tweens shave legs when?

[Anonymous]

DD is 10 and change. No sign of puberty yet but I was wondering when girls are expected to start shaving their legs in this country? (I wasn't raised here and don't remember at what age I did anyway). Also, when are they expected to start wearing a bra (training bra or otherwise?)

[Anonymous]

Once they start developing breasts, wear a bra. Once they ask to shave their legs teach them how.

I remember I started shaving my legs around 12-13.

[Anonymous]

As needed. The age will be different for every child. Look at you kid. Talk to her. Go from there.

[Anonymous]

Certainly not at age 10.

[Anonymous]

PP, you can't know that. My DD is 9, almost 10 and an early developer. We just started shaving her underarms (they were very hairy) and she is now much less self conscious. Her leg hair is still pretty light, but I can imagine in the next year (when she is 10), she may feel more comfortable if she shaves her legs.

[Anonymous]

I'd say that whenever they become aware of their body hair and are uncomfortable with it. My DD is middle eastern and has very dark body hair at 6. I will let her take the lead as to when she feels uncomfortable about that body hair.

[Anonymous]

I have three boys and two girls. They all reached puberty at very different ages.

I think my older daughter was able to wait until she was 13 or 14 to start shaving. My younger daughter started shaving at 10 or 11. As soon as they started feeling self-conscious in shorts/swimsuits, I taught them how to shave.

[Anonymous]

I would wait until she asks about it. At some point she will notice and will want to shave.

[Anonymous]

Mine youngest daughter was 11, she had her dad's leg hair lol-plus an older sister who taught her how. At first I balked but glad I let her start as it bothered her and really is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

[Anonymous]

"my"-not fully awake yet

[Anonymous]

Helped my daughter shave her legs for the first time last night. She's almost 11, but with Italian blood, she could have started shaving at 6. What made the difference is that she's getting under-arm hair and so I said we had to at least have a lesson about shaving that, and then left it up to her to decide about her legs, which she decided yes to.
She's definitely in the throes of puberty - breast buds (which would probably be more significant if she wasn't a beanpole 55 pounder), pubic hair, BO, etc. So I think it's appropriate to shave. Breaks my heart because I was a late bloomer and didn't hit puberty until 14 - but I specifically remember how much the girls whose mothers didn't let them shave were tortured by the other girls. Not that peer pressure is a reason, but I think it's something to consider - you don't want to force your child to be the target of the "mean girls"

[Anonymous]

I was totured by mean girls - I moved from Europe just before my 12th birthday. I was teased a lot about not shaving and my parents didn't want me too. If I were the parent of a girl (I have only boys), I'm sure I would encourage her to shave at 10.

[Anonymous]

DD started at age 12 after starting 7th grade. If her hair was blond and fine, I would have encourage her to wait. But she had noticeably dark hairy legs so I thought it was appropriate to start in middle school.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, this brings up memories of my mother who did not let me shave until I reached 15 or 16. Even though my very kind classmates did not comment, I felt horribly ashamed of my dark hair over pale skin...