A Melbourne business marketing ‘make-up parties’ to girls as young as four has been slammed for sexualising children. The business offers to ‘makeover’ children with blush, eye liner, eye shadow and nail-paint.

Kids Free 2B Kids founder and Generation Next speaker Julie Gale described the business as harming to children. “Parents need to wake up. This is not a good idea. This is not just sparkly, fairy, fun face make-up parties, this is stylising your four-year-old as an adult,” she said, “and that is not appropriate.”

“It is totally unnecessary and it is feeding into the sexualisation of children, which is an increasing issue.”

Business owner Lidia Kannemyer denied the parties were sexualising young girls. “I target the four-to-10 age group and the type of make-up that I do is very tasteful pastels. A little bit of eye shadow, a little bit of glimmer,” she said.

From the Herald Sun.

Writer Tristan Boyd, Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.