At what age should girls start shaving their legs?
By precious from Chicago, IL
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I don't there is one answer that fits everyone. This is highly personal to each individual. It'll depend on her comfort level, and hopefully her parents will support her (assuming she still lives at home). Some females choose not to ever shave anything.
When the girls start to feel uncomfortable when other kids notice it. I raised two daughters. When they came to me and said they wanted to shave because of comments, they were old enough.
When she wants to. Just make sure she knows how to do it without cutting herself. If she is not really ready but just curious, she will not bother to do it regularly and will eventually let it grow out. (it will not come in thicker, if it did we all would have legs like an ape) Show her how and give her a package of razors and some shaving soap. If she doesn't want to shave but you want her to, forget it.
Lilac's answer of "when she wants to" is a terrible answer! My twin granddaughters wanted to at 5 years old! I used a 2 sided rule with my daugher and granddaughters. One was if their leg hair started coming in dark (they are all fair skinned) and not before age 12. If at age 12 it was still coming in light, then they waited till 13.
And when they did start, I bought them all the paraphenalia, one set for each with the twins, and sat in the bathroom with them and explained step by step how to do it and watched them carefully the first few times they did it. After that they pretty much had the idea and could do it by themselves, but I never allowed them to shave unless I was home with them, even if in another room, until they had been doing it by themselves for at least 6 months. This was just in case of a severe cut or something.
By me doing it this way they were grateful to be allowed to do it at all, and glad also that I was being extra careful with them until they really had it down pat.
I believe a girl should be allowed to shave her legs when the hair becomes very visible, either because of the amount or the darkness and she is aware & bothered by it. And I don't think you can use the rule of 12 or 13 (my mom's rule) anymore either. Too many girls are going through puberty at an earlier & earlier age anymore and that means more & darker leg hair. If it doesn't bother them, fine, but if it does, do something about it, the cruel teasing of classmates can do real & permanent damage to self esteem.
My daughter's leg hair became dark & visible around 4th grade (age 9). I talked to her about it & she seemed comfortable with it the way it was. I told her that when she felt like she was ready, to tell me & we would do something about it. She was in 5th grade (age 10), when she decided she was tired of the teasing when she wore a dress or shorts, so I took her out & bought her a safety razor & taught her to use it.
My daughter had friends who's mom's wouldn't let them shave until 12,13 or even 14, despite long & dark leg hair & the constant torment from their peers, just because that had been the rule enforced when the mom was a kid!
When I started shaving my legs at age 12, no one was there to teach me. (My mother didn't have hair on her legs, but I had lots!) So, being ignorant I ended up with bright red lines that burned because I pressed too hard on the razor. The red marks didn't appear for a couple of hours, so I didn't realize it was happening.
let your girl shave you want to have a good relationship with your kid
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