To not let my DD go to a 'Pamper' party at the age of 6?

[Twang]

As the title reads...DD had been invited to pamper party for one of her peers which involves make up and hairdoes. She's 6. Call me old fashioned but 6 year olds in make up and coiffured?

Yabu it's glitter and nail varnish not fake tan and Botox.

Glitter is a gateway drug.

dont be so pedantic.

All these parents that 'hate gender stereotypes' but im sure dress their child in pink & put them in skirts or dresses.
Is that not a gender stereotype also?

Little girls from the dawn of time have played dress up & dollys to be like mummy.

I dont think they should not be allowed to do something because the mother is trying to prove a point about gender stereotypes.
I hope all those who disagree with the 'pamper party' would also disagree with a 'football party' for a boy.

This thread is idiotic!

My daughter and nephew (3 and 5) paint their nails weekly and me and my daughter put our make up on at the same time in the morning (hers is clear lipgloss and an unused make up brush).

Why is this bad?!

Girls and boys like fancy dress, at 5/6 they want to copy-a pamper party would be fab.

As for gender stereotyping, why are people insistent in trying to bring up androgynous children? Just let children do what they want to do to play, be it boy type or girl type activities. They are children, not feminism guinea pigs.

No, because those are not, IMO, equivalent concepts. It says a lot about the issue at hand that you do.

We have a small local spa who advertise on our Facebook selling site:

"Princess Pamper Party, £12 pp.

Give you little princess and her pals a party they will love, invite up to 6 friends and spend the day being pampered.

Includes use of the jacuzzi, steam room, glitter manicure/pedicure, relaxing massage and gentle face masks followed by a mini makeover and some nibbles and drinks.

Guests must be 4+"

Everytime i see that my teeth itch!

Enforcing princess crap, excluding boys, doesn't sound much fun and I'm pretty sure jacuzzi's and stream rooms aren't supposed to be used by under 7's.

Ds got invited to an all boys army camp style party aged 5. Most of his friends were going, he was going to have fun, I sent him with DH who enjoyed it as much as DS did.

You can question how society sees gender without being a killjoy.

Ok: it's AIBU, and it seems some think I am unreasonable just by asking about what it means to be a girl.

But is my football-playing DD less of a girl because she would love a sports party?

Why is is desirable to have highly gendered events for children as young as 6? A special event gives far greater prominence to the action than day to day play (which is often mixed with other activities, so the dressing up is not the end in itself).

Clear lipgloss at three years old? Every day?

Fuck me.

[pearls off string all over the floor]

It's not about it being a gendered activity its about people assuming that as their child happens to have a vagina, they would prefer to sit having their nails done to running around with friends in a park/soft play/bowling/bouncy castle hall or whatever.

You don't see many advertisments for little prince parties do you?

She's 6 she wont even remember the party in a year's time a bit of eyeshadow and glitter once as a party treat is not going to physiologically damage your child, I'm 22 and can't remember any partys I went too, people read way too far into things on here...

Where did I say that liking football made you less of a girl. Im just pointing out that if it were a boy at a football party no-one would be so pissy.

Some little girls like pink sparkles, some dont. But thats a decision for the child not the mother.

If the little girl was saying 'no mummy I do want to go, I dont like that' then theres nothing wrong with that. But shes not, the mother is trying to be 'new age' & IMO difficult.

I have never seen anyone suggest that the (potentially detrimental) effects of excessive gender stereotyping include physiological harm.

Physcologically*

"new age & IMO difficult"

Well slap my ass and send me back to the 30's with those "new age" feminist hippie suffragettes :o

My DD2 had a pamper party at around that age. They had their nails painted, put on some nice, pale sparkly eyeshadow and had their hair done. Everything was suitable for children's skin. It was all very tasteful. The lady also brought a karaoke machine so they could 'serenade' each other while they were being pampered. Afterwards they had a normal birthday tea and some games. They all loved it.

There were no boys invited this is true, however DD2 has never, ever invited any boys to her parties and she will be 16 soon. She just doesn't like boys.

As for being chavvy - this is my posh private school DD we are talking about.

As for all this gender stereotyping nonsense. This same DD plays golf, has done DofE, enjoys abseiling and climbing. She is just a normal human being with a range of interests. A bit of pink nail polish at 6 never did her any harm.

Sometimes the outrage on MN about such ordinary things makes me laugh.

What is wrong with clear lipgloss?

It saves me from the morning meltdown.

I suppose my daughter is doomed because of it, oh dear

But shes not, the mother is trying to be 'new age' & IMO difficult.

'New age'?! Bwahahaha.

What is this, the 1990s?

YANBU - do boys ever have parties for faffing around with their appearance? Nope, because it's utterly shallow and dull.

do girls have fighting with sticks parties?

no

peanut.

Go be one, I think its wrong that you try & force your views and opinions upon a child. They should decide themselves if they dont like pink & girly stuff.

Do boys have fighting with stick parties?

Is that what boys do nowadays?... or is that some stereotyped bullshit :o

If you do mean gloss, rather than balm, I would say that looks tacky in the extreme on a three-year-old, tbh.

But you seem secure in your choices so I trust you won't be offended.

1990s?

what one earth has that got to do with anything.

peanutMD The reason you don't see many little prince parties advertised is because the truth is that many boys would prefer a football party with their boy mates rather than a pamper party and many girls would want to have pink nail polish rather than a muddy field. Not all but many. Doesn't make either wrong it's just how it is. No matter how gender neutral you try to keep your DC most just seem to gravitate towards boy/girl things.