What age would you let your child

[pyrxtc]

5th or 6th grade is okay. 3rd is way too young.

 

[indimom]

My kids won't be coloring their hair until they can pay for it themselves. I think the streaks of color and/or highlights are adorable, but I would botch it and I can't afford salon prices. So, that's my answer.

I doubt I'll need to worry about it. My daughter's hair is her pride and joy, very light brown with awesome blond highlights. Thick, straight and to the middle of her back. She gets compliments all the time so I don't think she'll touch it. She gets antsy when the ends need trimmed.

I can barely get DS to take a shower. He could care less what his hair looks like. It only gets cut because I tell his dad "time to buzz him." I'm not sure the kid looks in a mirror.

 

[Laura66]

Let my (then 9) year old daughter do it in June as a reward for getting straight A's all year.
No biggie here. I feel it's no different then letting our children wear a certain style of clothing or shoes - or wearing their hair a certain way. Quite a few of my friends let their young daughters get highlights in our neighborhood. I remember letting my 21 year old daughter do the same at that age and she wasn't the only one back then either!

 

[luvmy3]

My mom let me use Sun-In when I was in 8th grade. I wish she hadn't. (Anyone who ever used Sun-In will understand!)

I completely understand!

My dd is older, but I would not let her get hi-lights that young. It is not juts a "hair" thing for me, there is a whole message behind it. An 8/9 year old doesn't need to be thinking about hi-lighting her own hair, she should be thinking about cutting her Barbie's.

 

[powellrj]

My DDIL is an instructor at a beauty school, so she did DDs at 5th grade. If I had to pay for them it would have been much later! She has lots of cool things done with her hair that DDIL does for her that I would never have paid for! DD babysits for her so its a good trade!

 

[marcyinPA]

My daughter had the bottom 6 inches of her hair dyed bright blue in 5th grade- in 6th grade she had that cut off and highlights done....this year she had the underside of her hair dyed neon red. Who knows what next year holds LOL.

This would be against the dress code in our middle school. No "unnatural" hair colors. They have sent kids home for that already. What a pain it must be to dye it back!!

I have boys- they don't care about hair. As long as it is short- and they go to the barber like every 4 weeks- they are happy.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

This would be against the dress code in our middle school. No "unnatural" hair colors. They have sent kids home for that already. What a pain it must be to dye it back!!

I have boys- they don't care about hair. As long as it is short- and they go to the barber like every 4 weeks- they are happy.

My girls never wanted to mess with their natural color until high school.
These days, the school that DGS attends specifies that girls must have only "natural hair color". Their dress code is really strict.

 

[goofinoff]

My oldest is almost 12 and just started middle school. She hasn't asked about highlighting her hair yet. But then again she has beautiful natural highlights from the sun. If it were something I could do on my own, I would do it for her if she asked. But since it's not and it's expensive I would have to say no. She can certainly do it when she can pay for it on her own. I don't even get highlights in my own hair because of how much it costs. I color my own hair from a box!

 

[Jaime4004]

I completely understand!

My dd is older, but I would not let her get hi-lights that young. It is not juts a "hair" thing for me, there is a whole message behind it. An 8/9 year old doesn't need to be thinking about hi-lighting her own hair, she should be thinking about cutting her Barbie's.

Ha! That would be nice, but all kids are different. My mother has been trying to get DD to play with dolls and barbies since she was 2. Never happened... She's 8 now and has already asked for highlights and when can she wear makeup. I stated 13 on both but she's trying to talk me down. Oh, I forgot about the cell phone she's been asking for for years also. It's going to be a long few years, and she's not even a teen yet!

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I think 3rd grade is way too young. An average age would be 13 in my opinion.

 

[luvmy3]

Ha! That would be nice, but all kids are different. My mother has been trying to get DD to play with dolls and barbies since she was 2. Never happened... She's 8 now and has already asked for highlights and when can she wear makeup. I stated 13 on both but she's trying to talk me down. Oh, I forgot about the cell phone she's been asking for for years also. It's going to be a long few years, and she's not even a teen yet!

My point wasn't that they should be playing with dolls, just that they are too young to be focused on things like coloring their hair

 

[Andtototoo]

What is the meaning of "too young" in terms of wanting to change up a hairstyle?

Is there some sexual connotation to highlights that I'm not getting? If she wanted to cut her hair, is she "too young" to do so? If she wants a blue barette instead of a pink barette, is she "too young" to make that change?

I can see not wanting to spend the money, but I don't understand the idea of "too young" when it comes to a hairstyle.

 

[PatsGirl]

I think its important to impress upon our kids that they don't need to color their hair, arch their brows, wear eye shadow or $100 sneakers....to be beautiful or to gain attention. Attitude, behavior, ambition, honor and integrity are the things we need to be paying attention to first and foremost.

That being said, I let my daughter color her ends in 8th grade when she earned the money to pay for it herself. She did it once and decided it wasn't worth the $50 to keep up with. She is now almost 16 and has FINALLY grown her nails but she has to pay for her own manicures or she can do them at home. Its funny how few things they really "need" when they are paying for it out of their own pockets That's goes for all the designer clothing as well.

IMHO any child younger than late middle school (13 or 14) shouldn't be altering their appearance in any substantial way. They only want to do it because everyone else is and they want to fit in. I'd help them find a better way to fit in.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I think for me highlights means to try and glamorize ones self, trying to be older, looking different for the sake of beauty, etc. I don't want my kids to try to be something or someone different. I want them to be happy just the way they are at that age.

 

[luvmy3]

What is the meaning of "too young" in terms of wanting to change up a hairstyle?

Is there some sexual connotation to highlights that I'm not getting? If she wanted to cut her hair, is she "too young" to do so? If she wants a blue barette instead of a pink barette, is she "too young" to make that change?

I can see not wanting to spend the money, but I don't understand the idea of "too young" when it comes to a hairstyle.

I don't think kids need to chemically treat their hair in order to change their appearance. To me that is a level of appearance maintenance that a kid doesn't need to focus on. If you want to let your 8 year old do it, have at it. My dd would have been told no, not until you are older.

 

[luvmy3]

I think for me highlights means to try and glamorize ones self, trying to be older, looking different for the sake of beauty, etc. I don't want my kids to try to be something or someone different. I want them to be happy just the way they are at that age.

Just be happy being a kid and doing kid things.

 

[HelenePA]

Just be happy being a kid and doing kid things.

your definition of "kid things" might be different than mine... to me a kid thing is to want pink hair.. I sure as heck don't want pink hair as an adult and who says because my girls have pink purple blue green and any other color streak they want aren't doing things you define as "kid things"...

 

[Jaime4004]

My point wasn't that they should be playing with dolls, just that they are too young to be focused on things like coloring their hair

That would be nice but you can't choose what they focus on. She definitely didn't get it from me! I don't wear make up, don't color/highlight my hair and hate shopping. My point was that in spite of all the dolls/kid toys hanging around the house, she was never into any of them. It would've made xmas shopping so much easier!

 

[HelenePA]

That would be nice but you can't choose what they focus on. She definitely didn't get it from me! I don't wear make up, don't color/highlight my hair and hate shopping. My point was that in spite of all the dolls/kid toys hanging around the house, she was never into any of them. It would've made xmas shopping so much easier!

My girls hate "girl toys" too. They dont like make up either.. but they do like pink streaks and pretty jewelry...

 

[luvmy3]

your definition of "kid things" might be different than mine... to me a kid thing is to want pink hair.. I sure as heck don't want pink hair as an adult and who says because my girls have pink purple blue green and any other color streak they want aren't doing things you define as "kid things"...

And that is fine, I'm only concerned with my daughter, not your's or anyone else's

That would be nice but you can't choose what they focus on. She definitely didn't get it from me! I don't wear make up, don't color/highlight my hair and hate shopping. My point was that in spite of all the dolls/kid toys hanging around the house, she was never into any of them. It would've made xmas shopping so much easier!

I might not be able to choose what they focus on, but as their parent I still get to influence their impressionable 8 year old minds, and allow certain things or not based on what I think is right for them. When they are older, things change.