Toddler hairstyle hack

If you have a toddler who likes having their hair styled then you, my friend, are living the dream. 

I’m not. I’m living a ‘quivering in fear of the dreaded hair toss’ existence where my morning begins with a ticking time bomb countdown as I frantically wind a hairband round a small scoop of hair. If I fail, headbanging which is more suited to the mosh pit at a Slipknot concert begins. 

Munchkin was born with a lot of hair – the kind every doctor kept commenting on when we went from one hospital department to the next. She shed a little during that 3 month stage but typically as her hair grew, she moved from one hairstyle to the next: the Liza Minnelli crop, the Miley Cyrus mullet (which later grew out into the classic Rachel cut) and the Pob. I grew up with hair which looked like a cross between Brian May and an electrocuted scientist so I was nervous about styling it too early, mainly because I knew she had a tough road of knots and tangles ahead. And I held my nerve for almost two years, letting it live freely without a hairband or bobble in sight, despite the occasional judgement at mother and baby groups: “Oh I don’t suppose you need to brush it at that age.” (I was brushing it…)

But there comes a day for every toddler when they start a routine which lasts a lifetime. And so, during potty time, I tentatively tried a half-ponytail… Munchkin was not keen and immediately started wriggling the hairband out. She was better with a high sports bun during an August heatwave but gradually throughout the day it sank further and further to her shoulders. In fact, it took a few weeks of trial and error to find the perfect haircut – and this I recommend to everyone. The side half pony twist. 

If your toddler is anything like mine, you need a high up-do because: 

1) It gets all her hair from her face and 

2) She doesn’t know it’s there and yank it out. 

And, because her hair can’t be tamed by one hairband alone, it has to be twisted through and tightened to last until bedtime. 

But it does last all that time and it’s the hairstyle she wears every day. I would love to give her a middle parting and put a twisted ponytail on both sides of her head but because of the limited time my toddler gives me, it must be done with one scoop of hair on a side parting.

I’ve already got visions of her first day of school wearing this style or it being her bridal hair. Of course, I know, she’ll progress, move on and it won’t be long until she’s got her hair in plaits, braids and curls. But I’ll always be grateful for the first hairstyle she ever wore – which stopped the comments at mum group.