Would you allow your 12 year old to have acrylic nails?

[Icantremembermyusername]

Just that, really?
Am I being mean?
DD - Can I have my nails done?
Me -yes, we’ll have a manicure during the holidays.
DD - No, I meant can I go to X place and have acrylic nails FOR MY BIRTHDAY
Me - No. I’ve already organised your (very expensive) birthday present (and those from both sets of grandparents and your extended relatives) and agreed to pay for a movie night with your mates plus a pre agreed day out with your best mate. We can maybe have a manicure at a salon (no acrylics) later in the hols.
DD - massive sulk and went to bed.
i feel like she’s taking the absolute piss!
Aibu? Yes - she should have the nails. No - she’s being a brat.
Thank you!

No. Mainly due to the chemicals benzene or formaldehyde, and the uv light used.

I let mine have them in holidays at that age, it was a treat and they loved them.
They now sometimes have them done, sometimes don't but my eldest has biab now at 19 and her nails are really healthy and long.
I picked my battles and this was one I wasn't prepared to fight, my daughters have turned out just fine as young adults despite acrylic nails in school holidays

She’s too young. She can paint them but no acrylics until she is old enough to pay for them herself.

Nail tech here - Acrylics applied properly using decent products and removed correctly will not damage your nails. At 12 it’s likely her nails are still very thin and damage along with allergic reactions are more likely.

Some insurance companies allow gel with parental consent for 13 but I would say most will refuse to do anyone under 16. My insurance does not allow me to do treatments on under 16s

Educate her that going to a nail bar or non standard salon means the quality of products used are not up to industry standard and can cause a-lot of problems in the future. Also they are near impossible to remove!

Acrylics destroy your nails, even one set takes a month or two to get them back to normal.

@gogomoto very true! They are nails, not a one way road into working in a brothel to support a crack habit!
My daughter had them put on the other day, they will last a couple of weeks and I'll soak them off for her.
She still goes outdoors, walks the dogs and goes horse riding. They are just nails!
Her friend has just fractured his fingers and can no longer participate in the things he had planned for the summer holidays. He was playing football, their are plenty of ways kids can injure themselves that I really don't worry about the possibility of nails doing her harm.

Also, I would like to add that I did say originally I supported OP saying no to her daughter but for me it would have been the financial implication on this occasion that made up my mind.
It was another posters comment about them being 'unwholesome' that annoyed me, even when they tried to backtrack and say it was about the germs.

Facefortheradio · Yesterday 22:30
If you can find a nail salon who will do acrylics on a kid then you'd probably be best to avoid the place like the plague.

But no. I wouldn't allow my 12/13/14/15 yr old to have them.”

This.

No, too young. They’ll ruin her natural nails and kids are invariably awful at looking after them anyway.

The nail salon I go to won’t actually do acrylic nails, or any other kind of nail extensions, on anyone under 14.

Sorry, under 16, not under 14

Educate her that going to a nail bar or non standard salon means the quality of products used are not up to industry standard and can cause a-lot of problems in the future. Also they are near impossible to remove!

I agree. So many people do go to these fast-turnaround nail bars though. I've never had nail damage from the lady who does my acrylics but she's the only person who hasn't damaged my nails with acrylics.

I don´t have acrylic nails myself, like hell my underage daughter is gointg to have them. YANBU.
When she is 18 and earning she can do what she likes.

No!
I wouldn't have them myself, tried them once in my 20s and they destroyed my actual nails.

A manicure and polish of her own nails would be fine.

Can you see where you're in a bit of a minority with this?

Vow. I have a 13 year old, and none of her friends has acrylic nails, has manicures or wears makeup.
They play football and waterpolo, read, write, cook, play music, play video games, dance... they don't have any interest in trying to look like adult women

According to this thread they are 100% a gateway cosmetic. Nails at 12. BBL by 14. Crack whorehouse 14.5. 🤦🏼‍♀️

No. I let my DD 12 have a manicure last week...just a file and polish. But it's a definite no to acrylics

I wouldn’t even let her for a holiday. She’s being a brat.

@hahahahahahahahahah this is what I allow for my 13 year old. DD’s friend who gets acrylics is 2 years older and her mum has a nail salon. DD asked for a while and complained that her friend is allowed them but then I explained what damage could be done to her nails and that the school have said they’re not allowed for health and safety reasons and she accepted it. There was a time when she questioned why she wasn’t allowed them when her friend had them for school and didn’t get into trouble but the rule we have is that if the school says no, then we say no. I don’t care how many others are breaking/bending the rules, she is not.

Not a chance!

For context and to clear up some comments, my daughters aren't high maintenance women, they have done go ape, all manner of centre parcs activities, wall climbing, swimming, horse riding, even bowling and the like with their nails done, mostly acrylic but now one daughter prefers her gels.
They are very normal young women who study hard at uni/ sixth form and hold down jobs! They don't have Botox nor body modifications and have just always loved having their nails done in school holidays.
Everyone has their own opinions and quite rightly so. My answer was a yes and not a battle I picked, and trust me some I did pick, never did them any harm (or their natural nails)

🤣 I agree!

You need to stick to your guns and say no not this year.

My 12YO has had GEL TIP extensions twice. They are far more gentle to the natural nail than acrylics and were a little tip to give a natural length (same length as finger) because she bites them so short.
it did stop her biting because she liked them & I think we could have got to and maintained a natural nail with a neutral colour she’d stop biting entirely. Even bought a kit to gel them at home (same price as having done once professionally) but neither of us kept it up! & school wouldn’t have allowed a colour, however subtle.

acrylics wreck your natural nail.

Make sure that if you are taking your DD to have her nails done at some point, you are 100% sure there is no modern slavery taking place.

Given the strop I'd say no anyway. Start the shortly to be teenage years as you mean to go on. Worth investing in the pain now, will be to your benefit later.