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What does "hair time" mean to you?
A bonding experience? A chore? What does it mean to you and your child? What do you talk about? How do you spend hair time? Chatting about the latest at school? Maybe doing something educational? I would love to hear all about it.
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I am 14 and typically do my 4 yr old sisters hair (my mom is still working on learning braids) I was adopted from Ethiopia with my sister and 8 and 11 year old brothers two years ago so I learned how to braid in Ehtiopia. We make hair time a fun time at first. She typically falls asleep about 20 minutes in to a braided style (once we put her head on the pillow so I can braid the side :) ) If it is a quick style she will play board games with our brother or we will watch a movie.
ReplyDeleteWeekend hair time is definitely a bonding time (daily care is usually very low manipulation and quick before school, so it's mostly just a quick time to remind my kids to put their homework in their backpacks, lol). During the chosen day on the weekend, my kids hang out in the living room while one child sits in the big comfy chair there and gets her/his hair detangled and styled.
ReplyDeleteWe watch old Hindi movies, especially ones with Madhuri Dixit (because my girls are dancers and greatly admire her dancing skills), or listen to music while my son and boyfriend play Xbox, Wii or Playstation video games nearby.
The conversation always differs, but mostly I ask my kids about their activities and what they want to do after we've finished with our hair, lol. I do tell them what I'm doing to their hair, every little step, so they have a strong routine, and learn how to (and love to) do their own hair. I also let them pick out what acessories they want to wear in their hair, especially when I do not let them pick the style.
My son is easy maintanence now that we've cut off his APL hair. So, I usually talk to him about what game he is playing or what story he has recently written.
My boyfriend serves as the DJ and chef, and we just kick it family style, either on a Saturday morning or on a Sunday afternoon.
Right now, hair time is kinda stressful as Liyah hasn't yet understood that she has to keep her head still in order for me to do it. I end with a cute style for her and a back ache for me. lol I love it though because she hands me the bands needed and she's trying to talk like an adult so she's constantly babbling! She tries to say the colors of the hair bands when she hands them to me.
ReplyDeleteI just found this blog from curlynikki 1st and then BBC and bookmarked it right away. You do such beautiful styles on your daughter.I am a mother to an African american little girl who is 2 years old and I am dang near obsessed with keeping her natural and with her loving her true self.right now we kind of struggle with our hair times because she doesn't understand that she has to keep still form me to do her hair.she will not let a comb come near her hair for when I need to do parts and barely a brush. She's a work in progress though she loves the final result so I think it motivates her to allow me to do her hair. I am trying to be more patient during these times which seems to help because I don't want her to associate getting her hair done with an undesirable experience.
ReplyDeletePS:I would rather not be Anon but I haven't figured out how to comment on the blogs since I'm usually a career blurker lol...My name is Cee
Believe it or not, hairtime is relaxing for me! I love doing my daughter's hair! There are times when she's not in the mood, but for the most part she loves it too. When it's time to do her hair, we sit on the bed and talk or we'll watch a show/movie. Lately she has been playing with a puzzle app on my iPhone that allows the user to use photos from the phone as the puzzle. She enjoys putting together her own picture puzzles.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy being creative with her styles and seeing what I can create. It does take awhile at times but in the end, it's all worth it.
My daughter used to be really good about letting me do her hair and would fall asleep. I liked doing it then. Now she is 2 and wont hold still long. I have learned to do a lot with her wiggles but it has not been worth it the last few months so we have had a lot of "fro" days. I also do a lot of pigtail puffs or just bead the front half of her "bangs" hair and let the back fro. I have been struggling with detangling lately but tonight I did it in the bath, with her hair full of conditioner, and we both enjoyed that. I love all of your advice and ideas and it has really helped me to right by her hair. Being white I know NOTHING but am learning a great deal. I want her hair and skin (and her) to be as healthy as possible.
ReplyDeleteHair time for me and my girls is bonding time more so with the oldest than youngest. The youngest one is such an explorer and does not like to sit down for a long period of time because it takes me a little more time for her hair because it is much more thicker than that oldest one. My oldest child which is a true diva loves to get her hair washed and comb, we use that time to talk about things that happen at school and whatever else comes up in her little mind.
ReplyDeleteMan Nikki, It means so much to the point I can write for days.Although he's a boy we get to talk, laugh, watch tv/movies, listen to music and more. Sometimes I get upset when I have to do his hair when he's asleep because I feel so lonely and I noticed it takes me longer to do his hair when he's asleep. One time it took me five hours to braid his hair when he fell asleep for the night..I just could not focus because it was too quiet.
ReplyDeleteRight now it's just Q watching a movie (which is something she usually only gets to do during hair time) while I get to let out my creativity (that doesn't get much other outlet right now!)
ReplyDeleteI hope as she gets older and more verbal (she's 20mo) that it will be a bonding time for us! Our routine is a bit different than some tho, I suppose, because we have "hair time" every morning. and it doesn't last very long. 5-10 min is usually the most! So we'll see how it evolves as she gets older :)
it's mommy and me time. as my girls get older, i hope we can share things with each other. i did that with my mother well into my teens.
ReplyDeleteA bonding experience is what I believe Hair time as become. Most of the time we do hair when Little Brother takes a nap about 2-3 hours. It's "our GIRLS time" We talk about home most of the time (Georgia home) she likes remembering our trips, and likes to make plans "when we go back to America, I want us to buy a dog" and the conversations can change faster than the weather in Italy. (It was the most beautiful day sunny almost summery day yesterday, today is storming and sad looking) We have also practice letters, spelling, days of the week, and the months. She has asked me about my husband and my weeding, about my childhood, and we also practice spanish. Its our girl time. We have also added Ballet classes as one more Girls things (brother is too laud and he is not allowed in there).
ReplyDeleteSince I was a little girl hair time has always been part of the "loving-up time" between my mom, my sister and I. It was our time. Some times it meant long nights and I was always the fidgety one, but I loved it just because I knew it was about me. Now I loooooove that I get to share that with my babygirl. It's our special time to laugh and enjoy her beauty even more. I really think the hair time and "loving-up time" I got, brought me so close to my mom and sister. I still have hair time with them :)
ReplyDeleteMy little one is 2yrs old, so right now its more of bribing game. She starts getting ansy when it starts to take to long, so hairstyles that require time are complicated for us. I hope that as she gets older it becomes a bonding experiance, where we can talk about anything and I get to expirement with more detailed hairstyles.
ReplyDeleteI love my daughters' hair..I'm jealous of their curls, b/c they're juicy, whereas mine don't have any real definition. I'm constantly telling them how much mommy LOVES their curls & that I love curly hair in general...Now I don't know if their curly hair means anything to them at the age of 2, lol, but I'll never stop telling them.
ReplyDeleteWith all that being said...hair days in the past have been stressful for all 3 of us. The girls did not like having their hair washed & all 3 of us would end up in tears by the time I was rinsing the conditioner out.
But then, we'd move on to the moisturizing, oiling, combing, brushing & braiding (or ponytailing, in the case of my oldest lol)& everything would be fine. Cheeze-its, Tinker Bell & 'Prin-tess Ti-na-na' are lifesavers. It's a great bonding experience, and I have since found a way to wash their hair that doesn't involve tears or screams, so there is very little drama involved in hair days now.