Do I bleach my 8 year old daughter’s upper lip hair?

Quantum Leap

Dear Funny Problems,

My 8 year old daughter has noticeable (to me) upper lip hair and it’s particularly prominent this time of year with the lack of sun exposure. Do I leave it be and wait for someone at school to point out her ‘stache? Or is there a safe alternative to eliminating it and saving her from a hairy situation with her peeps? She seems unaware of the issue so I’m inclined to let it be BUT, it’s just a matter of time before it’s brought to her attention and bumming her out. Please advise.

Mother of Whiskers

Dear M.O.W.

There is nothing that compares to the love that a mother has for her child.   I can relate to your post.  I think any mother could.  We anticipate these hurts our kids are going to feel and want to intercept them and prevent them from happening.  Like that old show, “Quantum Leap,” where Dr. Sam Beckett travels back in time “striving to put right what once went wrong.” ( I took that line from the show’s opening credit.)

The thing is, everybody has some feature that others will pick apart.  It’s one of those unfortunate parts of growing up. When I was young I had this enormous freckle on my cheek.  It was like this big island of freckle that all of the other freckles stayed away from.  My brothers and sisters picked on me for it.  It was a marker for how people described me.  “You know Funny Problems, short, long hair, bangs, big freckle on her cheek.”  You want to know one of the only people that didn’t talk about the big freckle on my cheek?  My mom.   

The fact of the matter is, your daughter is only 8.  She hasn’t noticed it yet, and like you said, maybe some sunshine would give her ‘stache the natural highlights that would make it less noticeable.  And if and when she does notice and inquires about it, perhaps then you can talk to your pediatrician about good ways to handle the situation.

We can’t “Quantum Leap” our kids awkward phases.  They must suffer through them.  We all must suffer through them.  

PS.  I eventually grew out my bangs and that big freckle on my cheek just sort of went away.  I don’t miss it or anything, but the thought of it does make me smile.  Being a kid can be pretty rough.

FP