Nowadays we see eight year old girls donning a face full of make up. I am only 25, so I remember getting on the school bus when I was in my early teens applying a bit of sneaky concealer and perhaps some clear nail polish but ten years ago that was all we could get away with at school.

 

Now I see girls waiting at the bus stop in bright red lipstick and thick black eye liner, so they must have applied it at home under the watch of their parents and they must be getting away with it at school.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a complete bore and don’t expect girls to be wearing pig tails until their 18 but a little more regulation from a senior level wouldn’t go a miss.

 

First off, they look silly. Orange faces with white necks, mascara smudged under the eyes and uneven blusher is commonplace. They will look back on pictures of themselves in years to come and cringe.

 

Second of all, children must experience discipline. I can’t imagine many parents are pleased to see their little ones leave the house covered in war paint but kids are spoilt these days and aren’t getting many tellings off. Kids can easily get around the loose rules set by the school and put their own stamp on their uniforms – whether that be adding Cheryl’s red hair or rolling their skirts shorter. Children won’t understand why adults make such a big deal about a bit of nail varnish – but it’s about more than the latest berry red shade. They might not like their parents all the time, but kids will respect them much more if they don’t relinquish their parental power to them. And that’s what kids are doing pushing the boundaries to see what they can get away with.

 

Finally, hopefully one day they’ll be thankful to be reminded they are children? Shouldn’t the tots be playing and enjoying having no responsibilities and not having to worry about whether they’ve applied lipstick or not?

 

On the other hand, half the fun of growing up is looking back at poor decisions on outfits, hair and boys? Maybe we should leave them to it. But if kids learn to respect their parents and elders at an early age, they might not be so tricky to deal with as teens. Let’s not forget teens turn into adults and some of those adults can be extremely difficult to deal with in the workplace.

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