Kids and Hair Decisions (2)

Young girl brushing her own long hair — Photo: Shutterstock

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With the girls running around and playing, they inevitably messed up their hair. And even on Sunday’s at church services, the 10 minutes between Sunday school and the Morning Services was enough to have a quick game of tag, and completely dishevel their hair.

Because of this, I developed a theory that when it comes to children’s hair, you should choose a style that can be easily maintained and easily repaired when messed up. If it takes you 20 minutes every morning to style your child’s hair (brushing out all the knots, or waxing/gelling so that it stands up spiky) you should reconsider the styles chosen.

A good rule of thumb is to find a hairstyle that the child can manage on his or her own, so that all you may need to do is tweak it a little when the child is done. It will give the child a sense of ownership of his or her hair, and can help the child develop pride in his or her grooming habits.

This is where the stylist can be a big help. Discuss the situation with the stylist and tell him or her that you want to find a haircut that the child will like, but that he or she can manage on his or her own. The stylist can take a little time and show the child what needs to be done and see whether the child is capable of copying the steps. If so, problem solved. If not, then an alternative should be chosen, or at least a compromise style used that can be worn multiple ways.

Happy little girl in a hair salon — Photo: Shutterstock

This means that if a little girl wants her hair very long, you can let it grow out gradually as she shows she can maintain it properly. And if your son wants a stand-up Mohawk style, you’re not stuck spending an hour to make the hair stiff and straight every morning. When the child can maintain a look, they can have it. Well, at the very least you can discuss it with them.

For me, when I finally started complaining that I didn’t want my hair cut by Cousin George anymore, my mother frankly told me that as long as she paid for the haircut, she made the decision of how it was cut, and that when I started paying for my own haircuts, it would be my choice. I began doing odd jobs and mowing lawns around the neighborhood to make money and saving it so that I could go to HER hairdresser and get a different style.

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