AIBU to consider shaving my 7-year-old’s legs after teasing?

I would get her a few pairs of knee high white socks if that goes with the uniform and say she can wear them if she wants (with other socks available). She should be able to decide which parts of her body she covers or reveals.

I love this naive idea that teachers telling kids to be kind and not tease others will actually make that a reality. If only!
I'm all for anything that stops kids getting teased (actual word - bullied) at school, because the impact of that is permanent. I'd do it.

I'd talk to school first, see how that goes and then give her the option of shaving or not. A quick go over with a mens electric razor (men's stuff is generally better) would be my recommendation. This is what i do every now and then as I can't be bothered to wet shave.

DD took it upon herself at 8 to shave her legs because of a similar issue.

I was so cross - not at her, but at the children who were making comments about her (perfectly normal) hairy legs, she wasn't the only one being picked on, there were three or four girls also being picked on. It wasn't a one off comment, it was constant pick pick picking at her and we've had to do a lot of work on her body confidence because of some children who think that making spiteful comments on someone's appearance is okay.

I agree that it should be covered in school but the responsibility of raising a child to be respectful of others and kind is ultimately they role of their parents.

Well they worked on my hairy knees! And knuckles I've just remembered.

I was a hairy child who stole my Dad’s razor and cut my legs to shreds. Had to go into school covered in plasters which wasn’t much better. I was desperate and thought shaving would fix what was “wrong” with me but I was a child. I find grown women debating the best hair removal method for a seven year old child really hard to read.

Ideally, as a society we’d all just get our heads round the fact that there are hairy humans about and some of those are female but we’re a long, long way from that so I have no idea what to do about young girls being made to feel self conscious about their own natural bodies. I have a daughter and I know this dilemma is round the corner for me because of the wonderful genetics I generously passed down.

It’s hard because I’d want to take the problem away to make her feel better but how do you do that without basically saying the other children were right and there is something that needs changing about her appearance. Agree with others though that going from the kid with hairy arms and legs to the kid who has to shave her arms and legs isn’t always the confidence boost you think it’ll be.

Oh no these were awful I basically sandpapered my lower legs with them as I was not allowed to shave and it took about a month to fully heal 😭😂

Same here, they're useless. You have to use it so hard to get any hair removed you're ripping the skin off!!

I had the opposite experience. I tried the mitt and it didn't remove any hair. Before people start saying I must have been using it wrong, I wasn't. A relative who used them frequently tried them on me and had no success. Hair removal creams also don't work on me. My hair is just too strong. Depends on your hair type and ethnicity. A shame as they looked great.

I did with my daughter when she was only slightly older then yours shes blonde but she did have weirdly hairy legs and kids where making comments she started to refuse to wear skirts and dresses and was really upset about it she was much happier and confident after. I think its unfair as adults we do things to make ourselves feel more body confident. Yet when kids have th same feelings they are just expected to be resilient

I've never been convinced that you teach resilience by putting kids into a situation that they can't cope with. If she's already worrying about summer dresses then she's too self conscious for being told to ignore the teasing.

I'd use an electric shaver, it won't do her skin any harm even at a young age. Shaving your arms is fine, it's no different to shaving your legs.

You must have been too vigorous or have very sensitive skin - they are in wide use. Like everything else, waxing, threading, any skin treatment you have to be careful.

The OP can try it on herself first, see how it feels

I think most of us dark haired girls probably had similar. I’m glad my mum taught me to ignore silly people rather than bend to them. I’m an independent woman now with my own mind and regularly go stretches with hair and then stretches of shaving. I do what I want.

Teach your daughter to stand up to bullies, not bend to them. Some idiot boy shouldn’t dictate what your daughter does to her body.

Another Hairy Mary here 👋

I also say don't do it. Not at 7.

I took matters into my own hands when I was 12 and could wield a razor myself

It's no different to getting her hair trimmed,not like shes getting a tattoo or her belly button pierced

As a massively hirsute child who was bullied mercilessly for being hairy I'd shave her legs
My mother wouldn't allow me to shave my legs until I was 11. She said I was too young.
When I moved to a predominantly Asian neighbourhood in the UK I was pleasantly surprised to find that many Asian parents shaved or waxed their daughters legs and arms, it is absolutely the norm here
My daughter had a bit of a monobrow and aI would wax it at her request.

Do not use the mitt. I tried this on myself and burnt myself quite badly

We had this issue with my daughter at even an younger age. We ended up doing it because the boy was getting others to join in and it was so awful, she was wearing tights in summer and not removing her cardigan to the point she was so hot she was feeling faint. We didn't shave though, we used a beard trimmer, that way it just cut them shorter and didn't make her spikey. She was so much happier once we did it and she only asks us to it in the summer now and that is once in a blue moon

I think you are unreasonable to even think of shaving a seven year old child
What message are you sending her of you do for heavens sake. That girls and women have to shape their appearance to conform to what men and boys find acceptable
I totally agree with pp that you should contact the school re this bullying. I would be wondering what is going on in the boys home life if at 7 he has been taught that natural body hair is something gross.

My ds started shaving very early because he has very dark hair and didn't like the way it looked on his upper lip. He wasn't as young as 7 but same ballpark.

I got him a cheap travel electric razor and he only had to buzz off the fluff once every couple of months so she might not find herself with noticeable stubble all that quickly.

My initial instinct is no for hair removal for a 7 year old - that's the very definition of a "them" problem, but I have fair body hair so I've not experienced the issue myself and my mother who is dark was bullied by her peers and a teacher of all people because of her "hairiness". She still talks about it 70 years later.

That boy and those girls though. Do please bring it up with the school. It's not acceptable behaviour and they shouldn't get away with it.

Oh please don’t. What if the next teasing is about a couple of spots so she wants foundation. Then her eyebrows are too thick so she wants them plucking/waxing. Where does it end?
I think deal with it at source. Go to the school - this is bullying.
In the meantime, help her to work on her confidence so she can brush these spiteful comments off.

I would be led by her and if she wants to remove her leg /arm hair, help her to do it. I would choose a silkymit or imac though.

Surely in the summer the sun will bleach the hairs and they will be less noticeable. She is 7 not 17. She has years ahead of her if she wants to shave. She'll get stubble and the hairs will return appearing thicker as have blunt edges. Teach her to be proud of her body as it is.