How can an 8 year old get a bikini wax? There shouldn't be anything there for someone to wax! That's ridiculous!

I did a double take on the 8-year-old bikini wax. Seems to me the waxer should refuse that one even if there is something to wax. I see such young girls wearing makeup today and it blows my mind. I just can't believe it.

I couldn't wear makeup until I was 13. Couldn't shave my legs until I was in high school. I think I turned out perfectly fine for it. If I have daughters, they had just better be prepared for the same rules. I don't care how much begging and pleading.

I completely agree Bella. I love my makeup and haircuts, but I won't get out of bed 10 mins early to put on makeup if I want to sleep. I don't want to pull the "things were better when I was young", but there ARE things more important in life than looks, and I'm glad my parents reminded me that constantly growing up. I can't imagine obsessing over superficial things like that so young - these poor kids are not going to have any self-esteem pushing them forward!
Oh, and if that phenomemon is indeed taking place, I strongly blame the parents. You can blame TV, magazines and pop-culture (and they do have their share of 'bad' influence), but if parents weren't allowing/pushing for that kind of education, I'm sure those girls wouldn't come up with the idea of a bikini wax at 8 on their own.

Sick, and worrying.

I see kids in elementary school and middle school wearing makeup and i do a double-take. it looks out of place, as if they were playing dress-up in their mother's vanitys.

I love my 12 yr. old too much to allow any of this nonsense even if she was interested.

It's ridiculously common in my part of the world- A high school. My little sister, a sixth grader, has some pretty scarily-mature looking friends coming on over to the house. I personally think that girls wear way too much makeup these days. I used to wear raccoon eyeliner a couple years ago, but I finally realized how tacky that is- Thank god.

My younger sister and I grew up in the 80s and we DEFINITELY were into playing around with makeup, crimping our hair, and all that fun stuff. But it was never an obsession, and like you said, Bella, my parents focused on our accomplishments and who we were as people, not on our looks.

I know pre-teen girls with loads more makeup than me- like professional makeup artist rolling train case full, not Kaboodles boxes. My sister refuses to go out in public without putting her face on and doing her hair, even to the supermarket. It grates on her nerves that I can wear jeans and egads, go barefaced without caring what other people think of me. Apparently taking a shower and smelling pleasant is not good enough for her.

I definitely see pre-teen girls today wearing tons of makeup and clothes that I probably wouldn't even wear now. My parents were quite strict about that type of thing, and I was not allowed to wear makeup until I was 16. I hated it back then and would whine and complain but looking back on it, I'm glad they were that way and I'll probably do the same when I have daughters. While I am a fan of all those teenage drama shows, you have to admit that they can promote a pretty unrealistic image for girls. I probably am only able to enjoy them because I'm in my 20's and can acknowledge that there's no need for me to look/act that way. But I can see how a 12 year old would not be able to make that distinction. However I think at the end of the day, those images are always going to be in the media and since we can't change that anytime soon, we should focus on communicating with our kids and making sure we know exactly what they are watching/being exposed to, and explain to them what's right/wrong and normal/not normal. That's the parent's responsibiliy - not the TV's or the magazine's. But then again I don't have kids yet so it could be easier said than done!

At 8 i had nothing to wax.. im pretty sure your not meant to be that developed at 8!!

Little girls always played with make-up and nail polishes in the past but CHILDRENS products.. all glittery and fake looking or stuff stolen and treasured from your mum. Now a days i see kids as young as 9 buying chanel mascara in my make-up dept.. it makes me want to smack their mothers.

this makes me so sad. if i were lucky enough to have a daughter i would try my hardest to reinforce positive stereotypes of women--actresses, physicians, and athletes--and show her that not all wear makeup, or have bikini waxes (!). also, i was a total tomboy and didn't wear makeup until the end of high school. i think kids should embrace their childhood and look their age. also, i think it's important to also mention that boys face this same challenge, of increasing societal demands to grow up/ look/ act a certain way. ahem, manzillians!

I am disgusted by the youth of America. Sorry... its true. My parents really had no 'rules', they let me 'experiment' (even though I'm almost 21 and have still never smoked, taken drugs or drank alcohol- can't always put blame on parents!) I wore makeup at a young age because I was an actress and vocalist... but thats it.. not like every day, only for performances. I wore glitter on my eyes and lip gloss when i was 12-14, no "real" makeup til 15. Didn't shave my legs til i was 13, and I only did because the YOUNGER girls made fun of me for not doing it... I told them "I value the 9 years of the teens years I will get out of my, supposedly, 78 years of life."

People don't understand. The average life expectancy is 78 for a woman in America. Out of those 78 years you're only a kid for about 10, and a teen for 9... the rest you are an adult. Enjoy the 19 years or so you have being carefree and youthful... or when you're 40 you will regret it!

8 year olds have something TO wax?

Okay so I hate body hair, always have, so I can't totally agree with Starangel. I started shaving as soon as there was anything to shave, my mother never knew, but aside from that I find all of this pretty disturbing.

I firmly believe kids should be kids, not over genderized puppets. And frankly, not to sound extreme, but I think started way before make up and waxing. This started with baby dolls and the over segregation of girl toys versus boy toys. Kids don't have a very a strong definition of gender and we've been encouraging children to not be themselves, but to be mini adults and that has to be damaging. I hope now that now that it has come to such a disturbing point parents will react.

Definitely too much, too soon. Esteem issues are the unfortunate by-product of the relentless pursuit of perfection .... or could they actually be the cause? And if so, is it the child or the parent who really has the issue?

Interesting chicken/egg question, lbirk. I think parents often pass their own issues down to their kids. (Nothing makes my heart sag like hearing a mother complain about how "fat" she is in front of her daughter.) I hope that if I'm ever a mother, I'll teach my daughters — and sons, for that matter — to "read" the media in a way that helps them understand the smoke and mirrors involved. And I'll make them play soccer, 'cause I think soccer does a body good!

Not surprised, I just look at my cousins young daughters, and weep for the future of women.

For the record, I am NOT surprised that little girls are interested in getting their nails done, or wanting to wear lipstick, or wanting to dress up in fancy cute clothes, b/c I wanted that when I was 6!

THE PARENTS are the ones at fault! They're the ones with the money and are supposed to be the decision makers! The kids who actually get away with this at such a young age have parents who need to go to therapy.

OH, and btw...my mom always refused. haha. She would paint my nails barbie pink, and the fanciest thing I was allowed to do was wear little princess costumes. I would be happy and skip away while singing a song.

It is a sickening trend. I admit I played in my mom's and grandma's make-up drawers and put on their shoes and clothes when I was young. I admit, as a ballerina for many years, I wore piles of make-up to performances.

Did I want to do make-up at a young age? Yes, but my mom gave me the rule her mom gave her--no make-up until 14 and even then it's just eyeshadow, lip glosses and mascara. I'm 20 now and understand make-up is meant to enhance my features not meant to cover my face. I've experimented and made my mistakes, but I still wear considerably less than the middle school children I see around my neighborhood. I wear tinted moisturizer, not foundation. I let my pimples show. I only cover my hereditary black under eye circles. I experiment with eye looks but when I go overboard, I take it all off. I know when I go too far.

What is really sickening is when I see shows like "Toddlers & Tiaras." It is so sickening to me because I really wonder what those girls' self-esteem will be like in a few years as they all are judged on their looks not their brains. It's not all about looks.

An eight-year-old getting a bikini wax? That seems like it would hurt as all they would be taking off is skin! Ouch.

Honestly everything about the youth of America these days freak me out. Everything you see from the beauty pageants to "sexting" in schools completely makes me disgusted. I remember the days of growing up and just being an ordinary girl wanting to have sleep overs at your girlfriends, prank calls guys, play with makeup and that was it. I don't get what has become of this country and parents these days...

I'm completely confused. why would an 8 year old even need a bikini wax? I don't remember even wanting any of that stuff when I was 8 and it was not that long ago. i wouldn't have wanted a pedicure party or a $50 hair cut either. But i guess kids learn from their parents so they're getting these ideas from somewhere.

i hate it when designers use teenage models to sell women's clothing. they wear outfits even more scandalous than most of the teens i've seen on the street. it gives both women and girls unrealistic expectations of themselves.
that being said, i feel there's nothing wrong with a girl growing up learning how to properly groom herself. if she's growing pubes at 8 and is on swim team, or plays at the pool in the summer, why not show her how to take care of it? some girls blossom early. i recall seeing light mustaches and hairy legs on many grade school classmates and always wondered why they didn't get rid of it. i know i don't want to look like spider crotch while i'm at the beach.
all of us learn sooner or later how women upkeep and beautify themselves. we use what info we want to use then discard the rest. at 29 i barely started using colored lip gloss 2 years ago while my sisters started using makeup in high school. girls are often interested in the pretty things. using the tips they've learned allows them to experiment and see what works for them. i wish i had as much fashion since at 14 that my niece at 8 already possesses. her hair is always nicely braided, clear or light polish, her fruity lip gloss in her backpack just in case she needs some shine. and she gives a great pedicure!
i feel this is no new phenomenon. like some grownups, a few girls just go too far with the makeup, time and expense so they need someone to reel them into reality and show them not to be vain and excessive, but do take care of yourself and don't be afraid to bring out your best with the tools you have access to. it is really up to the parents to teach them this lesson.

omg i'm sorry that comment was so long

While I mostly agree with what everyone else is saying, as a teenager, I have to reassure you that it's mostly not as bad as everyone thinks it is. I'm quite sure that the only kids getting bikini waxes (WHAT?!) and $50 haircuts are the children of those extremely wealthy parents who spoil the heck out of them anyway. Also, some of this stuff sounds bad when you read it (like a pedicure party for kindergarteners), but isn't as mature as we think it is. I paint my 4-year-old sister's nails all the time and occasionally do her make-up when we're not going out, but it's fun for her because she likes to be just like her mommy and her big sister. I always try to stress that she looks prettier with no make-up on and she's beautiful just the way she is.
Trust me, you guys, I was around the junior high age just a few years ago and I didn't know anyone who sexted, got bikini waxes, or was ever into child beauty pageants.
Okay, rant over.

I am so glad I don't have girls.

I never played in my mom's makeup. I was and still am not much of a makeup person. I did like to get my nails done as a child. I was only allowed to paint my nails by myself after 10. It was usually the glittery stuff or a Wite out French manicure. I did shave my legs at like 11, only because I had a dark hair and skinny legs while I ran track.

It's a shame when an 8 year is encouraged to burn and rip skin off during a bikini wax because I seriously doubt that there is any hair there to wax. We have become much more vocal beauty and fashion conscious society without learning how to censor what we say and how we present ourselves to our children. There are already enough confusing things as a preteen to worry about besides maintaining a pedicure and wax.

My mom has been putting makeup on me and my baby sister for as long as I can remember. It horrified her that we aren't interested in our looks. It especially horrified her for years that I refused to put makeup on until I was well out of college. I don't think of makeup as something that enhances my looks, but rather another way of being creative. My sister and I are both into heavy eye makeup, but my mom wishes we were more into face powder and concealer to hide our blemishes. I love my freckles, so I always tell her to get lost. My sister isn't into any of these primping fads, and she's 13. She would much rather get a really rocking haircut than be forced by my mom to get things bleached or waxed.

I really think in my family the primping is cruelty to kids and not kids wanting to look better because they are pressured by the media.

Oni1 - I see your point, and I do remember girls with thin moustaches in middle school, or hairy legs in my swim team when I was 10-11. Except no one cared, and maybe they were lucky but no one ever teased them for that. I'm worried that getting girls concerned about those details so young are going to make it a new social rule that at 8, they *should* be noticing them.

I guess there are always going to be girls with thick dark hairs really young, but I think the majority of 8-at least 11yo should not even think of waxing. It makes me sad to think that some girls will worry about having a few stray hairs at an age where they should just be worrying about having fun at the beach or the swimming pool. Just my opinion..

The bikini waxing thing is bizarre to me. No one should be looking at a little girl's pubic area that much.

I didn't really start wearing makeup until my senior year of high school. I would wear mascara and lip gloss sometimes, but my mom never wore makeup, so I never really learned how to. I rocked out high heels and mini skirts pretty young. I had these pair of candies-style 4 inch heels my freshman year that I wore with super-low rise jeans.

My mom, however lives in hoodies, jeans, and sneakers. No one knows where I came from.

Whenever I go to the Dairy Queen in my hometown, I can't help but stare at the makeup of the girls who work there. It's like they put on their "smoky" eyeshadow with a paintball gun.

i never really even tried on make up till i was 8th grade and even then i never wore it to school. my parents always emphasized grades but i never felt that i wasn't pretty if i didn't wear make up. i think make up is best left till you're at least high school and even then less is more. let the skin breathe!

I always loved playing with makeup and hair when I was a little kid but I never wore makeup out of the house until high school and I still don't get $50 haircuts! Seems over the top

As with everything, I guess it is all about moderation. My parents NEVER allowed me to wear any kind of body product other than Ivory soap. So, I am much more loose with my daughter, Bella, who just turned 7. She is in ballet and is fascinated with make-up. She wore "real" make-up for her first performance in December.

Now, she knows the rules are: lip balm for every day and pink nail polish for special occasions. Once, she had a "dance" with her Brownie Troop, and I let her wear the "ruby-red lipstick," but she knows that was an ultra special occasion. I think letting little ones play with makeup is ok, if it is moderation, and they know the rules.

That said, I absolutely draw the line at facials and waxing for 8-year-olds. C'mon! They are naturally lovely.

I didn't really wear makeup until I was like 16 but to me that was just eyeliner and lipgloss I didn't wear real makeup like foundation and the whole shebang until I was in my last semester of high school!! my mom never had a rule about the makeup just that I not wear any until I was in high school.

im actually 12, i hate the idea of giving your little girl a baby doll, or puting them in pagents. its not right and your giving them the wrong message, my mom wasnt strict with me or my sister, in fact i think im stricter on myself, i try not to be like all those kids, and not to grow up fast, but i always get confused, should i do this, will thise be appropriate for my age, but all the influences tell me wrong, but i always find the right answer eventually, but many kids arent that smart, i often worry about our future, what will all those tattoos shrivel to, all those wrinkeld years of makeup use, ewu, im scared just thinking about it!!!