My nine year old daughter is very developed for her age. She has had very dark, thick armpit hair come through over the last few months. My conundrum is - school swimming is coming up. Do I leave it be, and let her face the inevitable teasing (with help from me so she knows how to respond to it), or do I use some sort of gentle hair remover on her? My concern would be her age, is it okay to use those products on such a young child. I hate to think of her being bullied for being more developed than her class mates but I'm truly at a loss as to what to do. Thanks in advance!
8 Replies
Make her wear a swim shirt, then no one will know. The school will have a sun safe policy requiring all students to wear a shirt over swimwear anyway. It’s been a few years since I last attended a swimming carnival, but when I did it was only the students 10+ years old who swam at club level outside of school who removed their shirts while competing. These students were aiming for PBs and to get into the school team to go to districts. All other students wore their shirts while competing.
Why don't you just ask her if she'd like to remove her armpit hair? It is her body afterall!
Just let her know it's an option - not a requirement.
I like the swimshirt idea. My daughter developed a little earlier and we did use Nair for sensitive skin but she asked for it. So maybe a little chat about those things would be a good start. Also I had to speak very openly about periods etc. as one of her school friends started at 8 and was terrified as she was not prepared. I would be putting a little bag with pads or period underwear in her school bag
Omg!!!! I literally came Here to ask this question!!!!
My daughter is same, she's a little smelly from it too, she noticed it herself and came to me. I've offered nopong deodorant and I said if the actual hair annoys you please let me know. She said it doesn't and thank God for that caus I wouldn't have the answer if she wanted it gone lol
Soooo hoping there's something helpful here
If she wants it removed I would go over hair removal options with her and let her choose. Age shouldn't be an issue once she's hit puberty, if a product doesn't agree with her skin it won't matter how old she is. If she's OK with waxing I would try that for underarms and legs.
Get those swimmers that have shirts.
I remember having a ton of them when we went to the beach. If she complains, explain it's sun smart and that's it.
I agree that hair creams shouldn't be used. A lot of things can go pear shaped using those.
I got teased so badly for being hairy in primary school. I wish my Mum let me shave but she always said not until high school. It was really embarrassing because not only was i naturally hairy (thanks Dad) I had hit puberty early so it was bad. I had a full bush at 12 and dark curly hairs all over my legs. My mum finally let me shave early when my Aunty saw my legs and made a huge deal about it in front of everyone and made me cry. I have never put an age on anything for my kids like "you can't do this or have this until you're x old" because kids reach different stages at different times and have different needs.
I had thick dark hair at a young age - ask her if she wants it removed, and if she does, do it!
Mum taught me how to shave as there weren't creams then.