Would you let your 7 year old dye her hair purple?

Courtney Cox just did. Would you?

Smart Mom Courteney Cox Lets 7-Year-Old Dye Hair Purple

Posted by Jeanne Sager

on Jun 13, 2011 

There's been much ado in my house in the past few weeks about a certain just-turned-6-year-old's hair. Kiddo wants to grow it out like Rapunzel. I'd like to run a brush through it daily without hitting on split ends. We could keep on fighting, but at the end of the day, I'm taking the Courteney Cox approach to hair for the elementary set.

The Friends star was spotted out and about with her own birthday girl, daughter Coco, at a hair salon, where the 7-year-old had blue and purple highlights streaked into her brown 'do. The Daily Mail took its expected thwacks at the actress for treating her 7-year-old like a teenager, but I'd like to give Cox two giant thumbs up from the parenting world for a refreshing dose of reality. Repeat after me folks. It ... is ... just ... hair. It's NOT worth fighting about.

Aside from the dangerous (I was once asked if I dyed my infant's hair blond -- that would be a negative, you ninnies), there's little about the locks that can really get me going. So you want to grow it out? Great. Want to cut it off? Go for it. Otherwise? I'm with Cox ... let your freak flag fly little one.

We have ground rules in our house, sure. It has to be kept clean, reasonably neat, and for cripes' sake, will you STOP chewing on it? But bad cuts grow out. Scary colors can be snipped out. Even a hunk of gum can be fixed. The beauty of hair is that it's one of the body's few renewable resources.

A tattoo is going to mark their body forever and really should be limited to adulthood, when you can weigh out how it will feel to present the boss with a forehead that reads "F--k the establishment." Piercings can scar, and when it comes to beauty treatments, I'll direct you back to "aside from the dangerous" because the regulation of the "kiddie cosmetics" industry absolutely terrifies me.

So what does that leave? Hair. They can wear it up. They can wear it down. They can shave it down to the skin or stop cutting it for two years. And provided they stick to the basic: keep it clean and neat (and OUT OF THE MOUTH because I have found pictures of those kids with hairballs in their stomachs on the Internet, and it's not pretty), life goes on. By next week, the dye is lightening. The mohawk is growing out.

Whatever it is, they don't change our kids on the inside. Those split ends sure don't mean my kid is falling to pieces, so I'm betting Coco Arquette isn't suddenly acting like a teenager with that dyed hair.

Do you care what happens with your kids' hair, provided it's neat and clean? Are purple highlights really such a big deal?

[MommyWeston]

 This

Quoting BraythansMom:

Not dye that sticks but the stuff that comes out in a few washes would be fine :)

 

[Dani_Lynn]

 Thanks, I will.  :) 

So will your child never wear make up?  that's cosmetically altering themselves as well and technically so is cutting their hair or experimenting with different hair styles.  If her friends all decided wearing pig tails every day was what was cool, would you ban your daughter from pig tails to fit in with her friends?

I'm just trying to figure out how a couple streaks of color is hurtful to a child's self image but make up and pig tails aren't?

Quoting USAFamily:

 Well, I wouldn't entertain the thought of either until she is out of my house. So it doesn't matter anyway.

If my kid wants to have her hair cut anyway she desires--fine with me. But dying her hair is totally different and I think it would put the thought in her head that if she can dye her hair she may fit in better, or cosmetically change herself to be accepted in different social circles. Both not cool with me. But parent your kid how you want. It's not my child, and I have no opinion on your choices.

Quoting Dani_Lynn:

 It's hair dye, not a boob job.  It's a temporary way for them to creatively express themselves.  I don't think a couple green streaks in my daughter's hair for field day is going to hurt her self image a bit.

Quoting USAFamily:

 I would never let my 7 year old dye her hair any color. I think it's important to love your self the way you are adn I don't think teaching our kids to cosmetically change themselves in elementary school sets them up with a good self image.

 

 

 

[LindaClement]

I would let a 7yo do this, because I think of it as a really childish thing to do --like drawing all over your body with felt pens. Which my kids also did a lot when they were young. Here, we had black, blue, pink, red, purple, green and yellow hair. Oh, and white-blond. 

Whenever I was confronted by someone of a conservative turn of mind who thought it was Just Wrong, I'd point out 'it's just hair.'

I always grin whenever I see women my age (and older) with funky-coloured hair. I can't help but think they're having a little childhood moment, now that they feel free to do so...

[USAFamily]

 I'm not sure if she will wear make up. I personally didn't until I was almost 18 and to this day I wear very little. I don't let her even play with lip gloss now. It will be her choice one day (and so will coloring her hair). As long as it's my choice, I will not be allowing it.

Quoting Dani_Lynn:

 Thanks, I will.  :) 

So will your child never wear make up?  that's cosmetically altering themselves as well and technically so is cutting their hair or experimenting with different hair styles.  If her friends all decided wearing pig tails every day was what was cool, would you ban your daughter from pig tails to fit in with her friends?

I'm just trying to figure out how a couple streaks of color is hurtful to a child's self image but make up and pig tails aren't?

Quoting USAFamily:

 Well, I wouldn't entertain the thought of either until she is out of my house. So it doesn't matter anyway.

If my kid wants to have her hair cut anyway she desires--fine with me. But dying her hair is totally different and I think it would put the thought in her head that if she can dye her hair she may fit in better, or cosmetically change herself to be accepted in different social circles. Both not cool with me. But parent your kid how you want. It's not my child, and I have no opinion on your choices.

Quoting Dani_Lynn:

 It's hair dye, not a boob job.  It's a temporary way for them to creatively express themselves.  I don't think a couple green streaks in my daughter's hair for field day is going to hurt her self image a bit.

Quoting USAFamily:

 I would never let my 7 year old dye her hair any color. I think it's important to love your self the way you are adn I don't think teaching our kids to cosmetically change themselves in elementary school sets them up with a good self image.

 

 

 

 

[armywife1229]

Its temporary, so I'd be more likely to consider this than piercings or something like that. I'm not sure I'll do it, but it wouldn't be the end of the world.

[LindaClement]

Makeup was in the same category as hair dye: whatever.

I just can't imagine having an argument about it. 

I didn't choose to draw up and down their legs with black felt pen... anymore than I chose to cover their eyelids in 3 colours of shadow... or paint their hair green or red. They thought it was 'fun' --it was easy to do and to change... and it all grew out and went away.

Both my kids grew out of unnatural-looking hair colours and makeup long before they were 15.

Quoting USAFamily:

 I'm not sure if she will wear make up. I personally didn't until I was almost 18 and to this day I wear very little. I don't let her even play with lip gloss now. It will be her choice one day (and so will coloring her hair). As long as it's my choice, I will not be allowing it.

Quoting Dani_Lynn:

 Thanks, I will.  :) 

So will your child never wear make up?  that's cosmetically altering themselves as well and technically so is cutting their hair or experimenting with different hair styles.  If her friends all decided wearing pig tails every day was what was cool, would you ban your daughter from pig tails to fit in with her friends?

I'm just trying to figure out how a couple streaks of color is hurtful to a child's self image but make up and pig tails aren't?

[Dani_Lynn]

Thanks for expanding.

Quoting USAFamily:

 I'm not sure if she will wear make up. I personally didn't until I was almost 18 and to this day I wear very little. I don't let her even play with lip gloss now. It will be her choice one day (and so will coloring her hair). As long as it's my choice, I will not be allowing it.

Quoting Dani_Lynn:

 Thanks, I will.  :) 

So will your child never wear make up?  that's cosmetically altering themselves as well and technically so is cutting their hair or experimenting with different hair styles.  If her friends all decided wearing pig tails every day was what was cool, would you ban your daughter from pig tails to fit in with her friends?

I'm just trying to figure out how a couple streaks of color is hurtful to a child's self image but make up and pig tails aren't?

Quoting USAFamily:

 Well, I wouldn't entertain the thought of either until she is out of my house. So it doesn't matter anyway.

If my kid wants to have her hair cut anyway she desires--fine with me. But dying her hair is totally different and I think it would put the thought in her head that if she can dye her hair she may fit in better, or cosmetically change herself to be accepted in different social circles. Both not cool with me. But parent your kid how you want. It's not my child, and I have no opinion on your choices.

Quoting Dani_Lynn:

 It's hair dye, not a boob job.  It's a temporary way for them to creatively express themselves.  I don't think a couple green streaks in my daughter's hair for field day is going to hurt her self image a bit.

Quoting USAFamily:

 I would never let my 7 year old dye her hair any color. I think it's important to love your self the way you are adn I don't think teaching our kids to cosmetically change themselves in elementary school sets them up with a good self image.

 

 

 

 

[jridgill]

Yes

[Maddies_mom101]

nope she has blonde hair I am affraid of what color it would turn

[Love060708kids]

No I would not