Awww crap, look what my kindergartener wants to do to her hair
Okay, so every morning when we wake up and get ready, I pretty much always mutter WTF when Zoey picks out her outfit. Like here are a few that stand out in my mind.
When I drop her off at school I see girls everywhere wearing these super cute matchy-matchy outfits and here I am wishing I brought along my bullhorn so I can make a public service announcement to the world.
ME: I DID NOT DRESS MY CHILD TODAY!!!
But it really wouldn’t matter because I know what a few of the moms are thinking. Not all of them, but a few. They’re thinking How the F can you let your child wear that in public?
So I’ve been racking my brain and giving it some thought to come up with an answer to their question and I think I’ve come up with my answer. I don’t really give a shit what she wears. I mean no, I don’t let her wear ANYTHING she wants, like it can’t show too much skin and it can’t be like a bathing suit in the middle of winter, but if my kiddo thinks she looks awesome, that’s what matters. Yup, kiddo, if you’re holding your head high, then you rock that fugly outfit.
And no wonder she thinks she looks awesome. I mean if kindergarteners designed the runway, it would be pink and purple and sparkly and rainbowy and clashy and gaudy and a lot of other bad “y” words. But that’s the shit they like. So I try to let her express herself.
And then this happened.
A month or so ago we were hanging out at this park when we saw this girl who probably about ten or eleven and she had her hair dipped. Do you know what that is? Basically it looked like someone dipped the last few inches of her blonde ponytail in blue ink. Was it cool? Yeah. But she was older. A lot older. So when Zoey asked, “can I get that,” my answer was an emphatic “we’ll see.”
Cut to a few weeks later.
ZOEY: Mom, when can I get my hair dyed like that girl?
ME: What girl?
Even though I knew exactly what girl she was talking about. I was stalling.
ZOEY: The one at the park.
ME: Soon. Maybe.
ZOEY: I want mine pink.
ME: Of course you do.
And then I thought about it. A lot. She’s only five and a half. Is she too young to get her hair dyed? Will the other moms judge me and think I’m being irresponsible? I mean other girls her age are getting their ears pierced and that’s way more permanent. Hair-dipping only lasts like a month. And who am I to say no? I mean yeah, I’m her mom and I say no to shit allllll the time, but that’s to candy and weapons and other shit that will hurt her. This is totally different. This would be saying no to her creativity. And if wearing something creative builds her self-confidence, then who am I to say no?
So I took her in to get it done.
She’d never had her hair washed like this before and she was verrrrry skeptical.
Yes, that’s a dragon tattoo on her neck. She went through a two-day goth phase.
And then the unveiling. Eeeeeeks, you should have seen her face when she looked in the mirror. She was, hmmm, this is gonna sound totally cheesy, but she was tickled pink.
Da da da daaaaaaa. And here it is!!
Personally I really like it. Plus we live in the totally boring burbs so I’m kinda psyched that she has a funky side. And I get to call her Pinkalicious now. Well, once I did, until she said Mommmm, and made me swear I’d never do that again.
I mean if she had picked black or green or a mohawk or her whole head or something, I don’t think I’d be loving it so much, but somewhere down the line I’m sure she is gonna pick things I don’t like. And yeah, I’ll probably try to convince her not to do a lot of shit over the years because I don’t like it, but I hope I don’t always succeed.
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Is this a toy store/hairdresser? I’ve never seen anything like that.
How cool is that! Our schools do not allow hair colors that would be unnatural, so we allow them to do what they want in the summer as long as it’s gone by the first day of school. This past summer my 12 year old got a hot pink hombre
So basically your schools don’t want the children to have a creative outlet. Lol what a bunch of lameos!
Right? My thoughts exactly! !
WOW!! Your school doesn’t allow you to do anything that would be unnatural? I understand why some schools have uniforms, and I’m all for dress code. I mean really…who wants to see a 10 year old in a skimpy top and a skirt that barely covers her who-ha?! There’s just something about that rule that disturbs me. Dress codes are generally fairly black and white. i.e., skirts and shorts should be no more than x inches above the knee, no sleeveless tops, etc…but who are they to determine what is natural!
I’m sure it’s a wonderful school. I’m not trying to attack you, or your school but I could easily argue that a brunette colouring her hair blonde is unnatural. It’s not her/his ‘natural’ colour, so technically that is unnatural right? Do they allow that? I may be wrong but I suspect yes.
What about the little boy who wants to wear a dress to school? Can he do that or is it ‘unnatural’? I just don’t feel that it’s the schools right to decide what is natural for someone’s child, and I’m just a little surprised that something like that even exists.
Good for you though for letting your kids be who they are outside of school!
Great job momma!!
I am a firm believer that you have to learn to pick your battles when raising kids. Quite frankly, my daughter’s outfits (whether they match, etc) is somewhere near the bottom of my list. I have set limits about baring skin. We jokingly call her Punky Brewster and then had to find a set of DVD’s so she could watch the show (which she loves, BTW). Zoey’s hair looks really cute, and the smile on her face is priceless. If she gets tired of it, it’ll grow out. In the meantime, you made her month (not just her day). No harm, no foul!
My daughter is 11 and has her’s done, too, (though we did Kool-Aid at home). And she has hand-drawn tattoos on the inside of her arm. It’s a huge step up from what used to be on the inside of her arms. Kids need a way to express themselves. I think better hair-dipping and doodles (or neck tattoos, I love that!) than the myriad of other troubles that they will face and could get in trouble with to express themselves, such as drugs and drinking and…. This isn’t so bad.
All my kids a grown now so I love to read about yours. You go mom.
I think Zoey’s hair looks pretty cool!! It’s so AWESOME that Zoey is so original!! Most kids in her class are probably working with a box of 12 crayons, but Zoey’s got the huge 100 box of crayons to work with!! What a wonderful, creative little girl you have!! You must be so proud of Zoey!!
I let my youngest, Daphne, get her hair colored at 3. They didn’t use developer but she wanted pink and purple streaks like mommy had and we did it. Her hair was so blonde that her hair stayed tinted for 8 months or so. It was awesome and she LOVED IT. I got so many compliments and I enjoy letting her express herself –she’s little and there’s no reason to say no to something that isn’t going to hurt them or someone else. Also, I invested in hair chalk and I’ve done her entire head before taking her to school. I am THAT mom that those judgy moms hate. I say– let them explore life. There are way too many serious things to say no about than to worry about saying no to temporary hair coloring.
That’s awesome! I let my kids pick their clothes (as long as they are clean & weather appropriate.) i when my oldest was in 5th grade I let him dye his hair blue for finally making honor roll. It totally helps their self-esteem & individualism.
With mom!
Since 2010 I have had bright coloured hair (pink, purple, blue, green just to name a few) and I love the look of horror on a parents face when their child asks if they can have hair like mine!
I allowed my 8 year old to have a blue streak put in her hair this past November. We did it for Diabetes Awareness month (she has Type 1 diabetes), but it’s still in there. We had it dyed on the underside of her hair, so you can really only see it when her hair is pulled up or if it hangs just right, but she thought it was so COOL! (I kinda did too!!!) I agree with you: no harm, no foul! Let them express their creative side! My daughter has the same creative (sometimes “ugly”) outfit days, but hey, she feels beautiful, and who am I to judge? This post is great!!
I think it looks great! I try really hard not to b**t into my 11 year old’s fashion but when he starts wearing ripped jeans to school… I guess I become a little scary, enough that he goes and change 😀 Terrible I know. But someone’s gotta do the ugly things 😛
Zoe you look awesome! 🙂
I love it! (Coming from a mom with blue tips) lol
you are great mom for letting her express herself like this and i think it looks awesome!
Totally cute! As someone that has some pink and purple in her own hair at 35,(cuz I’ve wanted to do this my whole life) I’m so glad you’re trying to nourish her creative side, instead of trying to kill it. It’s adorable, and just enough to be noticeable, but not overwhelming! Love it!
My younger sister had a terrible time making decisions when she was very young. One day, she decided she wanted to dye her hair red (like hooker red). She was a twin and wanted to look as different as she could from her twin sister. Begrudgingly, my mom let her. She was in 4th grade. The teachers at the Catholic school called my mom and basically scolded my mom. My mom told them off and said that this kid struggles to make decisions and this is just hair. She’ll grow out of it. Well, she’s now 35 years old and still has very red hair. She gets compliments everywhere she goes. It’s her. It fits her personality. Kudos to my mom for letting us make decisions (that are not life-threatening) for ourselves.
As someone who has been dying her hair very red since an early age and is now 30, I am super happy to hear there are other women like me with a full head of bold red! Sometimes you just know what color you were meant to have.
love it !!! she looks awesome !!!! mother an daughter rock
I let my 3yr old dress herself and we look a lot like your pictures every single day. She has curly hair that she doesn’t like to let me brush either so half the time she literally looks like a rag-a-muffin kid. Then I drop her at daycare on my way to work and remember that she’s going to basically destroy what she has on with marker, food, paint, and whatever else they are allowed to play with. I then realize I think I’m smarter than the other moms who have their kids dressed in head to toe matching ($$$) outfits that are pink, purple, and sparkly. If she wrecks what she has on at least I have the other half of that outfit at home! And I LOVE the tips! My 8yr old wants to do it but her school doesn’t allow it either. We’ve snuck in hair chalk here and there though.
Well done. I love it.
My nephew is 28, when he was a teen-ager he wanted to be blonde and it was going to happen no matter what so my sister did it for him so it looked good. She also let him have Bulls shaved in the back of his head for the Chicago Bulls. He’s a great guy now with a good job and will someday be a great parent.
You rock! I am still dressing my 24 months old toddler in whatever the heck matchy with mommy outfit that I like, but I know that is gonna end soon. Your daughter is learning to do what makes HER happy and enjoying what SHE likes. I am all for it. There are plenty of grown ups struggling to figure out that those two things are major happiness components. Kudos to you.
Can’t lie. I kinda want to do that to my hair. Super cute.
my daughter is a hair stylist and does this for kids all the time both of my granddaughters have theirs streaked with blonde. DO NOT DO IT AT HOME!! LET A PROFESSIONAL DO IT
I did my own daughters hair when she was 7 and again at 8 and it turned out beautifully. It’s actually not difficult to do at home.
I’ve done it for my two older daughters the last few years in a variety of colors and styles. Both with kool aid and with the actual dye kits. Its not rocket science.
I was told that I spoilt when my 14 yr old wanted to dye her hair pink. But I figured if that was “worst ” thing she wanted to do, then I’ll take it!
Kids should be able to express themselves
It’s adorable! Zoey has an awesome mommy!
It looks awesome! And letting her express herself through her clothing as a big step in her finding who “she” is – and not just following what everyone else does. You go, Zoey!!
You are so awesome! I’m the same way with my daughter and getting dressed and her hair. Soon enough she will enter Puberty [shudder] and she’ll have so much pressure. She will be so thankful that she had a mom who let her be her complete self without pressure. You are setting the groundwork for an amazing, independent young woman. [standing ovation]
Get yourself some Manic Panic and do it yourself if she wants to do it again. One bottle would probably color her hair like that SEVERAL times and save you some money.
That said, my 12 year old wanted to dye the ends of her hair purple for Halloween. The only problem with that? She has DARK brown hair, so to dye it purple, it would have to be bleached, which I was NOT comfortable doing. -But when the child pointed out that her ends needed to be cut anyway, I realized there was really no reason not to let her do it (do it to her myself…)
I grew up with parents who would not even entertain the thought of me dying my hair, while I spent my high school days drooling over my friends and their ever cycling hair colors/styles.
…I am now almost 40, and ever since I stopped working to stay at home, the front part of my hair has been a bright purple. It makes me grin every time I catch sight of myself in the mirror.
Very cool! Your daughter is very similar to mine….she would love it! Wonder how much it was and if there is a way to do it at home??
My daughter wanted a pink strewak downthe side of her face in 2nd grade. I did it myself with “wash out” dye that was supposed to last 3-5 weeks.. Her super white blonde hair soaked it up for a year!!! She loved it, I loved it! Whatever, it’s hair. I love that you let her do it!
I did the same with my daughters. Here in The Netherlands no one blinked an eye..everybody liked it, one girl blue one girl pink
Fantastic! It is pretty subtle and it looks really cute! Also it’s hair it can be cut, will grow back. Plus she is in kindergarten.
Keep on momming just the way you are. My pinkalicious fashionista will be 13 in April and still rocks everyone’s socks off.
I let my kids do the under layer of their hair. Then we backwards braid so it shows. I use splat. So far we have done red, pink, purple and blue 🙂 It’s fun and its temporary!
I love it! But I currently have green hair, so I might be a little biased 🙂
Love it!! My boys have all had Mohawks and their ears pierced. I have drawn the line at tattoos…told them they had to be 16, have a good solid design and pay for it themselves. Our oldest daughter got a gift card for Christmas to the tatoo shop. I figure if I let them express themselves with things that don’t really matter they won’t go bat s**t crazybwhen they are older. My 4 yr old daughter is very in touch with her pipi longstocking/ punky Brewster side and I love it!
Not judging, but just to let you know; I am a tattoo artist, and legally they have to be 18 to get a tattoo. Parents have been arrested and DFCS has gotten involved in several cases here (GA) where 16 & 17 yr olds were tattooed.
What kind of amazing hair salon is that? It looks like so much fun. I love her hair!
That’s awesome! Good for you for not squashing your child’s creativity and self-expression!
It looks great! my daughter is 11 and has blue hair, it’s just hair people need to lighten up!
It’s hair. Who gives a crap?! Anyone that does, needs a slap! If someone freaks out over the hair of a kindergarten child, they clearly need a priority check. Allow her to express her creativity now without a parental freak out and she’s less likely to do it as a teenager with the intent of freaking you out. Personally, I think she’s rockin it! Zoey is the shiznit!!
Go Zoey!
I think it’s a adorable, and so is your daughter 🙂
That’s it ?!?!? A little pink at the end of her hair and why do we have to tak about it?
Good for you! About 6 years ago, I did my first “Relay For Life”, raising $$ to support breast cancer research and treatments, so I got part of my hair dyed pink. My boys, then 7 & 4, wanted to do it, too. Now, they both have DARK hair, so we had to bleach, and then dye, but I was so proud of them for wanting to do it to show their support. Hair grows out, kids need to express themselves, and anyone who judges you for letting your kids express their individuality in a harmless way needs to turn that mirror on themself! <3 Oh, and her hair looks FANTASTIC!!!
I think the best time for something like this is when they’re young. By the time they grow up they’ll need professional jobs and while there is more acceptance in the workplace it often doesn’t go as far as colored hair.
She looks fabulous. Way to go mom.
You are one of the cool moms. I triple dog dare u to go have it done to your hair and match. It’s liberating. Can you believe I am 35 and only JUST dipped my hair bc I was afraid of what my own mother would think. And then I waited to do it until right after my folks retired to Northern Idaho. I had the box of dye and everything ready to go. My daughter helped and applauded my bravery (she’s 14… Just u wait) and then bleached a streak in her hair (civil air patrol:no hair dye)
Yeah, my mom had a cow. But she’s 500miles away! Still rocking the twilight sparkle purple. I regret NOTHING!
My mom’s rule is that we could do whatever we wanted with hair. Clothes had to be not-trampy. Tattoos were not allowed (when I got one in my 20s I hid it from mom for months). Piercings were not absolutely forbidden once we were in college, but open to mockery. Actually, all ridiculous choices were open to mockery, and generally met with eye rolls on our part. For example: “Watch out when you blow your nose, your nose ring will shoot across the room!” or admonishments that the tongue barbell better not mess up those expensive teeth mom and dad paid for.
I thought that was really cool when I was a kid, and couldn’t understand why more parents didn’t do the same. Now that I have kids, I realize that I seriously don’t care what my kid wears as long as he won’t freeze. I wonder if blue hair is in our future….
Great post! I like the idea behind this – why say no if it isn’t going to hurt them? I just hope I can be as open minded about this sort of thing when my time comes 😛
Love it!! If I had a girl I’d totally let her do this. It lets her be independent without going to far at five and a half. Props to you lady. By the way, love your site. Just got introduced and it’s like you’re reading my mind.
I am a mom with hot pink hair for about 8 years now. I have always let my kids express their creativity in their hair, clothes, makeup (now) and music. We, as parents have much bigger things to worry about with our children other than these superficial things. I would rather them be happy in their own skin, than pretend to be something they do not want to me. Thankfully, my daughter’s High School is ok with her choices.
I always say you have to pick your battles. My daughter wanted wash out pink & purple highlights this summer, so I said “hell why not”. You know what it looked really neat & I was kind of jealous of her cool new hair! Lol
I raised my kids with the questions “Is it illegal, immoral, or life-threatening?”. If the answer was no to all three of these, then go for it. They are 23 and 20, and can think for themselves and make wise decision, and live with the consequences of their actions.
My daughter was in 8th grade when she wanted it done but she wanted the WHOLE head. She did her whole head in a Bright Turquiose. She looked like a muppet but this is the worst thing she has done, then I am ok with it. It isn’t a forever thing and after a year, she had outgrown changing the hair color (blue, to red to something orange-ish). We went through about 18 months of the staring and comments from people. Some of the people’s comments can be pretty rude but I shrugged them off since they aren’t walking in my shoes.
Love it, her, and you! Continue to possess the attitude that it doesn’t matter what other people think! You are teaching your daughter so many positive attributes just by allowing her to be herself; most importantly, self-esteem.
my 4 year old looking at your daughter’s outfit choices and she said “that girl has amazing outfits! I wish I had those!”
*smile* You can tell your 4 year old that this 33 year old momma thought the same of a couple of them. I want that rainbow skirt!
My boys are 13, 16 & 19. I’m almost done 😉 Many times I’ve asked “Am I the best mom, or the shittiest mom for this?” Nice to see I’m not the only one. (The 19 year old is perfectly normal, BTW!) I won!
My youngest wants her hair dip dyed, but it’s not allowed at her school, (she’s 11) & I don’t want my kids to dye their hair (I am such a wuss, but both my girls have hair I would die for) anyway so we got hair chalks. I thought they would be total crap, but they’re not! You can’t tell the difference between dip dye and hair chalk, except hair chalk you can wash out and wear a new colour everyday. My youngest loves them and the school can’t complain as they aren’t permanent 🙂
Here in the UK all school kids wear uniforms so no chance of fugly clothes lol
Girl, you gotta pick your battles. I let my daughter go shocking, hot pink in kindergarten. After it faded, I asked her if she wanted to do it again and got…”meh”. Not it’s not that big a deal to get.
It’s really cute!
I put pink highlights in my daughter’s hair last year at her request. Granted, she wasn’t in school at the time, but she thought she looked awesome so that’s all that mattered. It actually was really cute, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat! (Sidenote: she wants light blue next time.) She’d be the funkiest girl in kindergarten and love every minute of it!
Your daughter is adorable! She’s clearly full of a love for life, colors, and self-expression. Good job, Mom!
When the other Mom’s see your kid dressed in those (FABULOUS!) outfits, every one knows they dressed themselves. (or assumes as much, unless perhaps you’re following behind in a pink tutu and combat boots) These are fantastic photos, and she’s positively adorable. Lucky kid 🙂 (and lucky Mom)
Rock on!
Love it!! Could have been like my mom who dyed my hair at that age w kool aid. I had white blonde hair and it stained it from Halloween to Christmas.
Pick your battles. My 2 are grown, but my husband learned how to do their hair pink, purple, blue, green, etc. He got really good at bleaching and dyeing hair.
My daughter was 4 when we dyed her whole head hot pink. It was summer time, the dye was semi-permanent and I had just done mine electric blue with hot pink highlights. It looked gorgeous on her, didn’t do any damage and only lasted a few weeks. I’ll let her do it again when she wants it. I wouldn’t dream of discouraging my kid from expressing herself, its only hair after all, it grows out.
Love it!!!!!
As someone who went through a -erm- rebellious phase as a teenager, you are doing yourself a favor for the future. If she feels like she can come to you now with things that she wants to do that most parents might freak out about, that sets the foundation for everything from the more extreme appearance choices to s*x and drugs. Good on ya. (Also, it looks super cute!)
As a side note, in third grade we had a “business fair” where we all had to take a shift and set up a shop and other kids could shop with play money that had been handed out. I did a stick-on tattoo parlour, and ended up winning the award for the most successful business. Boo yah!
Totally agree with you on this one. I have 2 boys and half the time they never match. The teacher even told me once “when they are dressed like this we know the kids dressed themselves”. Kids are people too with their own ideas, likes and dislikes. I have a 32 year old nephew who is full of tattoos, piercing and bald. I half believe it was because my SIL was so strict with how they looked all the time. Good job Momma!
This last summer I let all three of my older kids ranging in age from 5-9 dye their hair! They absolutely loved having something unique. I was surprised how many parents and grandparents would stop is while we were out to say how awesome it was. It was so reassuring to know other people enjoyed seeing my kids happy and confident! You go mom!!!
My first grader has been picking her clothes since she started insisting at 18 months. Sometimes I’m embarrassed, but I love that she has her own style. She thinks she looks awesome and that’s all that is important.
I LOVE YOUR DAUGHTER’S HAIR. I want MY hair to look like that. I think it’s AWESOME.
I used to be a preschool teacher and student’s with streaks in their hair are quite common-and cute!
It is defiantly about picking your battles. My daughter comes up with crazy outfits too. It used to drive me crazy and we would fight. Then it finally hit me if she doesn’t care then why should I. So now she is 9 and at a school with uniforms, she has gotten into funky head bands. One week of kitty ears (the school doesn’t seem to object), another ladybug antenna, a red/white/blue tiara and this week bunny ears, oh and she already has next weeks, daisy headband picked out (by daisy I mean a giant daisy headband that makes her whole head a flower). We do have rules for, what is appropriate, no extra skin and if mommy needs her to wear something special for an occasion she has to obey. I like the whole hair dipping thing. I kinda want to do it myself. My kids have asked and I said they can as long as the have good grades and wait till High School. For now they are okay with that, I might cave sooner.
Hair grows out and it’s so much better than some things they could be doing! My son had a hot pink mohawk at around 11 years. People would ask why I let him do it and my reply, “Why not? What’s it hurting?”
She’s not hurting anyone and she is happy that’s what is important b
My daughter has had her hair bright red and turquoise. She will be 10 this year, why not let them express themselves now.Maybe we won’t have as many issues when they are teenagers!
You go, mom! Way to let your daughter know that she should be proud of who she is as an individual! You are raising a great kid!
This post is pretty awesome. Way to let your kid make choices for her self and express herself. Rock on momma 🙂
You are letting her made decision in her life, thats way kids figure themselves out and have independence!! Great job!
My daughter attends a private school with uniforms, they have strict standards of dress (no nail polish, makeup or dyed hair), Which, I’m fine with and it works well for our family. We find other creative outlets for our daughter to express herself (and she often gets to pick-out and buy whatever she wants on mall trips since she wears uniforms five days a week 🙂 She also loves being the most stylish one in her dance classes. haha.
Love the hair on Zoey though – super cute 🙂
I’m a hair stlist & I have 2 nieces that I have been coloring there hair w/peek a boo Hi lites for the last few yrs.they r 8 & 6.im all for it as long as it’s done professionally 🙂 but the cra cra outfits hmm…. maybe play clothes (dress up)r for just that 🙂
This is so awesome, if more mom’s allowed their children to express themselves and be who they are the world would be a much kinder place. Your daughter has sass, s***k, and will be ages ahead of the boring “fads”. Keep up the good work. You rock momma sideburns!!!
That’s was supposed to say “is spunky” sorry bout that 🙂
Let my almost 6 year old have pink ombre for kindergarden. Planning to do it again next week. It makes her happy and it’s only hair.
Good for her and Good for you! I am one of those matchy matchy moms, with themed shirts for holidays, monograms and kids who I just love to dress alike. Secretly I wish I could let go……it’s just another pressure I put on myself. Happy smiles and good memories sound much more important to me!
It’s hair, lol! It grows out! Seriously, it’s her hair and as long as SHE loves it, everyone else can go take a flying leap. They say a girl’s self-esteem tanks about age 11. So anything we can do to let them feel in control of their identities, help them love themselves and embrace their individuality is a good thing!
I have always picked my battles with my girls. .they dressed themselves colored hair black, blond, purple, blue. .now both are older teenagers. .their clothes match, one is natural red and the other is dark brown. .uwhen i see a little girl with unmatched clothes i smile and say the intelligent mom avoided that battle this morning. ..
I too have a Zoey! She is just as colorful as your Zoey. My 14 year old still is very expressive in her clothing! She calls her style the crayon box. Pick and choose the battles!
I think it’s totally kickass that you let Zoey do that to her hair. She’s able to express herself and feel good about doing it bc she has your support. Good job Mama! (& Zoey, you def rock that hair chica!)
I’m going to play the devil’s advocate here only because I know what hair dipping leads too….. I let my 10 yr old dip her hair. Not 2 weeks into it, it started to fade….then it came…”mom can I dye my whole head TEAL”? I saw a girl with Teal hair and it was soooo cool.” My response a resounding NO. Then came the Why?
Here is my no bashing reason….there hair is delicate. It’s fragile. It’s only God Given Beautiful until we as girls start messing with it. Ends I have no issue with…but once they have the “Hair Dye BUG” it doesn’t end. I pacified her by letting her get “highlights” and when she told our hairdresser what she wanted to do the hairdresser looked at me and said ” do NOT let her do her entire head until she has had her period for a while”. I was relieved. The questions stopped.
Then Flow came and guess what came with it? Yup, “now can I dye my head teal? or blue? I saw a girl with a really cool royal blue”. I asked to see these pictures….every single one of them were 16+ my girl is only 13. I told her NO. Not to be a b***h, not to control her but because she has the most beautiful blonde hair I have ever seen.
I want my daughter to express herself. I want her to feel good about herself. What I don’t want is her dying her hair because she THINKS IT WILL MAKE HER COOL! It won’t. She will still be the same sweet girl with blue hair.
I want my girl to love herself for what God Gave HER! I want her to be so sound in that feeling that when she decides to dye her hair blue that she is doing it for fun and because she really loves blue hair. Not because SHE THINKS it makes her cool.
and grrrr. I know the difference between their, there and they’re. My biggest pet peeve and I did it myself because I am trying to feed an army with 6 ft of snow on the ground. EXCUSE THE TYPOS. They are not my intention. Just lack of proof reading. :p
I love it! Go you for giving her some creative freedom. I actually just posted a dip-dye tutorial on my blog explaining how we dyed my 7 year old’s hair blue! It’s super easy to do at home if she wants to do another color next time.
My daughter’s been walking around like a peacock with her feathers puffed up ever since – so much confidence. It’s awesome.
When my now 8 year old was in kindergarten, she announced she wanted her hair in a faux hawk like the singer Pink. She rocked that hawk! Then after a few months she decided to grow it out for dance. I love letting her be creative with her hair and clothes.
Ok I think your daughter and mine would be best friends. She never ever matches, but always looks stylish. I call it 80s throwback.
This is awesome!!! At the moment we only do chalk…..but i can’t really say no because my hair is purple. And your a great mom because I’m 35 and my mom gives me her opinion of my hair when she comes to visit. Way to go!!!
I’ve always been a “pick your battles” kind of mom. You want to wear your PJs to preschool? Sure! Cause, really aren’t yoga pants and t-shirts the same thing as pajamas? You want to dye your hair? Why not? You’ll probably change your mind in a few hours anyway. I don’t get worked up about s**t that’s not really important. I say good for you for letting your kids explore!
My daughter is 14 and we have been coloring her hair for years! She is naturally a dark blonde/ light brown. She has gone through the rainbow and everything in between. Blonde, strawberry blonde, red, pink, purple, blue, aqua, dark brown, black. I am actually jealous of the fact that she can just walk into school in the morning with an completely different look like it’s no big deal. I’ve never drastically changed my hair color because even at the age of 38, I’m still worried about what others will think!
I love this!! I also believe in encouraging individuality and creativity. My son wanted an orange Mohawk when he was 3. We settled for an orange fohawk and it was awesome….for the first couple of weeks…until it started fading but wasn’t long enough to cut. I’m sure other moms thought it was inappropriate for a 3 year old but he loved it so I didn’t care!
I think its beautiful and you’re an awesome mom!
My daughter’s hair looks just the same, and she is 7. We also did it at home, dip-dyed with Kool Aid. 🙂
That little girl had the most beautiful hair! She should learn to love what God has given her.
Mommy question is, w why did mom buy the ugly clothes if she thought they were so bad.
I think it’s totally CUTE!! I’ve been one to let my daughter express herself as well and yes the out its can get a little crazy. Love the neck tat 😉 I think it is good parenting to let your child have some freedom with their style while still setting guide lines for what’s appropriate.
My girls have done that! It’s too cute! A little creativity a little uniqueness … No harm. I get these awesome colours at hot topic that are vegan and no peroxide. They work spur awesome in the light coloured hair and rinse out over time. Tell her I think she ROX the pinkilicious ‘do!!!
Your daughter is an original, way to let her shine! I gave my son a blue Mohawk the summer before he started kindergarten (so he was 4 turning 5) at his request. He’s now 11 with long shaggy hair. That’s what he wants & he can have it as long or short or whatever color as long as it’s clean & washed I don’t care. I left my kids wear whatever as long as it’s appropriate, but I have boys their choices are somewhat limited. My youngest went trough a 2 year phase of wearing wrist bands every day (you know they give you super powers right?) And both my boys would rather wear trouser socks with designs on them than any other socks. They also love tattoos and drawing on themselves with marker. Let your daughter rock her style. Someday she’ll be to worried about what others think, maybe this is what keeps her true to herself when she gets older. That’s my hope.
There is a product, a “chalk” that comes in pink, blue etc. with which one can put colour on hair for a short time. I once used food colouring as well. Anything but a tattoo or piercings!
Your the mom and you make the rules. Our school has very few rules and I have a 16,13 and 6y. My oldest are girls and started dipping their hair in 5th-6th grade but my youngest, a boy, felt left out. So when he was 5 his sisters gave home a quick trim, spiked his hair and colored the tips blue and red. He lived it and I love it. Your the mom and you know your kids.
Also probably won’t last, the color or need to color lol.
My 13y is now in show choir and the do have rules on hair color so we have happy moved past
Kool-Aid works great and light colored hair so you don’t even have to go to a stylist and does not last too long
She looks phenomenal! Totally adorable. I think you did just fine. She looks so happy. I’m sure it was worth it!
Thats Awesome! High five you for letting her express herself 🙂
Let the other parents judge! You are nurturing such an important part of your daughter’s character and she will never forget that you had the b***s to let her do that!
This is perfect! If we don’t let them do things because we are worried about what everybody else thinks, then we are teaching them to worry about what everybody else thinks too! The last thing I want for my child is for them to not want to be themselves because somebody else might think that they are…… (weird, odd, silly, different-gasp!..or
.fill in the blank with your own worry).
I think it is super cute! My daughter’s school has a rule against unnatural hair color, but occasionally we sneak in a streak or two of blue, green, or pink with hair chalk.
we did this to my daughters hair last summer too! I figured it isn’t harming anything and in the end, it just gets cut off anyway.
When my son was that age, I let him dye his light brown hair red AND get his ear pierced. He was in Kindergarten or maybe 1st Grade. I also let him get his hair highlighted when he was young. He is now 15 and has no desire to change his hair color and I am pretty sure his ear is no longer pierced. Its fun and it’s not permanent so enjoy the fun, bonding time and if other people have issues with it f*** em.
It’s just hair. I think it’s the one thing they can play around with and experiment and if they dont like it it will always grow back. Looks awesome. Good job Mama 🙂
I Think it’s great! What is the harm in pink hair? If kids can sit through the process then by all means let them do it! Cute that she felt so beautiful afterwards!
My daughter’s first salon haircut was the summer before kindergarten and she really wanted a Mohawk…so that is what she got and I even let her get red hair gel to spike it with. It was more of a fauxhawk, it had a pixie look when it was down, but it was up on the first day of school and she was so super proud. She is in fourth grade now and still has her own sense of style, I love her uniqueness.
I absolutely LOVE the fact that you allow her to express herself. It looks really good! Who gives a p**p what the rest of the world thinks!!! They’re just a bunch of boring a-hole poopy pants!!!
Is that safe though
I am happy that my kids’ elementary school, even though it required uniforms, did allow funky hair! 🙂 The middle and high school have allowed it too. My middle school aged daughter current sports blue and black hair. My 3rd grader has had pink tips various times. My 4th grade son wants me to do his hair, but every time I offer he puts it off. Hmmm.
My oldest, who is in high school most recently sported pastel pink on the right half of her hair and pastel blue on the other. 🙂
“How the F can you let your child wear that in public?” …Um…by not being a codependent asshole who defines my sense of self worth (not to mention fashion) by whatever random-a*s thing my five-year-old decided what was en vogue at the moment. Also…you’re horrified at what she’s wearing? She probably feels the same way about you.
A lot of at-home “crazy colors” are not harmful to delicate “baby hair” or toxic. I learned this after my hairstylist friend died her young daughter’s hair lavender. She didn’t bleach it, so it was just fine. Made me feel a lot better when my son wanted some blue in his hair “like mommy.”
I know school won’t allow it, he’s not old enough for school just yet (regular primary school) so it’s okay. I just wish more people were receptive. I don’t do anything he doesn’t want, I don’t shave his head into a Mohawk against his wishes, I just do what makes him happy, as long as it doesn’t hurt him.
You rock mama! My five year old had hot pink streaks this summer also and I got some interesting comments and looks from other moms. She loved it and that’s all that matters.
this is an older article, but i am so glad i found it! my 6 year old daughter wanted to cut (again) and dye her hair for some time now. i asked her about getting streaks, and we agreed on bright red streaks. we got the cut last month, looks awesome. so today we went for the dye. she’s naturally light/medium brown, so we had to take color out. she liked it so much after the 1st washing, she decided to leave it that way so she could be red all over for a couple weeks till more red washes out. it looks cool as hell. i took a pic, my parents loved it, they ‘get’ who we are. my mil? not so much. i let her do it for all the right reasons, but after talking with mil, i started doubting myself so of course i found myself on all these message boards instead of working as i should be.. and 95% of people are saying, “never until they’re at least 13, bla bla bla”. then i found your site, and i feel so much better. thank you!! i don’t feel like a terrible mother anymore! i took her soon after for a sleepover so i haven’t been able to talk to her to see if she’s still happy.. but she loved it after and till i kissed her goodbye for the night. your readers are MY kind of people, i’m so relieved i stumbled here. and your daughter is awesome, hope she’s still rocking it! anyway, just a very long thanks:)