Unpainted Childhood

Unpainted Childhood

Nov 8 , 2025. By Eden Sahle ( Eden Sahle is founder and CEO of Yada Technology Plc. She has studied law with a focus on international economic law. She can be reached at edensah2000@gmail.com. )

I often see girls as young as ten with faces fully made up; foundation, blush, mascara, glittering nails, and lipstick that announces itself from across the room. Children styled to look like young ladies. I see them at children's birthdays, malls, restaurants, playgrounds, even in church. Their clothes and expressions say “grown up,” but their eyes still hold the softness of childhood. It’s jarring.

When I speak to some of their parents, many of them tell me the same thing: “She wanted to wear it.” It sounds harmless. The child asks, the parent agrees, everyone’s happy. But behind that simple answer hides a quiet crisis of values: a surrender to pressure, to imitation, to the growing belief that a girl’s confidence must come from what she applies to her skin rather than what she builds within herself.

As a mother, I’ve seen firsthand how early this imitation begins. My daughter Gabriella isn’t even two years old. Every morning, she watches me get ready. She sees me apply deodorant and rub sunscreen onto my face. Because I don’t wear makeup, foundation, lipstick, or mascara there isn’t much to imitate. But even then, she insists I “put some” on her too. I smile, pretend to apply it, and she lights up, kisses me, and tells me how much she loves me. It’s a tender moment, but it’s also a daily reminder: children don’t just listen to us, they study us. Every gesture, every routine, every choice becomes a lesson.

When little girls constantly see their mothers applying makeup, they learn that beauty is something to be put on. They absorb the idea that a bare face is incomplete, that natural skin isn’t enough. And once that idea takes root, it doesn’t go away easily. What begins as imitation quickly becomes identity.

Many mothers tell me, “It’s just a phase, she's experimenting.” It’s harmless, they say. And society rewards that imitation. Compliments pour in “You look so pretty!” “What did you do differently!” and suddenly the makeup isn’t part of an imitation anymore; it’s a ticket to approval. The child starts to believe that her unpainted face doesn’t deserve the same praise. And once that belief sinks in, the natural joy of being herself is replaced by a dependence on artificial beauty. They start to believe that They are not good enough. They learn early on that beauty is something you apply, not something you feel.

We’ve entered an age where little girls are growing up in reverse, they portray who they think they should be instead of themselves. They see beauty not as natural, but applied. And if you’re not keeping up with the trend, you’re invisible.

We rarely pause to ask what this means to a child’s emotional development. When a fifteen-year-old is taught even unintentionally that she must apply makeup to feel beautiful, we are teaching her to skip an entire stage of life. Childhood becomes something to hurry through instead of something to cherish. The innocence that should be protected becomes an image to be polished.

When beauty becomes something you apply, it becomes something that can be taken away. A girl who feels beautiful only with makeup will always chase that feeling through products rather than self-respect. She learns to measure her image rather than values like kindness, intelligence, and creativity.

We cannot blame these children. They’re not the architects of this culture; they are the victims. The clearest mirrors they have are their parents, especially their mothers. If they see us constantly creating a false appearance, they will inherit our insecurities; and if they see us comfortable in our own skin, they will inherit our confidence.

It’s easier for me to shield my daughter from makeup than it is for a mother who wears it daily. Years ago, I decided to avoid all sorts of makeup except for very special occasions, for my health, for my skin, for simplicity, and because my father taught me to believe that I'm naturally beautiful. That belief has stayed with me, and every day, my husband Mike, who also isn’t a fan of makeup, reminds me of it.

When I look at these young girls covered with makeup, I see confusion. I see children trying to navigate a world that they are not ready for.

We can reclaim childhood for our children by setting boundaries that are rooted in self esteem. This isn’t about judging parents who wear makeup. It’s about recognizing how easily adult’s habits spill into children’s lives. Every mother has to be aware of her child’s development of a sense of identity.

Letting children be children isn’t old-fashioned, it’s an act of preservation. It’s protecting their imagination, their innocence, their freedom and that their worth is not up for visual assessment.

We mothers choose health over hype, confidence over cosmetics, and authenticity over appearance and make sure that our daughters stand tall without makeup. Let’s give them that gift back. Childhood isn’t a phase to be outgrown; it’s a foundation to be protected.

We don’t need more little girls pretending to be women. We need more little girls proud to be girls, messy, bright, curious, fearless, and real. We need to give them time, time to grow, to dream, to play, and time to be innocent. Childhood isn’t a rehearsal for womanhood; it’s its own beautiful chapter. Let’s let them live, unfiltered, unpainted, and see a reflection of themselves in the mirror.

PUBLISHED ON Nov 08,2025 [ VOL 26 , NO 1332]