I have to agree with Catherine on this.
I don't know what was going on in the daycare, but I do know that during the day the teachers are often looking for things that keep the kids engaged. To a 3 year old putting on make up or finger painting is probably pretty much the same thing.
This is probably one of those things that makes parents uncomfortable but to kids, it's just something fun to do. I think we project a lot of our insecurities and fears on our children.
Recently someone I was talking with said she was glad she wasn't growing up now. I asked why, she said because it is so dangerous for kids these days and they have to grow up so fast. I politely pointed out that, frankly, that is simply not true. Kids in the US today are the safest most protected kids at any time in human development, so much so, that they now take longer to mature. Recent research shows that 30 or 40 years ago someone was pretty much as mature as they were going to get at 18 or 20. Today the same level of maturity takes about 26 years to attain.
Okay, got a little off the subject there.
If that had been my daughter Sammi when she was 3, I would have asked her if she liked it and gotten a read on what she really thougtht of it and taken it from there.
Of course, now 11 years old, Sammi is more concerned with her soccer stats (she was just asked to try out for the Olympic Development Program) and getting her advanced open water certification.
Jeff
