My 10yo (also FCPS, fwiw) has occasionally asked for it. (Older sister is tomboyish but it’s her one concession to anything remotely girly, so they’ve generally done it together.)

I let him know that he might get comments. No one has cared in the slightest.

12yo son still sometimes lets his girl bff paint his nails and give him makeovers when he hangs out with her. He's always been a confident kid and never one to care what others think.

My 9yo old boy went through a phase of painting nails. No one batted an eyelash.

Anonymous wrote:I knew bots who painted their nails in the 90s.
One of them got bullied so bad he became a VP at Amazon.

And the bot who bullied him became Chat GPT.

My son likes to wear tutus to school but he is a great football player. All the kids accept him. Why can’t people just chill?

Nope. My son hasn’t asked to paint his nails thank goodness. May daughter has and I say no.

I knew bots who painted their nails in the 90s.
One of them got bullied so bad he became a VP at Amazon.

Anonymous wrote:LOL this is OP and I think I've gotten as much useful as I can from this thread! It may now crash and burn in dcum fashion. Thanks all for weighing in!

Amen.

LOL this is OP and I think I've gotten as much useful as I can from this thread! It may now crash and burn in dcum fashion. Thanks all for weighing in!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He's going to be the "new kid" in 3rd grade. OP and some posters do not seem to get this aspect. This is a very different situation than showing up with painted nails to hang out with old friends that he's known for years. Does he know anyone at all at this new school?

My son was new to the school in 3rd grade, transferred to FCPS after years of private school. Showed up on day 1 with green nails and no one said boo to him. He came home raving about how the kid who sat next to him also loved Minecraft and Roblox.

I admit to being nervous, but the nails made him happy so I went with it and it turned out to be no big deal. Today’s kids are pretty great in that regard!

Well, if a few random anonymous internet people claim their boys' painted nails was well received on their first day at a new school, I guess that means all boys everywhere are safe from being teased if they show up to their first day at a new school with painted nails. Because these anecdotes could not possibly be made up.

Anonymous wrote:He's going to be the "new kid" in 3rd grade. OP and some posters do not seem to get this aspect. This is a very different situation than showing up with painted nails to hang out with old friends that he's known for years. Does he know anyone at all at this new school?

My son was new to the school in 3rd grade, transferred to FCPS after years of private school. Showed up on day 1 with green nails and no one said boo to him. He came home raving about how the kid who sat next to him also loved Minecraft and Roblox.

I admit to being nervous, but the nails made him happy so I went with it and it turned out to be no big deal. Today’s kids are pretty great in that regard!

My oldest asks for me to paint his nails. His favorite color is red. The only time I said no was when we had family pictures. I did a neutral color for that so it wouldn’t be seen. It chips so easily and doesn’t look very nice. I usually don’t have my nails painted, especially on my hand, and never get mani/pedis, so I’m definitely not pressuring him. I think he likes the bonding time with me? He is otherwise very stereotypical “boy” and this is the longest I can get him to sit still.

Anonymous wrote:My 9 year old occasionally puts on polish in a “cool” color or wears nail stickers. No one has ever said a thing and I doubt they will. He’s a popular kid, very sporty, all the stereotypical boy stuff. 10 years from now it’s not going to be even looked at twice when boys have polish or other decoration on their nails.

This is OP and this sounds similar to my son. He thinks colors are cool and fun. His nails are generally dirty and chipped and he's not trying to make any type of fashion statement. I appreciate the viewpoints here on both sides. I don't think this is going to be a big deal, it was just on my mind because he asked to paint his nails this morning. Its not a big deal to him either way and sounds like it probably won't be to others. I just wanted to prevent him coming home upset "mom you didn't tell me nail polish was only for girls"! (Which is what would have happened in my school in the 90s) But that hasn't happened in camp settings this summer or amongst family or neighborhood friends so maybe I'm overthinking.

I think it’s actually a trend right now. Just a way to be a little punk. My 12 year old did it this summer and has zero insecurities about it. If anyone said anything, you wouldn’t know. His cousin painted his nails glittery blue. It is chipping off and he likes it that way. Kids are just kids. Let them be.

My 9 year old occasionally puts on polish in a “cool” color or wears nail stickers. No one has ever said a thing and I doubt they will. He’s a popular kid, very sporty, all the stereotypical boy stuff. 10 years from now it’s not going to be even looked at twice when boys have polish or other decoration on their nails.