My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any a

She needs chemo before an operation for a bone tumour.

She has been looking at photos, and decided she wants pink %26amp; purple bandanas for her head, and has asked if she can wear makeup and pierce her ears - since she feels the photos of the [mostly teenage] girls with bandanas, make-up and earrings still look really girlie.

Normally I would not consider makeup and earrings as being appropriate for her age, and have tried mentioning the possibility of girlie dresses instead, but she does not seem too impressed.

Right now though, I'm thinking makeup isn't permanent, so it could be a temporary allowance done tastefully and approriately, and if it going to help keep her spirits up, what harm is there in a pair of earring holes?

The oncologist says I need to decide quickly though, cos if she is going to get them pierced, she needs them done soon because when the chemo starts her immune system will become too weak to take the risk of infection.

Should I let her have this one?

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

I was 14, a freshman in high school, when I was diagnosed with cancer. Treatment was surgery and chemo. I was so distraught about losing my hair. Get her a wig that she can wear when you go out. It will make her feel a little more normal. It helped me feel somewhat normal - like I didn't stick out like a sore thumb. Plus, you can get her several different ones to try to make it a little fun. She can choose which one she wants to wear each day. I wore hats when I was at home or in the hospital.

Once she starts chemo, her blood counts will drop about 1 week after her first round is finished. At that time she will be extremely susceptible to infection. I don't know about piercing her ears now. If her ears aren't completely healed and she does get an infection, her future rounds of chemo could be postponed- and it is always best to stay on schedule.

Good luck.

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

Gosh I'm sorry that she's going through this. As for looking girly they do have bandanas with rhinestones in them and I'm sure if you look a bit you could get creative that way. I think if she really wants her ears done then you should go for it. She'd probably want to get them done when she's older anyhow.

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

Let her play with the makeup to her hearts content. I would wait though about the pierced ears because they could become a source of infection during chemotherapy. You may really want to insist that she not have them pierced while she is in active treatment. There is just too many little bacteria and germs that can end up delaying treatment should she get an infection. It can become very serious quite quickly . . so why risk it in the first place. Get her the clip on earrings instead.

Best wishes to you and your precious little one.

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

well, i personally think that you should let her have a little fun. she needs to know that after everything that is going on, you love her and enjoy her happiness.

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

A little blush and some lip gloss might do the trick, making her skin pink and pretty. Drawing in eyebrows with a soft brush might help too.

Try this and see what she thinks, I would imagine that foundation would not be necessary. Tasteful and natural being 2 rules you might want to mention.

Some cultures pierce the ears of newborns, so it might be ok for a 6 year old, and set ground rules now about how big and gaudy the rings can be. Ooooo, match the bandanas to the earings, cool. Stress that the piercing sites must be kept scupulously clean, and find a reputable person to do the piercing.

I would let her, it might help a lot, and with the tasteful and natural rules, she will feel and look pretty.

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

Many girls have their ears pierced as babies.However it takes 6-8 weeks for the ears to heal and when she has surgery she will have to take the earrings out-no jewelry in surgery at all. Maybe you could talk her into waiting until after chemo and the surgery is finished so it doesn't have to done twice.There are many chemical free make up kits for young girls -so I would say OK to light makeup after hair loss. Maybe even a little nail polish.

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

Sorry your little girl is going through this.

In these circumstances, I think anything that makes her feel better is ok, even if it's something you wouldn't normally allow. No, make up isn't age appropriate and I understand your doubts, but as you say, if it lifts her spirits and makes her better able to face chemo where is the harm in allowing this as a temporary privilege?

I remember when I was having chemo I found a couple of sites with 'hats with hair' that were suitable for kids; if I can find them again I'll post them here.

Good luck to you both

Edit** some links that might be of interest:

http://www.hatswithhair.com/

http://iparenting.com/resources/articles...

http://hairdana.com/

http://www.headcovers.com/children/

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

I think you should.

also why not just conside buying her a wig?

they can be somewhat expensive but they will help her self confindence damatically.

http://www.wigdeals.com/section/154/1/gi...

http://www.dosfordonts.com/Product%20Lis...

As for the makeup.

Ake sure you do it for her. or teach her how to.

and to do it with looking like a little slut! lol (:

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

I would recommend against piercing her ears just because of the risk of infection during chemotherapy. Get clip on earrings or the magnetic kind. Or get a bunch of toy rhinestone and let her stick them on.

As for makeup - while she is going through chemotherapy, her health should be the main concern, and getting her through it. I recommend getting a bunch of little girl makeup (check in a toy store) and let her go as crazy with it as she likes!

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

I would be leary on the ear peircing, simply bc of the risk of infection during chemo. I have had mine since 6. One of my holes got infected during treatment. I almost had to let it grow out, as well as remove my belly peircing, which would be equivalent as a new ear hole. There are a ton of clip on ear rings that are just as fashionable, a ton more than even 5 years ago.

Also, I caution against make up during chemo. The make up can soak into the pores and cause infection. However, when immune system (white blood count) is close to normal range, great idea. Just remember to keep it age appropriate. She doesnt have to look like a hooker to look femine with make up.

It is so hard to tell a 6 year old these things dont matter. But from experience, it is harder to tell an adult.

I would allow her these things with in reason, while giving her role models who bare their baldness. Maybe you could even shave your own head and go on a make up strike. The more she sees how unimportant hair and make up are really, the more comfortable she will be.

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

How about buying her the clip on earings?

ANd if she wants to wear some girlie make up then let her im sure once she get use to her temporary new look she will be more ok with it and will prbably not even want to wear make up all the time.

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

I work in Oncology field and have seen many pediatric patients. One bit of advice BEFORE I answer your question, make sure your daughter sees her dentist before starting Chemo because you want to make sure there are no dental issues that can be aggravated by the chemo.

I would let her have the earrings and a lil bit of makeup. Let her have some lip gloss!! My goodness, your daughter will be extremely ill and will not care about her looks once it starts, but she will appreciate the fact before it starts and it will be the thing that gets her through. KNOWING her mom let her have her ears pierced and she can wear makeup.

Also, check with locks of love for a wig!!

I hope you two hang in there. Make sure you talk to her and see what symptons she is having so her oncologist knows. It can be the difference between kicking cancer in to remission or being in treatment longer than necessary.

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

This must be so tough for you and your little girl. Personally, i would let her peirce her ears and wear age appropriate earings (little diamond/cubic zirconia studs are great because they can be small but still show really well). i wouldn't allow make-up, though. Maybe let her wear a softly coloured lip gloss and that should be good. Have you checked to find out where you can maybe get a little wig for her (if you think it is o.k and if she would like one..)? I think i have heard of some organization called "locs of love" or something similar that makes wigs for children with cancer.

My 6 year old needs chemotherapy and is terrified she will look like a boy when her hair goes. Any advice?

I lost all my hair to chemo at about that age, and I have always been a Tom-Boy, though, few people confused me for a boy.

I'm being treated for cancer for the third time, and I've had my fair share of baldness.

So, my advice:

BALD is BEAUTIFUL!

Once her hair starts falling out, itll probably be really itchy and you might want to shave it then. It gets really annoying to have hair all over you!

I like being bald, when you're little you can "accessorize" it, by putting glitter, or temporary tatoos on the nice smooth surface.

Or.

Hats can be fun.

There are lots of cute ones.

My kindergarten class had a Hat-Making party, where every kid got a blank hat and used fabric paint to make their own design. It was really fun and nice to have my own hand-made hat.

You could do this at home, with her favorite colors and stuff. Its good to have activities that boost the positivity/humor of going bald that your daughter can get involved in.

You could do a similar thing with bandanas, by getting some plain ones in her favorite color and using fabric markers to draw on them. They'd probably be adorable!

Wigs..

Locks of Love makes wigs for children who have lost their hair. Also, the Hannah Montana wigs are HUGE right now! Every little girl I know has one it seems.

The only problem with this is that they are itchy.

Paint her nails, get manicures!

GIRLY GIRLY GIRLY! They are fun, and how many boys do you see with nail polish??

As for make-up, I dont know, I started wearing make-up when I was like 13, you could tell her its something to look forward to when she is older, but that its not for little girls. Besides, make-up looks kind of silly on little girls.

Tinted lip gloss would probably be ok though. It has the idea of make-up without the harsh look of it.

As for pierced ears, I've had mine pierced since I was 6 months old. Cute little studs of her birthstone would look sooooo adorable!

Ultimately, its up to you as her parent to decide. Whatever you do, keep it fun, and keep it upbeat. Cancer sucks, but you can make it fun!!!!