week
:-)

Cheryl

    A couple weeks ago I was chatting with my 10-year old daughter at
    bedtime.  I noticed she smelled so nice - just like shaving cream!
    Then I noticed she had shaved her legs!  I didn't make a big deal
    about it - she does have very dark hair, and it was pretty
    noticeable on her legs.  I hadn't suggested she shave her legs,
    because I didn't want her to feel self-conscious about it.  But she
    did it very neatly, used a Daisy disposable, and didn't even nick
    herself.  I plan to provide her with her own rasors and shaving cream.
    She said all her girlfriends were shaving their legs.  By the way,
    my daughter was ten in July, and is already 5'3" tall and weighs
    100 pounds.  She's proportioned, just maturing.
    
    Sigh - seeing my little girl with shaved legs sure made me feel old!
    
    KB
    

    RE:  FIRST RAZORS
    
    I just graduated from using disposables to using the Gillette Sensor
    for Women.  I remember when I first started to shave it was scary (and
    scarry)!!  I found the FLICKER (pink round razor) to be the one that I
    could handle the easiest.  I remember one girl in my Jr Hi class used a
    regular change-the-blade razor and she ended up with this huge scar
    right up the front of her shin!!
    
    -sandy (who is glad she has boys -cause DAD gets to teach them about
    shaving!)
    
    

    Another solution -- when I was little, my Mom said I could shave my
    legs when I got my period, because then I was a young woman.  I was
    able to shave my underarms earlier, because I started growing hair
    there.  I was 12.5 yrs old to the day when I got my period, but I was
    dying to shave my legs way before that!  I agree the novelty will wear 
    off, though.  I sure hate it now!
    
    If others are doing it in your daughter's class, then she'll be
    ridiculed if she doesn't do it.  I'd ask some of her friend's mothers
    what they allow, and go with the flow!  It's hard to be the only one
    not doing something -- I can talk from experience!  I was the only one
    graduating from 6th grade in bobby socks, because my mother didn't
    believe that everyone else was wearing stockings.  I was
    devastated...and my mom was embarrassed.
    
    How about a nice electric razor for Xmas?  Some of the wet/dry ones
    aren't too expensive, and it's easier and safer than blades, I think. 
    Service Merchandise has a great selection -- I just bought a nifty one.
    
    Jen
    
    

    
    I agree with the suggestion for an electric razor -- I currently use a
    wet/dry cordless model -- NO CUTS!  Even after all these years of
    shaving, I still manage a good swipe on occasion, and I just love my
    new electric razor (even if it only does a so-so job compared to a blade).
    
    As a kid, I remember gouging myself pretty bad --- then putting my
    Dad's after-shave on my legs -- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

What about depilatory (sp?) creams that remove hair?  I haven't used one since
I was 14 (and that was a while ago! ;-}).  Have this stuff improved over the 
years?  I have a soon-to-be 9 year old with very dark hair on her legs but 
she hasn't asked about shaving yet.  She still seems so young; I just can't 
picture her shaving yet (or even caring about it).  She has gotten some 
comments on her hairy legs but no heavy duty teasing so she really has no
interest yet. 

Barb