A Hairy Question?

[Obeg]

Simple question - at what age did you (or dd) begin shaving your legs before a meet? If still not - why not?

9 year old R1 - next meet is State. Poor thing is just a naturally hairy creature and we are thinking of letting her shave her legs for the meet...?

 

[nevertooold]

My dd's are 10.5 and 12.5 and neither shave their legs yet, or want to. (older one does shave armpits) The why not, for us personally is b/c we have seen no need for it. They are not interested in boys yet and are homeschooled so there is no peer pressure to shave. They have their entire adult life ahead to have to shave their legs so the later they start the better imo.

I am certain the judges do not care if my daughters have hair on their legs.

I assume that my girls will probably want to start shaving some time after real puberty hits, whenever that may be.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

I started competing at 13...I'd been shaving for a year or two already, although not religiously until I started competing. I still am much smoother pre-meet than at any other time. Is your daughter begging you to let her shave? If not, I definitely wouldn't place too much emphasis on it, because that could make her more self-conscious...if you treat it like having a little hair is a big deal, she'll feel like it's a big deal. I wouldn't worry too much about legs - some girls, even before puberty, have darker body hair than others. If that's the case, I'd let her go "natural"...don't want to be instilling aesthetic obsessions in the little munchkins.

(I speak as a teenage gymnast, treating this scenario as I would if one of my 9-year-old teammates told me they'd shaved their legs for a meet: )

 

[Shelovesthebars]

If she is selfconscience about it and she wants to, then I see no reason not to. It has nothing to do with boys, just a young lady's body perception. However, if she is not bothered by it, then let it be. Leave it up to her. My oldest dd was very hairy (ok extremely) where girls were making fun of her and she was self conscience. We let her shave. She has grown out of it and for some reason she is not extremely hairy anymore and it is not do to shaving.
I know she wasn't thinking about boys and shaving didn't magically make her think about them either so I don't get that part of it. She was 17 before she even looked at the opposite sex as anything other that yucky. And it matters what your daughter thinks either way whether the judges mind or not.
I guess what I am saying is let your daughter's self image be your guide in making the decision.

 

[gymdog]

Has she brought it up? I'm not sure I would want to get into all of it at that age. It wouldn't be that big a deal, but then if she doesn't keep shaving then she might find the growout kind of itchy, although I guess good moisturizer could fix that.

If she hasn't brought it up (or it was just passing rather than something she is really stuck on) I wouldn't introduce it to her. Aerodynamics aren't THAT important in gymnastics

If she is really stuck on it, mom could help her, this one is not a huge deal in my opinion although I probably wouldn't just let a 9 year old go at it with a razor. I agree it doesn't necessarily have to do with boys - young girls can be very self conscious and self aware of it even though they are not trying consciously or unconsciously to "attract" anyone. It is just a "difference" they become aware of and pick up on as a negative thing (unfortunate but there it is). But even if she's mentioned being aware of it but doesn't really know about shaving and isn't bringing that up, I'd probably just let it go at this point.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

My DD us also 9. She has asked about shaving s couple times and occasionally brings up a concern about being 'hairy'. She has pretty dark hair on her arms & legs. I have not let her yet because I feel she is too young to understand the upkeep once she starts.

It really is a personal decision for you & your DD. One thing to keep in mind is that the judges & others at the meet probably don't even notice.

Good luck to her at States. My DD is Rookie 2 here in NC we have one more meet next weekend then States as well.

 

[GymnastsMomma]

Well, I don't think our family will be shaving for a while seeing as my oldest is a boy, second has alopecia (has no hair on her body whatsoever, including head.).. and my third is only 4.

Just remember that once shaved, it only comes back thicker-so in a couple years (if she starts now) she will really have to maintain it.

IMHO, I would wait till she is a bit older. But this is really up to your and your DD.

Good luck to you both

 

[marie83]

I agree with the others who have said that a) It is something for your and your dd to decide and b) only if she has brought it up!

I think I'd have been mortified if one of my parents had told me I needed to shave my legs at such a young age! However I think it is also vital to be able to discuss it with eachother too! When I started shaving my legs I was 11 and I did it in secret because my parents wouldn't let me - however I'd got to the stage where I felt self conscious about it and I was training with girls a lot older than me who all shaved too.

I have a 9 yr old gymnast who is quite hairy but It doesn't bother me as her coach and I'm pretty sure it isn't an issue with the other girls in the group, aged between 8 and 10. I'm also a judge and I can't say I've ever noticed whether a gymnast is hairy or not!!!

On a kind of related note we have a hairy gymnast who is now a teenager and she still doesn't shave, despite her mum trying to make her! It still isn't an issue with the other girls of a similar age it just seems to be her mum who is bothered by it!