Anonymous wrote: Trichotillomania comes to mind if she's pulling out her eyebrow hairs due to being anxious - the onset generally occurs from 8/9 to 13/14 years old.

And this can get quite serious if not handled by someone with good knowledge. My SIL's niece did the same thing to her eyebrows that you describe and within weeks had also pulled all of the hair from the first inch of her hairline at her forehead. Months later it was her arms.

Please watch your daughter closely and remember that if trichotillomania is what what's causing this, she's pretty much unable to control it even if she wants to.

Trichotillomania comes to mind if she's pulling out her eyebrow hairs due to being anxious - the onset generally occurs from 8/9 to 13/14 years old.

I did the same ans shaved off half an eyebrow.lol Good times!

Totally normal.

OP again.. I will give it a bit of time to see it phases out. But a squeeze ball would be my next try..before consulting someone professional. Thanks. I am now wondering how long it will take for them to look "normal" again so I will know she stopped. As I mentioned she has light hair so they are not prominent. She is not a generally anxious child..seems to be having a great summer at familiar camps...??

I have a son who ripped his clothes and bit his finger when he was anxious. Eventually, we went to medication, but before that we tried to provide alternative activities - sort of like a squeeze ball but less obvious. A rubber band around the wrist. A beaded bracelet she could pull or play with. A necklace with a bead she could finger or even chew.

Okay, totally different scenario if this is anxiety related. Is she generally an anxious child (hence not knowing exactly what is stressing her)? If she isn't then likely something stressful has happened and she doesn't want to tell you yet.

Great that you had the conversation - maybe sit down with her and plan 5 or 6 other things she can try when she is stressed and help her built her coping strategy bank. If it continues or is she keeps feeling stressed i would get her some extra support around that - better to deal with it early.

OP again, I mentioned eye brow trimming to her this morning at a private moment. She said she did not purposely trim them but tend to pull them at times when she is nervous (I have never seen it). She said she knows she needs to stop. I asked what was making her stressed and she of course said nothing. Now I have a new topic of concern.

Natural consequences, baby!

My DD cut her eyelashes when she was 9. I wish it had been eyebrows! I was furious because it's so dangerous to have scissors that close to her eyes (and she looked kind of silly, but it was a little hard to tell).

I'd ask her if she likes it this way and if not, offer very kindly to help her fill them in with some appropriately hair-colored eyeshadow until they grow back.

I tried all sorts of stuff like that when I was a kid too. Above is what I wish my mom would have done without any criticism or judgment.

Another thing is if she wants to start landscaping, offer her some tweezers and a guide for how to do it?

I think this is one of those natural consequences. I would tell my 9 yr old that I really don't want her cutting her eyebrows as it requires someone with skill to do a good job. However I am not paying for that for her so if she chooses to cut them herself and they look funny or she doesn't like them, tough she is stuck with them until they grow out.

I did that at her age. No harm
Done.

No nothing like that..she is blondish and her eye brows are still very modest looking. I am assuming someone discussed the idea with and she decided to try it out.

Does she have thick eyebrows? A newly developing monobrow?

I had these issues when I was about the same age as your daughter, and when I expressed discomfort about them my parents did the whole you are beautiful natural, and just the way God made you thing.

So I took matter in my own hand and pulled out the offending hairs with my fingernails. Problem is, many of them broke and even today I have to deal with ingrown hairs between my brows, all because my parents thought I was too young to dehair.

Maybe your daughter would benefit from some guided eyebrow grooming once they grow back

They are really hacked. Luckily her hair is pretty light so it is not that obvious unless you are really close up. She caught me looking at them and said.."don't say anything..it is my personal expression". I didn't say anything at that moment (at the dinner table). Should I let it go..should I comment that she has no need to trim her eye brows at the moment?