Nursery put Henna on my child.

[Pencilcase123]

When my DH picked up our DD (4) from nursery one of the staff said she had drawn DDs initials in Henna on Dds hand because Dd insisted. DH did not complain.

I am baffled as to why the nursery would have Henna out in the first place. It is brown Henna and I don’t think it is particularly dangerous but I am quite miffed that nursery staff thought it was ok to give my 4 year old a temporary tattoo. Would you complain about this?

I wouldn't be impressed.

I would expect to be asked for consent for a semi-permanent dye to be used on my child.

I'd be really cross.

When my DD was little, she didn't have particularly sensitive skin, but any time she had her face painted or a temporary tattoo type thing, a few days later an itchy rash in the shape of whatever it was would appear, so after discovering that quite early on I never put anything like that on her skin again. If this had happened at her nursery I would have complained.

I'd be annoyed, both at the risk of a reaction and the nursery thinking it's ok to make a semi-permanent change to my child's appearance. I wouldn't want them cutting my child's hair for example.

If they have to get my permission for important, necessary things like applying suncream then they can do so for this.

I just hope you keep the same energy when your child comes home covered in glitter after decorating Christmas cards

@HelloJackie that's extremely patronising. Many of us are parents of older children and are not so uptight as to be ignorant to the realities of child rearing.
What most of us do not approximate is a childcare setting not mitigating the appropriate risks with our children or even having the decency to notify parents of semi permanent changes without their consent.
Glitter as horrible as it is is usually harmless. Henna not so much for some. And also as one poster commented they now have the fun of trying to remove it in time for a family wedding.

My friend had henna done on her hand when she was 13 or so & reacted horribly, it blustered terribly. When she was about 20 she had her hair colored and her scalp came up in huge weals, her mother had to take her to hospital as they started bleeding. I think it shouldn’t have been done without a parent there.

But what rattles my bars about this thread is the furious anger about what is seemingly an - as I’ve said already - misguided attempt at cultural and religious awareness raising.

The anger isn't about the cultural and religious awareness raising though. The anger is about a nursery marking the skin of children without permission.

The issue of what the nursery have actually done has been lost (deliberetely by some) in the eagerness to accuse people of not wanting their child to learn about cultures and religions.

I have 6 kids, 4 older than the one in nursery, and each of them have learned about cultures and religions, and specifically about Eid, without their nurseries or schools putting something on their skin that will take weeks to disappear.

Even taking out the potential allergy issues you have the fact that my child looks ridiculous. She has one hand/wrist with lovely intricate henna design that looks very pretty, then she has another that has henna by a 4 year old... You can imagine how that looks. That is going to be there for weeks until it fades completely, and will be immortilised forever in any photos from a family wedding this weekend.

A nursery has no right to mark my child's skin for weeks without asking our permission first.

I just hope you keep the same energy when your child comes home covered in glitter after decorating Christmas cards

Glitter doesn't take several weeks to wash off.

@lyralalala well said.

Please can we note that “henna tattoos” are not even traditional or part of traditional culture, whereas perhaps pure henna is. Henna tattoos are part of global consumer marketing and probably all made in china, to be sold in asia, to be illegally imported into europe without dermatological testing or any safety awareness. Therefore it is not culturally offensive at all to point out the issues.
I had henna for everyone at my wedding plus turmeric beauty scrubs too :) but we were careful and even did skin tests with pure henna.

Real henna fades significantly after about three days. Anything else is just carcinogenic hair dye on your childs skin and is a nightmare horror.

Please please dont buy this stuff - it is awful for skin and also for the environment.

Omg get a grip ladies. Its just henna. I wonder why kids have no respect for authority. Because its constantly challenged.

Someone with sense ahhhhhh

Dont touch my child in any shape or form no fun allowed. What a shame. For gods sake its a pattern on her hand that will come off

Jeez bet your fun mam. Take the stick out of your bottom and have some fun.

I don't see what the big deal is, it isn't like they've cut her hair off and she hasn't had a reaction. It would wear off quicker than a bruise!

Since when it's being upset something was done to your kid without consent challenging authority?

Wtf?

At our nursery we use dark face paint to do the tattoos on children’s hands if they have permission agreeing to use of face paint for occasions like this. It washes off fairly easily.

I'm in an area that is very mixed and last year a little girl around Eid brought in henna. The nursery rang to ask permission from me which I gave and my daughter was chuffed with it. It faded in about 3 days.

Why did they use henna? Isn’t there anything less long lasting they could have used? I don’t think my SIL would have been best pleased either if they’d hennad her daughter (pakistani who had henna on her hands at her wedding).

Omg get a grip ladies. Its just henna. I wonder why kids have no respect for authority. Because its constantly challenged.

How is pointing out to a nursery that they've done something they shouldn't have without permission challenging authority?

Every year I have to sign forms for sun cream. Every time they want to do face painting I have to sign a form.

Yet they've done something that is going to take weeks to get rid of without a word and that's just ok?

Natural henna doesn’t cause reactions. It’s the one with a dye and usually these are black in colour. The reddish/brownish one is just a herb.

However I would go speak to the school ask them to take permission next time. But it’s not as massive as an issue to make a serious complain. Just a word in

It faded in about 3 days.

Yep, I do wonder about these posts saying it took several weeks to fade

I'd complain.

It’s also not of any religious significance to point out that you don’t want henna tattoo on your child. Don’t know why anyone would say that. I’m Muslim, and I often times don’t like it and only had it once by a friend.

It’s just a cultural thing in Asian culture for celebrations.