Makeup for Second Graders??

The only thing I can remember about second grade was that I had a crush on my teacher, Miss Miranda. She selected me as the Handsomest boy in the class. I received an oversized cardboard ribbon for that honor. Of course, that was when I had hair, good teeth, no facial hair, and I didn't have to unsnap the top button on my trousers in order to avoid buying he next biggest size pants.

(I wonder if a teacher could get away with awarding such a prize these days?)

Now, I'll admit that somedays I can't remember what I ate for breakfast, but I'm pretty certain that there was not one girl in the second grade at Christ the King school in Manville, New Jersey who wore makeup. Not the silly, dress-up fake stuff that girls used on themselves and their Barbie dolls. I'm talking about wearing the real thing to school. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

I can remember when my daughters were eight years old, and I'd have to say that purchasing makeup for them was the last thing on my mind. Or my wife's mind. I might've been chaperoning a class trip to the Lake Tobias wildlife park, or trying to figure out how to affix training wheels on my daughter's bike without smashing my knuckles with the adjustable wrench. Maybe even taking that daughter to see The Lion King. But I don't recall makeup being in the mix.

Joel Carden is the executive vice president of Pacific World Corporation, and this charletan wants us to believe that in 2011, it's time for our 8-year old daughters to begin wearing makeup. Carden's corporation is partnering with WalMart to introduce this March the Geo Girl line of cosmetics for girls between the ages of 8-12.

Carden is trying to peddle the fact that this line of cosmetics is enviromentally friendly because it will be packaged in recyclable paper and renewable corn. (Can you eat the package after the cosmetics are extracted from it?). It's a full line of 69 products from blush and mascara to lipstick and anti-aging products. Now I might need some anti-aging assistance...course my wife would say, "who'd want to preserve that?"... but I'm not sure any 8-year old girls I know need that type of product for another 40 years.

Carden also stresses that the products are healthy products because they're made from natural ingredients, including cruelty-free honey (did they let the bees sting them before the asked for the honey?).

I'm sorry, this guy's a moron. In an article on Stylelist.com, Carden claims that he wants to make it clear that the company isn't pushing for girls to begin to wear makeup at any specific age. He's then quoted that it's a decision between a parent and his/her child as to what age is appropriate for wearing makeup. He just wants to provide a quality product, just in case 8-year olds and their parents are in the market for it.

Yeah, and I've got a plot of land somewhere in the Everglades I'll sell you real cheap that has no alligators or snakes.

I saw this ploy when I last worked in higher education. After having been in that industry for nearly 20 years, we began to recruit high school students when they were in 9th grade. How many high school freshmen do you know that have any clue about college? But it was an attempt to begin to influence the decision-making of those students and their parents years before they were ready to begin the college search. The goal was to achieve TOMA, or marketing slang for 'top of mind awareness.' So that when they began to look for colleges in the second half of their junior years, we'd have already bombarded them with enough four-color glossy publications, emails and phone calls that they'd at least give our college a look.

Carden is using the same strategy. He's attempting to create enough TOMA so that even if second graders and their parents have the sanity to say 'No' to makeup, as the girl gets older, Walmart is there to serve her every beauty need, and Carden's Pacific World Corp. is positioned to gain financially.

I'll save the self-esteem theme for the next post, but I think when our daughters are in second grade, we should be attending their tea parties with make-believe guests, we should be reading them bedtime stories, we should be taking them to the park to swing on the swings, and we should be helping them figure out how to ride a bicycle. We can also begin to include them in some things that interest us, like maybe fishing or sports or another hobby.

We should also be telling them, when they're 8-years old, that who they are and what they become has everything to do with their heart and their soul and their brain. Not the color of the lipstick they choose to wear.

P.S. Don't forget to tell your daughter that you love her.