# How old before girls can put their own hair up usually?



## momileigh (Oct 29, 2002)

My 5-year-old asks me longingly, "When will I be able to do ponytails?" She tries but doesn't get close. She doesn't really have the fine motor skills yet. I don't remember when I had the manual dexterity to pull my hair back with an elastic band. What should I tell her? (Besides "I don't know, everyone's different.") At what age could your dd do this?


----------



## Lingmom (Apr 10, 2007)

My daughter has been doing her own hair since she turned five. She figured out how to make ponytails by herself and I was surprised to find she knew how to do it. I think she started with bigger "scrunchies" and then moved on to smaller rubber bands. She doesn't do it as tightly as I would so they tend to fall out after a few hours. She likes to put it all back up though.


----------



## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Depends on the girl and the hair. I have VERY thick and heavy hair and couldn't do mine until at least around 11 or so.

-Angela


----------



## pinksprklybarefoot (Jan 18, 2007)

I still do my DSD's hair for school. She's 5 1/2. And i think I'll be doing it for at minimum another year.

There have been many outbreaks of lice at her school this year, so she prefers to wear it up every day so she doesn't get "a head license."









I'm happy to do it. She looks adorable with her hair up, and we buy coordinating hair curlies/bows/barrettes for every outfit (yeah, we're _those_ people).

I don't think I did my own hair until I was 10, but that was in the day of mall bangs.


----------



## momileigh (Oct 29, 2002)

Mall bangs? Is that what you call the bangs that are all curled and sprayed up? I only did that a couple times.









Thanks for the input. I'll tell her she should master it "by the time you're about ten." I'm sure I'll get a HUGE eyeroll and groan over that one!


----------



## Kirsten (Mar 19, 2002)

My dd1 didn't do her own until she was 9 or 10, but dd2 started doing hers when she was 6 and now at 7 is pretty good at it! One pony in the back is easier than two IMO since you don't have to match them. And I agree with the poster who said bigger ponies are easier to use than the tight rubber bands.


----------



## co op mama (Feb 22, 2008)

Both of my girls 7 and 10 can make ponytails on their own, but according to my 10 year old it's not "good" So I usually do it for them.


----------



## frontierpsych (Jun 11, 2006)

I still can't do my own hair! I can count on one hand the number of times I've worn my hair "up" in my life.


----------



## vegemamato (Jul 4, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *frontierpsych* 
I still can't do my own hair! I can count on one hand the number of times I've worn my hair "up" in my life.









:


----------



## momileigh (Oct 29, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *frontierpsych* 
I still can't do my own hair! I can count on one hand the number of times I've worn my hair "up" in my life.

Seriously?? You must have kept your hair short all your life... right? I can't imagine ALWAYS having my hair down. It gets in the way, it feels sweaty, the list goes on.


----------



## ananas (Jun 6, 2006)

My niece is 6 and can pull it back into an okay ponytail, but it doesn't stay in too long. I can't remember how old I was.


----------



## ewe+lamb (Jul 20, 2004)

My dd started putting her hair back herself in a basic ponytail when she turned 5, but I normally do it for school - for the head lice, but she can do it fairly well herself and when she's not at school I just let her practice, although yesterday she wanted her hair like her best friend so I spent the day putting her hair into tiny braids and beads!!! She does look great though and it means I don't have to do it for the whole week!


----------



## OhDang (Jan 30, 2008)

The kids i nanny for are 7 and 9, and the 9 year old can put her own hair up (but it doesn't look very good..it looks messy) but she can still do it. The 7 year old can sort of but doesn't do it tight enough yet.

Neither of them like their hair being done very often so i think thats why


----------



## brightonwoman (Mar 27, 2007)

I think i was 7 or 8 when i started doing my own. I had long hair and it was curly and I wasn't able to brush it effectively by myself until then (I always got stuck in the tangles). Basic braiding and ponytails are not that hard though. We practiced on doll's heads or sister's heads or mom's head and learned how to do stuff and then learned to do it ourselves. i think my aunt taught me french braiding when i was 7ish...
so it realy depends on the girl. i've been told several tiems that i have a gift with hair, so maybe i got it earlier than other girls might...but it also depends a lot on how long her hair is, how slippery it is, etc. Slippery hair is so much harder than not, curly can be harder than straight, etc.


----------



## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

DD just started to be able to put hers in a pony tail that looks really nice. She is 7yo


----------



## One_Girl (Feb 8, 2008)

My dd can't put her hair in a really fancy ponytail like an adult yet, but she gets some of it in and can wrap the ponytail around a few times, when she first started a few months ago she couldn't do it at all. We have the cloth/elastic ones that are easy to manipulate. She also puts a lot of barrets and clips in her hair and she thinks she looks very fancy. I haven't told her how she really looks because I want her to keep trying and she is so proud when she gets to do her own hair and tell everyone she did her own hair and the people that we are around are proud of her too. If you can let go of your image of what a ponytail needs to look like and help her to experiment with doing her hair those skills will build, it is important to tell her you like her hair when she comes to you to show it to you especially if she is happy and not to redo it or tell her that something is wrong with it if you want her to keep trying.


----------



## momileigh (Oct 29, 2002)

Very good points, One_Girl! I totally agree w/ you. (Well, almost totally... I never tell her I "like" her hair, because it is more important for her to decide how SHE feels about how she did her hair. I give her neutral feedback like, "You worked hard on that!" or "You did that all by yourself!" and I let her decide whether she likes it without passing judgement on the hairdo myself. I do the same with artwork and other stuff. Something I learned from reading Alfie Kohn... I don't know if it makes any difference or not, and sometimes I mess up and say something judgmental, but I'm trying.)

Right now my dd is just frustrated with the fact that she can't get the elastic to stay in her hair *at all* without my help. I'm going to go get some "scrunchier" ponies for her to learn with. This morning she is actually being successful at putting elastic bands in her My Little Pony's mane, so she's making progress! Oh, and she does have barrettes that she experiments with, which is great b/c they are easier than ponies.


----------



## sweetpea333 (Jul 2, 2005)

my almost 4 year old does her own pretty well, but she also has very thin hair, so i guess it depends on the type of hair..


----------



## bigeyes (Apr 5, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *momileigh* 
Seriously?? You must have kept your hair short all your life... right? I can't imagine ALWAYS having my hair down. It gets in the way, it feels sweaty, the list goes on.

Oh, I can _put_ it up, it just looks like crap.









I have baby fine hair, and I have never been able to do anything with it. I have never understood the _fun_ of playing with your hair.

It's been short and straight, or long and straight, and occasionally permed.


----------



## TEAK's Mom (Apr 25, 2003)

A couple of other things that can help:

*Put it up in a big clip instead of an elastic hair tie. That way they don't have to deal with the twisting.
*Learn how to twist it up and hold it with one of those clawed things (do they have a real name?).
*Try a bun with hair sticks.


----------



## bigeyes (Apr 5, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TEAK's Mom* 
A couple of other things that can help:

*Put it up in a big clip instead of an elastic hair tie. That way they don't have to deal with the twisting.
*Learn how to twist it up and hold it with one of those clawed things (do they have a real name?).
*Try a bun with hair sticks.

My hair was always too thin to keep accessories in. They just fall down. I can literally make a ponytail about the size of my little finger if I twist a band a gazillion times to try to make it stay. It just looks ridiculous. Hair sticks would just fall out, there is nothing to hold them in. Clips are too big, there is nothing for them to grab. I might be able to wear baby barrettes, but why bother?

People with 'good' hair really can't understand. The only benefit I can see is, my body hair is similar and shaving isn't much of a problem.


----------



## momileigh (Oct 29, 2002)

My sister has very thin hair. She likes to take bits of it and twist and twist until it curls up, then put a teeny tiny "claw" to hold it there. She can make about 8 of those. Pinned (or "clawed") to the bottom/back of her head, it looks pretty neat. It reminds me of Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma.

I have "good hair" (more or less) but I'm kind of a hair moron. I've seen people w/ those chopsticks sticking out of their hair and I have no idea how they do that! The big claw bun I can do but it doesn't look at all polished. I have three little sisters and all of them are pretty good with hair, so I guess I was lazy and always let them do it, and never reciprocated... now I've got two girls and all that I've mastered is the "sprout" hairdo for babies. They are getting older and I really should try to work on other stuff like braids.


----------



## angela&avery (May 30, 2002)

my dd is 4 and insists on doing her own hair. She makes "ponytails" with her barrettes, taking a section of hair from each side.. its too funny...

today she gathered hair on each side and gave me elastics to put in. i obliged.

she wears headbands and the elastic head bands and puts the elastic around her whole head like she is a hippy.... wears it often like that....

im not allowed to do hairdo's anymore, only once in a while.... but i love seeing what she comes up with. its really not worth the struggle to me...

i guess if she wants to do her own hair, maybe she could just get creative and do it in her own way?


----------



## bigeyes (Apr 5, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *momileigh* 
My sister has very thin hair. She likes to take bits of it and twist and twist until it curls up, then put a teeny tiny "claw" to hold it there. She can make about 8 of those. Pinned (or "clawed") to the bottom/back of her head, it looks pretty neat. It reminds me of Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma.

I have "good hair" (more or less) but I'm kind of a hair moron. I've seen people w/ those chopsticks sticking out of their hair and I have no idea how they do that! The big claw bun I can do but it doesn't look at all polished. I have three little sisters and all of them are pretty good with hair, so I guess I was lazy and always let them do it, and never reciprocated... now I've got two girls and all that I've mastered is the "sprout" hairdo for babies. They are getting older and I really should try to work on other stuff like braids.

I don't like the way it looks like I have bald spots if I do that. I suppose with blonde hair it isn't so obvious, but with dark red it looks horrid.

My dd has really thick hair, she got from her dad. She literally has 6 times as much hair as I do easily. Of course she wants to do cool things with it and I have _no clue.

_


----------



## moochloe2015 (6 mo ago)

My grandaughter started at 4 n surprised me she has long hair


----------

