Sports and hair question

[amcal]

If you have your kids in sports, dance, gymnastics etc... where they have to have their hair off their faces, in ponytails, at what age was your child able to do this for themselves?

I'm ashamed to admit that I despise doing my kids hair. Hate it. They cry, they whine, they freak out etc.... I try to be gentle, I use a detangling spray, I use a soft brush, no metal hair ties etc.... and still..... screaming, crying, whining etc....

One DD has incredibly thick shoulder length hair and the other DD has thick very long hair so it takes work to contain their hair for sports, ballet and gymnastics.

Anyway, I'm just wondering when I can expect my kids to be able to do it themselves.

We're practicing now but, they haven't mastered it well enough to keep it out of their faces.

I've given up daily hair fixing. They brush their own hair and then it hangs all scraggly and they're fine with it so I try to be fine with it. We use headbands and that's about the extent of it. But, that's not enough for sports.

[namaste_mom]

My DD is 7 and she can put her hair in a ponytail, it might not look the best but she can do it.

[Peony]

Originally Posted by namaste_mom

My DD is 7 and she can put her hair in a ponytail, it might not look the best but she can do it.

The same. It isn't great but gets the job done, I almost always put it back myself but in a time crunch she can.

[Marcee]

DD is 6 and I still do her hair. We made a deal. If she wants long hair she has to let me do it. If she does not want me to do her hair then we will get her hair cut in a shorter more managable do'. So far she wants to keep it long and lets me do it, with out whining and such.

[sapphire_chan]

If they can't put their hair up, can they comb their hair out so all you have to do is pull it back into the ponytail/whatever?

A braid might be less pulling to the scalp and reduce the whining.

Oh, and if they aren't performing, there's no need for a tight pony tail. For exercising, a scrunchy level ponytail would do the job just fine.

[alegna]

My dd is 6 and no way could attempt it, BUT she has curly hair that can't simply be brushed back.

That said, one of her activities is ballet and I watch the older girls- most girls still have mom do it until 10 or 11, but CAN do it by around 9.

-Angela

[TEAK's Mom]

My dds are 8 and almost 6 and both of them have long hair. Dd1's hair comes down to the tops of her thighs and dd2's is waist-length. My rules are very similar to Marcee's: if you want to keep your hair long, it has to be tended to twice a day; contained appropriately for the activity at hand and braided for bed. At this point, I still do most of the hair. We are gradually working on the skills that are needed, but it will likely be a while before they are mastered.

I would just lay out the options: if you want to play sports, take dance, etc, we need a way to manage your hair. The choices are: let me put it up without excessive fussing, learn to do it well yourself, or cut it short enough that the problem vanishes.

You might also want to ask around and see if there is someone who can teach them how to manage their hair. I co-teach workshops at my girls' dance studio on how to style hair for dance. I do classes for parents of younger kids and classes for older dancers. There are tricks that can help. Sometimes, it also just takes someone who is mostly a stranger to take the tension out of the situation.

Good luck!

[ollyoxenfree]

DD could make a simple ponytail and put in some barrettes at about age 6, I think, or maybe even earlier. She could also wind it up in the elastic to make a loose bun. She has fairly straight hair, though, and good fine motor skills. This was fine for swimming, soccer etc.

Ballet was an entirely different thing though. She attended a studio with some pretty strict attitudes about hair. It had to be in a neat bun, with all stray hairs tucked in. I was doing her hair for her until she was about 10 or 11 or so.