Do you have a question about any aspect of bringing up children? Qualified life coach Joanne Mallon is here to help. Simply send your question in to this addressand say if you'd like your name changed.

Jo wrote in with a question about her niece. She says:

My niece is 6. The other day she saw my sister shaving her legs and asked if she could shave hers too as she had been teased at school for having 'hairy legs'. My niece does have dark brown hair and against her pale skin her leg hair is probably more noticeable than that of her blonde haired friends. Do you or other ParentDish mums have any advice on how to deal with this as she is now conscious of her leg hair?

Here's our life coach's reply:

Dear Jo

Thank you for writing in, it's an interesting one. I think when I was six my biggest dilemma was whether I could fit two pieces of Bazooka Joe in my mouth at once. Times have certainly changed, little girls are definitely maturing earlier, but I would say that six is still a bit too young to start shaving your legs.

Time is on your side right now, because as it's the winter you can encourage her into trousers and tights and hope that by the time the spring comes she'll have forgotten about it. Though in a way this is only delaying the issue, as it's a conversation most mums and daughters will need to have at some point.

I've approached this with my own daughter by having a frank conversation about body hair, which has included letting her have a good peek under my arms and down my stubbly legs. I've shown her that body hair is simply something that humans have. All bodies change as we grow up, just as a baby's body is different to a six-year-old's. I hope this means that she can root this experience in the real world, and see that actually, it's no big deal at all.

Growing body hair does seem to be one of the parts of puberty that children can be very uncomfortable with at first - this is why some will feel self conscious about it, and others will tease their classmates. I recommend a book called Hair in Funny Places by Babette Cole which deals with body changes in a humorous way which is appropriate for younger children.

You sound like a nice caring aunt, so perhaps you could talk to your niece about this (if her mum agrees). Sometimes children will take more notice of an adult who's not their parent.

Best wishes

Joanne

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