Little Girl with Some Dark Hair on Her Legs ..... Going into the Third Grade

Wait until she asks (which may be soon). At that point, I would not deny her. My first razor was an electric one, worked like a charm and no nicks.

The time to worry about shaving is when she asks. The minute she is self conscious about it she will ask. Until then let her be a happy child.

My daughter has very dark hair but even at eleven it still doesn't concern her.

Shaving will not make her grow up too fast. All shaving will do, is prevent her from being insecure about her legs, or get made fun of. Just make sure she knows how to shave safely.

ETA: I guess I assumed you asked, because your daughter did. Yeah, I agree with the others. Unless she is bothered, she doesn't really need to shave. If she gets made fun of, or it bothers here...then it's time.

If it doesn't bother her, don't let it bother you. She'll let you know.

If it is bothering her, I suggest using Nair cream. Three minutes on and all the hair wipes off. Then rinse. Easy.

i was 9/10 when i started shaving, i HATED the hair on my legs and i had under arm hair, i wanted to shave. i went behind my moms back and did it

You consider it when she comes to you and ask. When she begins to feel self conscious about it is when you say yes and help her.

If you bring it up, it will make her think she is not "normal" and possibly begin the poor self esteem route which is something you do not want to do. There will be enough factors as she gets older that will hinder her self esteem if she is not strong now.

I suggest keeping a constant line of OPEN communication with her so that she can come to you with anything and not feel judged or embarrassed. This has helped SO much with our daughter (17). Be there for her, listen a lot.

Try to help her feel more comfortable about growing up... it is nothing to be scared about. Where is she getting that fear? and Why?

My daughter has had dark hair ( as in could be a baby wookie ) on her legs since she was born.
She's going into 5th grade this year, she has yet to shave her legs.
I'm going with the policy until it bothers HER she's not shaving her legs.

I've never understood the big deal about when to start shaving. In our family (3 of us girls) and now we all have girls too. When you have hairy underarms or legs and it starts making them feel self conscience, it's time to start shaving. I went to the local drugstore and bought a little electric razor so no cuts from a razor blade (our mom did the same for us) at about 2nd/3rd grade too. We started using it and were so relieved to not worry about that very small issue of unwanted hair when it can seem to be hugely embarrassing and a REALLY big deal for that young girl. I'm so glad our mom didn't set a specific age for shaving and just let the hair and our feelings decide. Some of our friends (and our daughter's friends) sure wish their moms would do the same. This is an easy issue to resolve ... it's just hair!!

If it doesn't bother her don't worry about it. My daughter is 10 (going into 5th grade) and is very hairy (dark hair), legs and pits, and started to shave her pits last fall. It was like black inch long hair and needed to be dealt with. She asked me to start shaving because she felt uncomfortable about it. We just recently started to shave her legs.

Why is everyone so uptight about shaving? I really don't understand what the big deal is. I made sure both of my daughters understood the responsibility of shaving and they were and still are ok with doing it. Yeah it sucks and yeah 10 is young but she feels better about herself in front of
her friends without all the wild dark hair on her legs and underarms.

Just my two cents...

Oh gosh ... please wait until middle school - there is no reason no matter how dark her leg hair is to begin so early. Honestly, there is no need for her to do it at all, I know many women who have NEVER shaved their legs, they just bleach the hair so it is not seen.

only if it bothers her and she wants to, but before the razor, maybe bleaching done by you?! it just seems like this would need less maintenance, but idk, b/c mines only 6, so we haven't got there yet.

If it bothers her or people are making fun of her yes I say have her shave. Of cores at that age you may have to do it for her.

If she's getting embarrassed about it I guess you can help her shave.
But I really think our society is a little obsessed with hair removal.
People will say "She'll get picked on" and she might but it's bullying and just as bad as if kids were making fun of any other part of her body.
If schools have an anti bully program, this is something that should be covered in it.
It's a fact that the human body has hair follicles over every inch of skin except for the palms of our hands and soles of our feet.
We shave it, pluck it, thread it, wax it, Nair it, laser it, bleach it, and that doesn't even take into account the desirable hair and all the care products and appliances that surround that.

Okay:

All kids even younger, have hairs on their legs.
My son is in Kindergarten, and I see myself, that he and the other girls and boys, have little hairs on their legs.

My daughter is 9, going to 5th grade, and the girls and boys have hairs on their legs. No, it is not like adults. But they have hair.
And yes, when my daughter was in 3rd grade, the boys and girls had hair on their legs.

Now: just because they have hairs on their legs... it does NOT mean, that their hair is suddenly overnight, going to look like an adult's hair on their legs. Nor does it mean, that the child's leg hair is going to suddenly overnight start growing like jack in the beanstalk

My daughter, has had hair on her legs since Kindergarten.
BUT, her leg hairs are still pretty much, the same. ie: it is still a little hair on her legs, maybe a bit more in quantity... but it is not darker or courser or more prominent or noticeable.

My kids have dark hair. But also some blond hairs and red hairs on their legs. Again, it is not noticeable like it would be on an adult nor is it "adult version" leg hairs. It is, kid hairs. And not noticeable in a gross way.
Nor is it thick or course or long.
It is like kiddie fuzz leg hairs.
Not adult type.

And yes, kids have hair on their legs.
From Kindergarten.
But unless your daughter looks like her leg hairs are like a blanket, I wouldn't worry.

Keep in mind: that from 9-12 years old, a girl is a "Tween." A Preteen.
And they start to have body odor and need deodorant, they have leg hairs, some girls even start to have breasts! And... some girls even get their Periods... at 10 years old.
So, head's up.

I HIGHLY recommend getting for your daughter: the "American Girl" book series. It is for girls this age and meant to be read with Mom too. And discussed. It is age appropriate and easy to read. It is about their body, choosing friends, hygiene, etc.
I got these books for my daughter.
She likes it.
You can get it from any bookstore or online.

My DD is three and due to genetics has darker hair on her legs. I'll help her learn to shave when she needs to and no sooner - I think 11 or so is appropriate. I wouldn't even worry about it at this age.

When she asks about it that's when you begin to consider it. I've had lots of friends over the year with very dark coloring who were "hairy". It's not a big deal to kids until they get older. Don['t be surprised if it's a year or two away but not necessarily depending of what her friends are interestesd in. I am more concernd for kids who have a unibrow. Evenn at age 9 kids can be cruel - and more about another child's face than anything else..

im with the nair idea. that way she isnt handling razors.

She IS a little girl. People, even kids, have hair all over their bodies. It is natural. It is NOT a big deal. Please don't teach her that it is. I am sure she is beautiful regardless. Teach her THAT. Don't teach your 8yo that she needs to shave her legs in order to be beautiful/clean/acceptable/etc. Let her be a KID! She still has SEVERAL years of that!

And, please, don't bleach it or use Nair. Why put those aweful chemicals on your baby? Ugh. Shaving is probably the safest way to remove hair, when it is necessary and appropriate.

Is she bothered by it? Has she said something to you about it? If it's not an issue for her, don't make it one. We have a family member about the same age who also has pretty dark hair on her legs. She doesn't seem to notice or care so we don't say anything.