Would you paint a 4yo nails?

[OhisHOME]

Going to a wedding tomorrow and I can't decide. I only have teal nail varnish so not subtle

Yeah go for it for a special occasion. No harm in it. And your 4yo will be made up so what's the harm?

DS (10) and I had red white and blue toe nails for the Jubilee. I remember swimming teacher admiring them and saying he wasn't the only one she'd seen with them

My father used to say that only "floozies," wear red nail polish. But he was just saying that to wind me up.

My daughter is 4, and I polish her nails when she asks, and have for a couple of years now. When my boys were little, I'd paint their nails of they asked, too.

Niece is getting this stuff for 6th birthday soon, so yes. With sparkles and stickers and unicorn fairydust.

And rainbows. Mustn't forget the rainbows.

Would I paint my 4yos nails because they were going to a wedding?! No.
Would I paint my 4yos nails because they wanted them done as part of a dressing up game? Yes.

Yep. Ds has worn more nail polish than either of the dd's, but I don't wear it ever. Can't bear it, but the kids wear it as fun colour, rather than 'wearing make-up like mummy' iykwim. So they wouldn't really ask to wear it to a wedding - more for a town party (they all wanted red and white for canada day, but in the end ds was the only one that did it...)

It's colour and fun, not 'look how grown up and pretty I am' - I can't abide it when adults give approbation to little girls who wear it to be pretty and grown up - that sends weird messages about what they NEED to do in the future for approval. Self fulfilling prophecy. No kid of mine is going to grow up thinking that unless they wear nail polish, they aren't properly groomed for an event.

I think I must be getting old. 10 years ago (when I was in my late 20's, I'm not ancient!), the nail varnish debate was all about whether even putting nail varnish on your child was ok. It always involved parents of boys (including me) gleefully saying how much they loved putting varnish on their boy's nails.

Now, I can't go anywhere for a manipedi without seeing little kids in there too. I wouldn't take my kids in there for love or money. There are some serious shit kind of chemicals in the average nail bar nowadays that I'm happy to ingest. My kids, not so much.

My 4yo asked me to paint his nails. I hesitated due to his age (when I was a nipper, it wasn't the done thing until at least 10) but went ahead with it. He and I had matching peacock green nails, and he was delighted.
Other kids at nursery asked why he had coloured nails, when he was a boy. It made me very sad that three and four-year-olds were already so bound by gender roles, so I delighted in telling them that he was allowed to have painted nails if he wanted

Yes, I often do. But only when she asks - so it feels like a playtime activity - I wouldn't suggest it in order to 'do' her for an event.

No distinction between colours: she can have whatever is available in the house.

YY I'm with the majority.

OK for fun/a game/yes for a wedding if, e.g. she sees you doing yours and asks if she can have hers done too.

But not a good idea to sell the idea of nail varnish being a normal part of getting dressed up smartly for a small child.

DD1 3.4 has been having her nails painted (at her request) for about a year, I let her choose any colour she likes and it's a good excuse for her to sit still on the sofa for half an hour whilst they dry. I don't use nail varnish remover though, I just let it wear / chip off.

Littlerobots how does nail varnish make a child not be a child?

My DS loved his toenails painted red in the summer (then 4). He used to stand and look at them adoringly in open toed sandals. His nursery were a bit but so what?