Strange question..?

Question

my daughter lived at her aunts house for a short time . Her aunt had three other daughters that were older..

Her aunt would NOT let he girls shave there legs or arm pits until they were 14/15.

My daughter got to shave the moment she (and I ) thought she needed to.. she must have been around 12/13.

I have often wondered how a parent can put an age limit on something like that..

I remember being in her aunts house in the summer and seeing hairy legs on her girls and her saying 'there not old enough to shave them yet" and NEVER understand WHY...

The ONLY reason I could get out of her was 'anyone under 14 does not need to shave anything..

This is just gross..

Answer 1

Because in most cases the hair is light colored and very thin until you do start shaving. Which means if an idiot parent encourages a 8 or 9 yr old to shave the hair will always come back thicker and darker and shaving will then be a necessity. So if you can hold a child off as long as possible on shaving you can avoid some issues with peers. waiting until 15 might not be appropriate but 13 is reasonable.

Answer 2

what may be gross to you may not be gross to others.. it may be their way of teaching their girls to not be so aware of themselves.. meaning that they don't want something as meaningless as hair under their arms and on their legs be something that they should really be worried about at this age or something that will drive them to insecurtiy.. with all this stuff going on with girls trying to fit in and they have the "i'm going to do whatever to fit in" attutude just be glad that they don't have some type of eating disorder and are dying to be thin or that they are not hooked on drugs or something, as far as the hair goes when they feel like they are ready to shave i'm sure you'll notice since you noticed their hairy legs in the summer when you went to visit..

Answer 3

Maybe it makes the mom sad because her babies are getting old enough that they need to shave. My sister is 9 now and my mom still doesn't want her to shave, and I was 8 before I started. Not like there was a lot of hair but she was really serious about not wanting us to even touch the razors, but maybe its also because some moms are scared that the kid is going to do it wrong and cut themselves really badly.

Answer 4

Umm, why doesn't she think that someone under 14 wouldn't need to shave their legs?  I started shaving when I was around 9 or maybe younger, it's been too long to remember.  If you have hair on your legs or under your arms, it's time to break out the razor.  Not shaving can lead to poor hygiene problems.  I think their mom is a control freak personally.  I do remember though that I had to fight with my parents to be 'allowed' to shave.  They thought I was too young until I showed them the hairs under my arms.  I think she needs to get a reality check, some girls have to shave earlier than others.  My mom didn't really like the idea that I got my period three years before she had but that doesn't mean that it wasn't there.

Answer 5

I wasn't allowed to shave until I was in 8th grade.  I'm not permanently scarred by this.  

Why is body hair gross?  I mean I still shave, but really only because my husband likes me to.

Answer 6

Yea i always found that weird, my mom let me start shaving when i needed too, i was soooo hairy and was able to shave at 10, my other sister started at 13 she had less hair and cared less.  I knew a girl in high school who was not aloud to shave an i felt so bad for her, she got made fun of daily.  I dont think shaving is about an age, i think its when its needed...  especially at the age of 14 or 15, they re teenagers and im sure it causes alot of teasing and insecurity.

Answer 7

She must feel she has a very valid reason for sticking by this probably what her own mother told her. My own daughter decided for herself when it was time to shave her legs she's 13 now and I have never had a problem with it but she has her own mind anyway and I know if I'd of stopped her she would of done it anyway and taken it further and most probably shaved her arms etc just to do my head in... lol

Answer 8

well it is just a matter of parents perspective.

Answer 9

Maybe she's subconciously equating shaving with puberty or trying to keep them from thinking about the physical self in hopes of remaining abstinent.  Unfortunately puberty doesn't have an exact age that they need to start shaving.  I hope she doesn't keep them from deoderant too!

Answer 10

When I was 11 or 12 and started dressing out for gym - all of the other girls shaved, and I did not. I was very hairy, and they stood around and made fun of me - it was awful!!

My mom told me sence I was little that shaving makes your hair thicker, and I should never shave - because when you get older you can't see the hair anymore!!?? and if I started shaving it would make it so I had to shave everyday..... She told me this over and over -- so when I started getting to that age I was scared to ask her about a razor -- I cut my hair (and legs) with scissors, ripped the hair out, used my friends razor (gross!!) -- I saved my lunch money and bought razors.... as I said, I was really hairy - there was no hiding it....

My mom confronted me about that - and plucking my eyebrows..... 'yeah, and you did it anyway' and 'how long have you been doing that??'

I think she was WAY off - this is america - hairy legs are not socially acceptable - and all the other girls were doing it by then - which made me the outcast. I was so embarressed about that -- and all of the other changes I was going through - which made me just not talk to my mom about any of them - I was humiliated...

Point being - shaving is just part of getting older, its not sexual - and can be a huge source of anxiety and embaressment -- over what?? It seems like such a dumb thing to preach about -- tell girls not to let a man hit them, or something else that will make them better prepared for the world....

Sorry for the long story - your post just made me think about that!!

Answer 11

thats stupid as  alot of kids can grow hairy early. poor kids