No First Grader Should Be Stressed Enough To Need A Trip To The Kiddie Spa

Parents, have you been looking at your little girl lately and thinking she needed some pampering? Have you wondered if her life as a small child- having all meals prepared for her, having her butt wiped if she needed it, all of her clothes and worldly needs met- is stressful? I mean, who needs a massage, pedicure and hot oil foot rub as much as a kid? Life is ROUGH when you have no real worries or responsibilities, let’s face it. The geniuses at kiddie spa chains saw this deep need and are fulfilling it. They are making tons of money off parents who believe their little girls deserve this sort of experience.

From the NY Times:

The spa industry has begun to target children in a big way, going way beyond mother-daughter manicures. Adult spas are adding separate menus of services for girls, usually ages 4 to 14. In most major cities, there are now dedicated day spas for children, offering a range of massages, facials and other treatments for girls (and sometimes boys) too young to have had their first pimple.

”I feel like the best princess in the world,” said Paige, who celebrated her seventh birthday at Sweet and Sassy, a national chain of spas that boasts that its cosmetologists are specially trained to work with children. After the beauty treatments, Paige and her guests walked down a red carpet and disappeared into a hot pink limousine, which took the squealing children on a spin around the parking lot. One 6-year-old guest documented the revelry in a series of selfies.

A series of selfies? I think I need to go be sick. I’m sorry, but this is nuts. To have a little “mani/pedi” party at home for your daughter and her friends is one thing but THIS? And Paige’s mom has this to say about it:

At the party here in Aurora last month, Paige’s mother, Kari Ehresman, 33, said she was thrilled to be able to treat the girls to a day of playful pampering.

”They do deserve something special,” said Ms. Ehresman, who paid about $400 for the party. Paige and her 8-year-old sister, Makayla, had begged for beauty treatments, but Ms. Ehresman had found her own adult spa to be inappropriate for them.

”I don’t want them to feel that my saying ”˜no’ means that I don’t love them,” she said.

Now, I need a paper bag to breathe into.

No, Ms. Ehresman- they don’t “deserve” something special, particularly something traditionally meant for adult women. It is totally acceptable to say “no” to that and who gives a flip if they think you don’t love them? WELCOME TO PARENTHOOD. Saying no is part of the job and often, is said because you do love them. I mean, what do us moms have left anymore? Is nothing sacred and reserved for when you are heading toward adulthood?

If my mother read this in 1991 she would have laughed her fool head off at the notion of her little girl needing a relaxing spa day. This is what it has come to in 2015. There are mothers believing their elementary schoolers are deserving of a day of pampering on the same caliber as a grown adult. I’m sorry, but no. Believe it or not, it gets worse:

Some are new businesses focused exclusively on children, while others have expanded into the child market, offering kid-friendly music, banana-scented facials and an age-appropriate vocabulary ”” customers are ”princesses” and toes are ”pigglies.”

The spa association’s president, Lynne McNees, said it was good for girls to learn that beauty treatments can reduce stress and promote health. ”It’s very similar to taking little kids to the dentist,” Ms. McNees said. ”Let’s get them early, and get those really good habits.”

(via)

Are you high, Lynne McNees? Spa treatments are absolutely nothing at all like a trip to the dentist. I am 33 and I do go to the dentist regularly so my teeth will remain intact but I do not get facials every six months and somehow, I still have skin. Regular massages and pedicures also in no way compare to that sort of health maintenance. And I do not feel that a 6-year old girl (or younger) needs to be told that having regular facials is a “habit” she should get into. To repair what? A scratch from the playground? This is so utterly ridiculous I am rapidly running out of words and I am not alone in my incredulity:

”Oh my God,” said Christine Carter, a sociologist and the author of ”Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents.” ”What are we coming to? Spas for our children?” She cautioned parents against sending their offspring to places where they are told, ”We’re going to treat you like a Kardashian.”

Madeline Levine, a child psychologist and author, called the child spa ”the worst idea ever.”

Now, don’t get me wrong- I don’t really think it’s a big deal to bring your young daughter with you to the salon to get her own little “pedicure” consisting of soaking her “pigglies” (vomit) in the water and pretty nail polish afterward. However, having young girls participate in actual adult cosmetic procedures is not only wasteful and ridiculous, it could also be problematic. These girls have eyes and ears- they will come to understand that some of these pampering experiences also serve to make them “prettier” and this is simply not a notion a small child should be introduced to. Playing with mommy’s make-up in front of the mirror at home? Ok. Having a $50 kiddie facial at a salon where the aesthetician calls her “princess?” Not right. Not normal. Not something we should even consider until at least middle school. For God’s sake, let them be LITTLE KIDS. They have their whole lives to feel like something on them needs to be more attractive, shiny or smooth. To ruminate over their stress levels and how much they need to be pampered. This should not be on their radar now, at all. It’s as simple as that.

(Image: Tania Kolinko/Shutterstock)