Parenting Rite of Passage: How to scrub permanent marker from a baby face

by | Parenting & Family

I spent my daughter’s nap time pondering what I was going to do about my weekly photo post, when her chattering and giggles caught my attention.

There’s nothing I love so much as the sound of her giggles. In fact, I grabbed my gratitude journal to make a note of how well she entertains herself during her quiet play time, and how much I love her giggles when this little face popped out of her room and into my view:

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She had covered her face with blue permanent marker. She said she was putting on makeup.

Oh, my, yes, she was proud of herself.

I crowd-sourced the issue with friends on FaceBook and Twitter, and received a wide range of suggestions. Some were much more helpful than others, for instance, we didn’t try the steel wool.

I’ve rubbed her down with olive oil a couple times, and scrubbed her face several times. The most effective treatment was to apply a layer of coconut oil, let it sit for a few minutes, and then gently rub it in a bit before washing it off.

But there’s still a hint of blue. Her hair and eyebrows are the worst; the color does not want to let go of her hair.  Oh, yes, my little punk got it through her blonde curls, as well.

Since yesterday, so many of my friends have shared stories from when their kids did this as well.

Did this ever happen to you?

Judy Schwartz Haley

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