Should Preschoolers Get Pedicures?

Every 2 or 3 months I treat myself to a manicure/pedicure. The manicure shop I go to is local and very reasonably priced. I rationalize the spurlge by saying it is a medical expense after all the daily bathroom bleaching and washing I do to keep a house of three boys going.  But last week when I went for my little treat I had a little surprise sitting next to me: A PRESCHOOLER - with her mother sitting right next to her! She was getting a full manicure and pedicure. The little girl was very well behaved and completely adorable as she giggled when they cut her nails and sucked her thumb while painting her toe nails.  I did not get my first manicure until I was in my late 20's and had a stable job......As a mom of three boys, I had many thoughts running through my head while watching the preschooler get her services:

• That could be a great way to get out of hiring a babysitter if you need to get a mani/pedi yourself....
• That looks like a more pleasant experience then when I chase my preschool boys around the house to get their nails cut - then SIT ON THEM while I do it......
• That is such a nice mother/daughter bonding experience.

I wondered, if I had a girl, would I do the same thing?

Then I pondered the tough questions:

• Is it a good thing for a preschooler to have a service like that? Will she then want it regularly after that?
• Should you wait until the girl is at least old enough to earn an allowance and have that as a reward?
• Is that any different then taking kids to the toy store now and then for a treat?
• Should we teach preschoolers who want their nails done to just do it themselves (like getting dressed)? Or have mom or other family members do it  for them? They could even paint their moms toes nails for fun.

In the end I decided, as a mom of three boys, the whole discussion I was having in my head was irrelevant. Then I remembered I do have three adorable nieces...

Original Silicon Valley Moms Blog post. Beth Blecherman is a Partner of the Silicon Valley Moms Group. Her personal blog is Techmamas.com.

Comments

[joanna]

Once I took my then 7 year old daughter, and 4 year old son, and we all had pedicures together. It was the only way i could have time to get it done. My son (now 7) still talks about how fun it was to have his feet massaged and his nails painted blue, and wants to go again. I think it can be seen as a fun family outing, with the side benefit of having presentable feet.

[mothergoosemouse]

I have to smile about the little girl sucking her thumb as her toenails were painted. What a juxtaposition.

I think a pedicure is a fine treat. It teaches her that taking care of herself is important, and can be fun too. Healthier than an ice cream cone, more responsible than yet another toy.

[Rox]

My daughter gets a partial pedicure with me a couple of times each summer. While I get the full treatment, they file down her nails and paint them with flowers and details all over them. She loves it. I don't do the full treatment for her because of all of the horror stories about how unclean pedicure footbaths can be -- I'll take the risk, but I don't want her 7 y.o. feet to do so.

For anyone looking for a kid-specific experience, there's a kids' hair salon here in NJ called "Snip-Its" (it's a chain -- not sure if it's nationwide) that tacks on filing and painting fingernails to haircuts for not even $3 -- they call it the kids' spa experience! Why not?!

[Jill Asher]

I have been a big fan of taking my daughter's out for a mani/pedi as a special outing. Usually, I just have their nails painted and they giggle and feel pretty special. Also, there are times when I don't have childcare, and want to get my nails done... so I take them with me. win/win for all of us! :)

Again, I think it is all about moderation. Some little girls love playing with makeup, dressing up and getting their nails done is just an extension of that.

Too bad that my daughters chip the nail polish off a few hours after it is on!

Just to note, you can tell the person doing their nails that you only want them to have the nails painted... it is a lot cheaper that way!

[Kristin]

I have been taking my daughter for mini pedi/manis since she was 4 years old. I typically give them to her when she earns them on her star board, or if there is a big event coming up like Christmas. We typically have a blast when we go together and she loves it...

[SheilaBD/xiaolinmama]

Having both a boy and a girl - gettin' our nails painted has been one of those special treats me and my daughter have been doing for the past two months. It's one of the things the "girls ONLY " do and I have to say it has been such fun. I figure it sure is cheaper than going "shoe shoppin!"

[Amy]

Preschoolers do not need to learn to be pampered. Nor do little girls. I have plenty of friends that started taking their preschool aged girls to have their toes painted when they got their own done (as a matter of convenience for the moms, mostly). Now these young girls feel entitled to have their nails done by somebody else... regularly.

On the rare occasion that I get a pedicure, I certainly don't want my quiet time interrupted by a preschooler being catered to by their overindulgent parents.

Am I off base here? Am I missing something?

[stephv]

I agree, Amy.
Silly waste of dough. But then again, I have sons and buy my female Golden Retriever pink bows when she gets bathed..so who am I to talk?

[Trying to be helpful]

NO ONE should get a pedicure. There is this strange bacteria related to TB that lurks in those baths. If you're unlucky enough to get an infection, you'll be literally scarred for life.

[Amy@UWM]

Mom of two girls here and generally I'm not a fan of putting any kind of "stuff" with chemicals on my girls on a regular basis. But we have done the mani/pedi thing (mostly manis) as a very rare treat. We once did it for a mother's day girls bonding afternoon. It was sweet. Our nanny will paint their nails at home too as a less-rare, but still not very often treat. Girls will be girls and mine just love all that girly stuff.

[Lia]

We paint our 3 year olds nails when she lets me cut her toe nails. It is the only way she will let me near her feet.

I can't wait for the day I take my daughter to get manis/pedis together but at 3 it is too early I think. Maybe more like 5?

[the mama bird diaries]

My daughter loves to come with me to the nail salon. She sits on my lap and I paint her nails while i get a pedicure. It's this wonderful, quiet, alone time together.

[Liz]

I have to agree with Amy and Trying To Be Helpful on this one. What's next? Thai massage and anti-cellulite treatments for kindergarten graduation? Preschoolers don't need to be pampered in this way - and it's certainly not worth the risk of infection that might come with the experience. (I'm thinking, too, of how much more likely a little one would be to get an inadvertent cut or nick that could lead to a nasty infection - wee ones are wiggly, and sometimes pedicures can tickle!)

This sounds like it would be a fun bonding treat for a junior high girl - not a 5 year old. I totally agree with the idea of doing a fun nail-painting thing with mom at the house (and I look forward to doing that with my own daughter when she's old enough) - but I'm saving her first trip to a real world nail salon for sometime *after* the training bra!