The Case for Letting Kids Play With Makeup
Briefly

Clinician Kathryn Keough of the Child Mind Institute often receives inquiries from concerned parents about their daughters wanting to play with makeup. This reflects a broader anxiety regarding 'girly-girl' culture that pressures young girls to emphasize appearance over substance. Influencers and retail strategies, such as Ulta's introduction of toy makeup, heighten these worries. However, Keough reassures that a child's interest in makeup is typically a normal, healthy part of development, not a signal of potential trouble.
When a 3-year-old asks for a lipstick tube of her own, she's doing something that is, in Keough's words, developmentally "so normal"-and that can ev…
The anxiety is very real. Parents worry that interests in makeup and beauty are pressuring young girls to prioritize their appearance over their actions.
Read at The Atlantic
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