letting my 9 year old dye her hair?

[SCHBR'smom]

I would let her. Of course, a few months ago I dyed DD4's hair pink, yes, pink, and believe it or not, she's fine! Pink is her favorite color and she has always wanted to BE pink. In fact, I distinctly remember when she was two yeasr old how disappointed she was when she saw her eyes in the mirror and they weren't pink. The color wasn't permanent, she's a dirty blond so it wasn't too bright. I'll probably do it again if she asks. My DD9 wants to sometime, also, and I'm sure I'll dye her hair, too. They're kids, let them be kids. I don't care what people think of me for doing it, either. Most already think I'm nuts since I have 5 kids.

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

I'd think you were a cool mom.

But, a word of caution: I'm 32 and had always wanted "wild" colors in my hair. My hair is light brown, so for our Disney trip last September I had pink, purple, and blue streaks put inr. The hair must be bleached first then the color applied.

These colors faded so fast. The blue, in particular, faded to a putrid Army green color. It took forever and many "natural" colors (and a lot of money) later just to get the green tinge out of my hair.

It was fun and looked cute for about a week's worth of washings, then the fading and discoloration started. The hair stylist said that's normal with those type of wild colors. Wish she would have told me in the first place.

 

[Rebelmom67]

I have always felt - what you do in your house with your family is your business. That being said, I would have reservations about allowing my nine year old to dye her hair because I would think that it's only the beginning of things to come - at such an early age. The next year - acrylic nails. Eleven - tattoos? Twelve- belly ring? Thirteen- tongue and nose rings, etc. Yeah, I'm dramatic, but I think that the longer you wait for some things, the better.

Amen, mte!

 

[C.Ann]

The kid is NINE years old. Are you telling me that you want kids running around already worrying what other people think about them? Adults shouldn't be worrying about such things let alone kids!!!!

And yet people on the DIS make no qualms about "judging" kids who come to a birthday party with a "cough" or kids who are home schooled (and thus deprived of social interaction) or are allowed to play outside of their own fenced in yards and a million other things..

 

[glasslipper]

I say it's up to you. I don't think it's a big deal , it's hair not a tattoo, body piercing or dressing provocatively. I really wonder at the "precocious" comment, I've seen kids younger than 9 wearing teen-orientated clothing, that would concern me more than blue hair, JMO.

 

[CTPinkPrincess]

I haven't read all the replies, but I will tell the OP that my 7 year old DD asked for pink hair this summer. After discussing the options with the salon, we're probably going to order her some colored hair extensions (not the kind you weave into your hair but the kind that have what looks like a comb to attach to her hair). This way she gets to pick more than one color, it's not permanent, and everybody's happy. If you don't want to go through a salon, I think Target or WalMart have clip on extensions.

It's only hair, it grows back, and hey, it's fun!

 

[floridafam]

Just make sure she isn't allergic to it first. I am severely allergic to dark hair color and I wouldn't want her to go through that pain.

 

[maelstrom]

Blue fades pretty quickly, so she may not like the colour it ends up as after a week. It also might look a little weird while it's growing out. Other than that, no problems with a nine year old having blue hair... it's just hair.

I'm 23 and my hair is currently brown (roots), bleached, and pink. My hair was all hot pink for about a year, and I'm currently growing it out. Prior to that, I had chunks of pink, purple, & turquoise. I also have an eyebrow piercing and wear black eyeliner with brightly coloured eye shadow. :x

 

[DawnCt1]

If her friends leave her just because of her hair color then they weren't friends in the first place. Who cares what other parents think. Honestly, life is to short.

I wouldn't expect her friends to leave her, but at nine, parents have to be concerned about what the parents of her friends think, otherwise they may make their children "less available".

 

[DawnCt1]

I haven't read all the replies, but I will tell the OP that my 7 year old DD asked for pink hair this summer. After discussing the options with the salon, we're probably going to order her some colored hair extensions (not the kind you weave into your hair but the kind that have what looks like a comb to attach to her hair). This way she gets to pick more than one color, it's not permanent, and everybody's happy. If you don't want to go through a salon, I think Target or WalMart have clip on extensions.

It's only hair, it grows back, and hey, it's fun!

I think that is a perfect compromise.

 

[hiwaygal]

OP what is more important to you...what OTHER people think of you or your DD or what YOUR DD thinks of you?

Personally, I'd let her dye it...it's just hair.

 

[KristinBelle]

I wouldn't do it. Maybe when she's a teen but not at 9 years old, I would however let her wear those fake hair clips the poster above was talking about.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I wouldn't expect her friends to leave her, but at nine, parents have to be concerned about what the parents of her friends think, otherwise they may make their children "less available".

Honestly, if someone who has known my child and our family for any length of time decides that someting as superficial as the child having blue hair in the summer is a reason to keep the kids apart I would probably figure "good riddance" as there must be a mulittude of much more serious issues we would totally disagree aboutwhen it comes to kids anyway. I AM concerned with the parents of my chidlren's friends thinking they are well behaved, polite, etc. but not what they think of their hair style.

 

[glasslipper]

I wouldn't expect her friends to leave her, but at nine, parents have to be concerned about what the parents of her friends think, otherwise they may make their children "less available".

I don't buy that line of thinking. I still wouldn't care what other parents think. Most children adopt their values and views from their parents, so if they want to form opinions and judge someone based upon a nine year old having blue hair, then in my opinion I wouldn't care what they thought because I wouldn't want to associate with them anyway.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Personally I don't care what you do with your child's hair. However, that's not why I felt the need to post.

Just a word of warning, DSD's hair was honey blonde at one point. She always wanted blue hair. When she moved from our house to her mother's house, her mother dyed it blue. Unfortunately, whatever was used faded quickly and turned into this lovely shade of grayish-purpley-blue with heavy emphasis on the gray! Just my 2 cents.

 

[MineMail]

Some people will think you are a cool mom and some will think you are nuts.

Great minds think alike! I was just going to post those sentiments exactly.

 

[glasslipper]

I AM concerned with the parents of my chidlren's friends thinking they are well behaved, polite, etc. but not what they think of their hair style.

Really, some of the cutest kids can be the most obnoxious brats, I'd rather have a well-behaved dd with blue hair than a child who looks "perfect" yet is a total brat.

 

[Nyla]

I wouldn't expect her friends to leave her, but at nine, parents have to be concerned about what the parents of her friends think, otherwise they may make their children "less available".

Oh, good gracious. If the parents are that uptight about a kid being a kid, then I see that as a perfect example to teach children about tolerance and accepting people's differences. Who would want their child to hang around such snobs anyway?

OP, it's just a little hair dye, it's summer, and she's a kid! My decision would be to let her have fun.

 

[CathrynRose]

My biggest concern doing this (coming from a woman who had her head shaved in high school, dyed every color you can imagine, and has 2 boys who have had mohawks, bleached blonde, blonde tipped and currently have (1) long and (1) reaaaaalllly long - longer than my - hair, with an eyebrow piercing and an industrial piercing) is what it will look like when it starts to fade.

All those bright colors are HARD to maintain and fade something fierce. I had Matrix Red Lights once (anyone remember those?) BRIGHT crayon red highlights, that faded to pink - seriously - within a week or so.

If it were me, I would let her do it - BUT I would only do the entire underside. Her crown will maintain it's 'honey' dignity, and when you need to re-bleach or color the previously blue hair - you will have healthier hair to handle that.

I just worry about swimming, and the sun... it's gonna fade, faaast.

 

[MineMail]

Letting her do it will establish a precedent for any other children. Older siblings will say "You never let me..." Younger ones will say "When I'm 7, can I dye my hair?"

I see this as an opportunity to teach her to like herself instead of pining for what she can change. My oldest impulsively dyed her hair lighter and it looks awful, she admits. It'll grow out, but she'll look very strange with two-tone hair unless she gets it fixed professionally.