My daughter started asking for nail polish at age three. As I was picking up some organic lipstick at a boutique in San Diego, my daughter spied the beautifully-displayed tub of non-toxic Piggy Paint kids’ nail polish. She wanted some so I agreed.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Editorial guidelines.

She picked green Piggy Paint and was so jazzed that she asked me to paint her toes right away. I brushed the four toes peeking out of her sandals green and we proceeded to go to lunch with our friends. No big deal.

Then, she fell while walking out of the restaurant, skinning her elbow, knee, and hand. To calm her down enough to get into the car, I bribed offered to paint her fingernails, too.

She was instantaneously silent and happy. I told her that if she was the slightest bit fussy about anything for the rest of the day… I would take it off her new toddler nail polish. The end result was dream behavior.

She’s been wearing kids nail polish on and off since then.

Nontoxic Kids Nail Polish

Whatever you do, don’t put traditional nail polish made for adults on young kids, especially if they’re still in the habit of thumb or finger sucking.

Some adult nail polishes have formaldehyde, toluene, and phthalates, which can be toxic if they’re ingested.

Kids are best with nontoxic, water-based nail polishes which also happen to be much easier to clean up if they choose to apply it themselves.

Even with nontoxic kids nail polishes, it’s not ideal for kids to ingest them (with one exception mentioned below).

Piggy Paint is all-natural, water-based, eco-friendly, nontoxic kids nail polish so I wasn’t expecting it to have the staying power of normal nail polish.

She took a long bath and a little wore off and, to be honest, I’m glad to know it does.

Here are other nontoxic brands to try:

You may also want to try removing with a natural nail polish remover. Piggy Paint, at least, soaks off after a while in a bath. I’ve personally worn both Priti NYC and Zoya and feel that they need nail polish remover.

Since then, I’ve seen kids of almost all ages wearing nail polish. Though, I’ve heard that some preschools have rules about whether or not kids can wear it.

What age do you think is appropriate to start painting a child’s nails? Do you let them wear it to school? Please share.

EXPORE MORE IN KIDS

Katie Dillon is the managing editor of La Jolla Mom. She helps readers plan San Diego vacations through her hotel expertise (that stems from living in a Four Seasons hotel) and local connections. Readers have access to exclusive discounts on theme park tickets (like Disneyland and San Diego Zoo) and perks at luxury hotels worldwide through her. She also shares insider tips for visiting major cities worldwide, like Hong Kong, London, Paris, and Shanghai, that her family has either lived in or visits regularly (or both).

Explore More Kid-Friendly Fun

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

26 Comments

  1. I’ve been painting my daughters piggies since she was an infant….now, like your daughter, she is a ‘finger sucker’ so she is not allowed to have it on her finger nails unless it’s a special occasion (i.e. Birthday). Most of the girls in her preschool class also wear painted nails. I personally think it’s cute and completely harmless, especially with the ‘piggy paint’.
    .-= Tutus and Tantrumns´s last blog ..The Easter Birthday Bash =-.

    Reply

  3. My 2- and 4- yr old boys insist on having their toes painted whenever I do mine. I agree with T and T – I think it’s cute and harmless – and I love that color!

    Peryl

    Reply
  5. Pingback: Piggy Polish Goes on Toes! Nail Polish "Hello Sunrise"

  6. I’m sure it is a hard balance – but sounds like you have the right goals about it – not as a “how can I make my toddler as materialistic as possible” but as a fun motivator.

    Of course I know nothing about parenting!
    .-= Natalie´s last blog ..Changes =-.

    Reply

  7. Oh, YES! We’re BIG Piggy Paint fans in our house! I sell them on my shop too 🙂 Love to use it as a bribe!
    .-= Everyday Mama´s last blog ..Lucky Babies **GIVEAWAY** =-.

    Reply

  8. My girls LOVE to get their nails painted (2 & 4 years old). I think it looks cute I just have to keep them still until it dries.

    Reply

  9. Really??? nail polish??? why is this society in such a rush to turn our LITTLE GIRLS into teenagers/adolescents so fast? lip gloss, jewelry, the shorts that are just TOO SHORT etc…. why can’t we just let our little girls be exactly what they are??? absurd.

    Reply

    1. Thank you for this post!!! I have ten-year old twins who want to grow up way too fast. The hard thing is that a lot of their friends do. We explained to them that there is no rush to grow up and that they got to middle school. Glad to have found some support!

      Reply

    3. Totally agree let the little innocent pure babies stay that way as long as possible they have plenty of time to be grown.
      Kids are growing up to fas not living out each stage having to be responsible so early. Being grown is overated anyway you get to pay bills, possibly disrespected by unraised rude grownups, or, maybe your own kids and work until you die may or maynot get sick and in between that you gotta find love joyand happiness anyway by any means necessary.

      Reply

  11. exuse me but i need to tell you something an infant CANOT wear nailpolish yet i mean they have such young nails they should at least be 11 to use it there nails could turn yellow and become brittle and crack because its too harsh on their nails

    Reply

  12. I think middle school (12 years old) Some think its girly and cute to let little girls start polishing nails at young ages. I think you are allowing them to grow up fast. In their minds they are doing a grown up act, then they want colored lip gloss and make up and these things begin to make a child feel grown and I believe it causes them to mature faster and can later be a problem to try and slow them down. I personally do not have any girls, but I have seen this in daughters of my friends and it has shown a negative effect. One specific teen is now always dyeing her hair without moms permission, polishing her nails dark or loud colors and she wears large HOOP earrings and short shorts….. She is interested in smelling and looking good for the BOYS…. NOW mom is wondering where did she go wrong…. I think…. mom let her grow up too fast. It’s a personal preference, but I would want my little girl as natural for as long as possible 🙂 Good luck parents out there!

    Reply

    1. When girls try to fulfill the societally-expected role for women which they can see in any piece of pop culture (i.e, eye candy and sex objects), we’re all, “Oh no! Children grow up too fast!” It’s never “Oh, no, children are being presented with shitty gender roles to grow into! Maybe we shouldn’t give our money to pop culture that perpetuates those shitty gender roles!”, just “Children are trying to fill those shitty gender roles TOO SOON. Let’s judge parents who are tired of fighting to keep those shitty gender roles at bay without any support from society at large.”

      Reply

  13. I think it has to be a balance of it all… Make up, short shorts n nail polish and kids growing up so fast… Those things don’t make them grow up any faster those are just trends. Your relationship with your kids is the most important. If you just buy all these things to cover a lack of relationship then that’s a recipe for disaster. Our teenagers are in trouble in this generation sometimes coz I think most parents are focus n driven to provide stability with providing material things and are over worked and no longer focusing on the relationship we need to maintain with our kids. Like everything it’s balance. Your daughter who wears nail polish at a young age isn’t DOOMED for skankness lol that’s ridiculous!! I have four kids ages 15, 11, 6 and one turning 1 soon 🙂 trust me
    I know it’s the relationship you build with your kids that count 😉 there’s worse things than short shorts, nail polish n makeup in the world that can hurt and damage our kids futures… And our best weapon against that are the values, relationship and love we share with our kids
    <3

    Reply

  14. Sounds like we think a lot alike. I too forgot what age a baby transitions to toddler and then to big girl! I wrestled with the dilemma of nail polish for Lil S who is 4. I eventually settled on only water-based and a light color. AND we only use it for “special occasions” as well as the occasional bribe, I mean incentive. 🙂

    Reply

  15. I think it’s fine. BUT, do try a water-based PEEL OFF nail polish. Bo-Po (by Worx Toys) is a good brand, as is Ally Kats. Those formulations are nontoxic and safe and need no remover to take off.

    Reply

  16. My gosh. The post is about NAIL VARNISH. not short shorts or make up or whatever. My little girl wears nail varnish because she loves my collection and asks if she can wear it. She is a four year old who wears nail varnish at times that does not mean we are forcing them to be older than what they are. Short shorts…make up…different story.

    Reply

  17. In all honesty living in a family that thinks if you were nail polish at a young age makes you think your more mature and want to were some life clothing in the later years made me relize how (I don’t want to say stupid but) stupid that they think little girls will suddenly think that, oh nail polish I’m a grown up now !, Because in my experience I never felt that way all I thought was , I wanna make my nails look pretty , and , why can’t I were polish when my cousin or sister is?, I never thought that all of the sudden I’m a grown . This is just my prefrence so be free to argue with me

    Reply

    1. I completely agree with this. I wanted to wear nail polish and makeup when I was little because my mom was wearing it and I thought it looked pretty–NOT because I wanted to be grown up. Mom only let me wear makeup on special occasions and Halloween, though, and nail polish is makeup.

      Reply

  18. I believe middle school (age 11). Even then, no loud colors like fire engine red or neon colors or sparkles. Respectable neutral colors like pale pink or white. No acrylic nails until she’s grown. No lip gloss. Only lip balm. Perhaps shaping the eyebrows once she’s 13. No colors in the hair.

    I believe in children being children.

    Reply