iPhone app iPad app Android phone app Android tablet app More

Toddlers In Makeup: Mommyish Writer Explains Her Daughter's Makeup Routine on GMA

Posted: 05/ 1/2012 5:08 pm Updated: 05/ 1/2012 5:08 pm

Toddler Makeup
Four-year-old Brenna Cross applying makeup on Good Morning America.

When blogger Lindsay Cross admitted to letting her 4-year-old daughter wear "a full face of make-up" on special occasions, she may or may not have realized she was stepping into a philosophical minefield.

But the controversy generated by Cross's Mommyish post has propelled her and her toddler all the way to the national news.

In an interview on Good Morning America, excerpted above, Cross admitted to Paula Faris: "When I wrote the piece, I didn't think it was that monumental of a deal."

Cross says she sees these mother-daughter makeup sessions as "dress-up." For her part, daughter Brenna said she likes makeup because "it makes me pretty."

In a reaction piece published on Mommyish after the GMA segment, Cross was anxious to clarify that statement in particular, noting:

Brenna [also] thinks that riding her horse makes her pretty, because it’s “strong and fun and horses are really pretty.” She thinks that dressing up like a pirate with an eye patch makes her pretty, “because you can tell I’m tough.” ... And while it wasn’t shown [on TV], in the middle of all that makeup talk, they asked my daughter what she wanted to be when she grows up. Her answer wasn’t a princess, like you might have expected. She said that she wanted to be a doctor.

The use of makeups by toddlers is highly controversial. In the UK, an organization called Pinkstinks recently launched a full-fledged campaign to remove makeup targeted at girls under 8 from shelves. (Those in doubt as to whether such toys exist will find plenty of examples on Amazon.)

Watch the full interview with Lindsay and Brenna Cross on GMA's website.

FOLLOW PARENTS

When blogger Lindsay Cross admitted to letting her 4-year-old daughter wear "a full face of make-up" on special occasions, she may or may not have realized she was stepping into a philosophical minefi...
When blogger Lindsay Cross admitted to letting her 4-year-old daughter wear "a full face of make-up" on special occasions, she may or may not have realized she was stepping into a philosophical minefi...
Filed by Emma Mustich  | 
 
 
  • Comments
  • 86
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Post Comment Preview Comment
To reply to a Comment: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to.
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
Page: 1 2 3  Next ›  Last »  (3 total)
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
see-ellen2001
11:48 AM on 05/06/2012
Tell me how you feel when she wants to wear a push up bra at ten mommy. Keep her a kid. Time to be a mum and not a friend.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Goldie Treasure
Biracial.25.Sarcastic.Mod>Rep=Dem
02:44 PM on 05/05/2012
My mom would never let me wear make up at that age, not even lip gloss. I wore some vasaline(sp?) on my lips if needed and only occasionally I wore nail polish. There is just to much focus on "looking pretty" and the girls get it from their mothers of course. In my teens I started using lip smackers and some mascara and to this day that is all I use only if I have a breakout do I use a little foundation on it, other than that it's cute natural bare face.
02:25 PM on 05/04/2012
little girls like makeup... little girls want to play dress up, and be pretty like theyre mommys. its a phase. once they get into middle school thats when you start regulating the makeup wearing. as long as the little girl is around the house playing with make up then who cares.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
12:36 PM on 05/04/2012
Such moral panic over a bit of slap. If it is so terrible for a child to wear makeup why do grownups set that example for them? Adults should understand that with children do as I say not as I do just doesn't cut it in the real world. Parents should model appropriate behavior that children should emulate. Makeup isn't simply sexual, can't be, but most of the time it isn't or we would wear it or apply it around our kids. Little girls want to be like mom, to be grown up. Sexualizing children is bad, but so is being so hyperventilate to it that we over react and try to shield our daughters from normal behavior. While we don't want the beauty industry in their heads, we also don't want to sexualize what is essentially normal behavior of women and girls. Most will say they put on their face for all kinds of reasons, and doing it for boys is much lower on that list then some people seem to think.
02:59 AM on 05/05/2012
Puddinpops, your comments indicate that you have learned to be uncomfortable with the natural appearance of women. It's sad that many people have learned that what we actually look like is unacceptable and that we have to paint ourselves to look ok.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
04:55 AM on 05/05/2012
I'm not so sure I would state "uncomfortable", just a realist in that people do judge and are judge for how they appear to the world or not. Wearing no makeup at all is a statement in itself. What does make me my uncomfortable is the comments about moms letting little girls wear makeup is setting them up for pedophiles, or that the only reason women wear makeup is to be attractive for men. There is a double standard for men and women right now and it is a problem, but humans have used body decoration and modification to send all kinds of information about themselves and their "tribes" from the dawn of time too. Visual displays are not just about beauty alone or feeling bad about ourselves naturally, it is also a powerful drive for humans to both conform to cultural standards as well as finding ways to stand out. Beauty ads can and should change, but the impulse to adorne ourselves in general is unlikely to go away ever.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
11:42 AM on 05/04/2012
I grew up with tinkerbell makeup, and I don't think it did anyone any harm. kids playing with makeup is as much a part of childhood as dressup and baking cookies with mom.
02:26 PM on 05/04/2012
me too! i see no harm in playing with make up, just overly sensitive people who think its exploiting or perverting the child.
08:03 PM on 05/03/2012
What a sad message she is giving her daughter already at 4.Sorry children are just that two generations of parents who seem more worried about if there kids think they are equals and friends.Just be a parent to your kids!!After 25 you can somewhat be a friend.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
BBLOND
Anyone but Obama
05:43 PM on 05/03/2012
bad idea
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
askonemom
04:40 PM on 05/03/2012
If it works for this mom and her child, and her child does NOT seem to be dependent on it for her identity, then let it be. Mom and child are having fun, it's an expression of creativity. If this mom were creating canvases of faces with makeup nobody would have a problem with it. Makeup is a mode of creative expression, like coloring, or painting; same kind of creative juices flowing, same sense of what is aesthetic and what the creator deems to be beautiful.

Beauty really is a personal thing, and while our society attempts to dictate norms, it is still for each of us to declare that which we deem beautiful!
02:50 PM on 05/03/2012
Clear 'flavored' lip gloss (i.e. Chapstick) is the only 'make-up' needed until a girl reaches her teens and is becoming more boy/girl social. Eyeshadow and eyeliners can get in their eyes and sting--if it stings, it CAN'T be good for you.
photo
fit4ufor3rd
i can want peace and the death penalty too
03:07 PM on 05/03/2012
needed?? why is gloss "needed" and why is it needed once boys come into the picture. i have never worn makeup and i am considered a knock out. good eating and exercise i have the best colors in the world on my face
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
11:46 AM on 05/04/2012
We can't all be as genetically gifted as you though. You can pry my concealer from my could dead hands, so you can use it one last time on me at my funeral.
02:28 PM on 05/04/2012
well arent you lucky!
12:32 PM on 05/03/2012
I wasnt allowed to wear make up until i started my period!! that sounds good to me!! haha
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
07:13 PM on 05/02/2012
Does this mother know about all the chemicals in cosmetics? Shame on her for allowing this!
02:53 PM on 05/03/2012
Tan her backside!! I don't mean in a booth!!!!
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Angie Daniels
Nerd, Democrat, PFLAG, taxpayer, animal lover.
04:23 PM on 05/02/2012
I had lip gloss (the goopy stuff that smells like strawberries) from a young age, and nail polish, but that's it. The skin of a young child is perfect. It does not need foundation, blush or any sort of contouring. Besides, a little girl should have nice chubby cheeks, where exactly do you contour a cheek like that? And children naturally have fabulous lashes, so it's not like they need enhancements. Let her stick to lip gloss and some nails (in child appropriate colors) and call it a day.
02:57 PM on 05/02/2012
Our 10 yr. old grand daughter came with a full face of makeup a few months ago. I was shocked. She said "Mimi, do you notice anything/" I told her yes and that she had make up on. I told her how beautiful she was in it but that I thought she was even more beautiful with just her own face. I said how lucky she was that she had such beauty that make up would take it way. Not making her ugly or anything but just taking away the look of that soft and gorgeous skin and bright eyes. I said I know everyone wears make up these days, including me, but I find it a shame so many of us women are caught up in the thought that makeup makes us a better and more pretty. "Too bad I said, I wish we could all be real and just who we are inside". After getting home with the kids she disappeared and came out of the bathroom with a clean and shiny face. "oh you took your makeup off" I said and gave her a hug , "now there is the real beauty Mimi has grown to know and love"
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Jo Kennedy
02:21 PM on 05/02/2012
Just last night I was (a very rare occasion) putting on make up under the watchful eye of my 2 year old daughter. I showed her the powder brush and asked if she wanted to touch it - her answer was no and she went back to playing with a bath toy. I asked her if she wanted to try a bit of "lippy" - she looked at me her head to one side and said very seriously "no thanks mammy, I pretty pretty princess." But on a seriousl note - make up for dress up and fun is fine - every little girl does it but letting her go out in make up? Eh - not going to happen for (I hope) many years.
01:10 PM on 05/02/2012
I really don't see it as that huge of a deal. I can remember when I was around that age, my dad worked as a long haul trucker. My mom and I would spend hours "getting ready" for him to come home. Clean the house, cook a good meal, and put on our makeup/style our hair. I was allowed to wear blush, lipstick, a neutral eye shadow and small amount of brown mascara. I turned out fine, a strong and confident woman that stand up for herself and honestly wears very little makeup.