The adorable characters from My Little Pony all have colourful manes
If I turn on the television and tune in to the kids’ channels for my daughter to watch, I notice that a lot of the characters have a range of colourful hair, from the bubbly “Hi-5” gang, to the cute cartoon witches “Little Charmers”, or the eye-catching “My Little Pony” series with a wide range of rainbow-coloured dolls and figurines to collect.
While attending any children’s birthday party or hipster wedding, there will usually be a fun photo-booth section complete with zany props and rainbow wigs for us to don while posing for a photographic memento.
When I’m out with my child around town, we’re bound to spot quite a few people with their hair dyed in unnatural colours such as blue, green, purple or pink.
To top it all off, I myself am constantly changing my hair colour every other month to suit my mood — so it’s inevitable that my three year old daughter has recently asked me if she could also dye her hair purple or green “just like mummy”.
Because she is still a preschooler and especially since we naturally have dark Asian hair which would require bleaching before any bright colours can even be dyed (which is definitely not recommended nor is it safe for little kids!), she will probably have to wait until she hits puberty before I am comfortable with her changing her hair colour.
Dyeing your hair lets you express who you are on the inside
From threenager to teenager
As a threenager, my daughter probably only wants rainbow-coloured hair because it just looks nice to her, but as she grows older it will become a way of her expressing her own personality while she tries to figure out who she is in this world.
Once she reaches adolescence, she may then experiment with her fashion style, taste in music, and choice of friends — but as long as she is not harming herself by picking up a few vices such as drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, or even engaging in any illegal drug activities, her wanting to dye her hair like that of a unicorn’s will be the least of my concerns.
We all must still remember what it’s like to be an awkward teen, just trying to stand out from the crowd, yet still somehow wanting to feel accepted at the same time.
Dyeing your hair is not a permanent (or painful) decision as getting a tattoo, yet it’s a bold statement way of showing the world that you are not afraid to be seen and just want to let your creative side shine through.
Even if my child was still in secondary school and decided one day that she really wants some pink streaks in her hair, I might be tempted to help her bleach and colour a few hidden locks which can be tucked neatly out of view in a bun or ponytail, so as to show respect for the school dress code.
But for now, my daughter will have to make do with her My Little Pony clip-on rainbow hair extensions and just wait a couple more years before I give her the green light to get green highlights.
At what age would you allow your child to dye his or her hair? Do you think it’s ok for kids to dye their hair? Tell us by leaving a comment below.
