Weird Obsession???

That's got to be the cutest post I've read on here in a while. I say at least she will brush her hair! I agree with most of the other posters. It probably is a phase. And she'll probably grow out of it eventually. She'll find the next really cool hair accessory and probably start obsessing over that instead. I wish my almost 4 year old would wear even a headband. She refuses to even brush her hair and it's almost always in her face. Any ponytails or clips I can manage getting into her hair within 5 seconds usually gets ripped out once she remembers it's there. I say let her do it. Like another poster said, she probably feels grown up and like she has control over that part of her life. It doesn't sound like it's harmful. Too cute!

Hi D.,
Your little sweety obviously just doesn't feel comfortable without the headband yet. Perhaps that event a year ago when her friend cut her hair was a little more traumatic than it seemed. At the time she may have felt she didn't look good any more and needed the headband. Those are hard habits to break for all of us. When I was in the 3rd grade I wore the same two barretts in my hair everyday for the entire school year.I remember my Mom telling me my hair would look better without them and it didn't matter. I thought my hair only looked good with them in. I don't remember what happened, but I know I am not still wearing barretts!!!lol
My suggestion would be to not discuss it any more. Rather, maybe just comment once in a while on how cute her hair is, with or without the headband, in an effort to try and normalize the whole thing again. But keep an eye, as you are doing. Maybe she was teased at school or something that has triggered this need.
Hope you have a great day,
B.

This reminds me of a little girl I know who went through a phase where she would wear a princess tiara ALL THE TIME. The kid NEVER took it off! I think she went through the phase for a year, maybe two! By the end, all the silver paint had come off the plastic tiara, all the little fake jewels had fallen out, and the thing looked terrible, but she wouldn't stop wearing it! SHe finally grew out of the phase. I am sure your daughter will, too. I bet that she has gotten so used to the head bands that they are like a security thing for her. A lot of people have accessories that they "need". I'd just give her time...she'll move on from head bands eventually. But if they make her happy now, I don't see any harm in it. At least she wants to brush her hair!

All I can say is, pick your battles. This one doesn't sound like anything to get hyped up about. She isn't hurting anyone. She just happens to be a little obsessed about headbands. Sometimes my little one argues if I want to put piggies in her hair. We've moved on to braids, but I'm sure that will change with time. Point being, this may pass with time, but if it doesn't, you should just leave it be and be annoyed without showing your frustration. Kids pick up on what bugs you, and sometimes do those things just to have the power. Right now, it's part of who she is.

If you consider all of the other issues she (and you) could possibly be dealing with, is her wearing a head band the worst thing in the world? Probably not. I'm sure it's just a phase and she'll grow out of it. I can't tell you how many cute dresses, skirts and pants I've bought my 3-year old daughter, but she just insists on wearing jeans practically every day. I think it's just a girl thing.

My god-daughter, who was six/seven at the time, did the same thing. She comes and stays the summers with me and HAD to wear a headband everyday. Her Mom asked me to try and break her of it because it was drivig her crazy! By the end of the summer she would at least let me put braids in her hair. It must have been a phase because she doesn't wear them any more! How funny...

My daughter isn't 6, but she also has a fascination with a particular hair style, pony tails. Its the only thing she wants and will let me do.

At this point, I have to wonder if its something she likes because its very familiar and, with your daughter, its something she can do by herself. Almost like a measure of how grown-up she is.

Being independent and proving just how grown-up you really are is a big thing for kids, especially when it comes to things you can do by yourself.

It probably wouldn't hurt if from time to time you point out a different hairstyle on another girl and even say how pretty it looks. Don't make a big deal about it, or anything like that, just gently point out that there are other ways of doing hair that look good too.

It will probably take some time before your daughter is willing to change and turning a partially blind eye on her head-band fixation will help you in the long-run.

My mom put up with my denim jacket fixation, even during the dead of winter, and only mentioned how cold it was when I started shivering. I got the message and wore a warmer coat. :D

Too cute indeed! Very normal. And I agree, at least she is brushing her own hair!!!! I have two girls. My oldest is 11, she wore two pig tails until last year, every day. I finally taught her how to do it her self, because I was sick of the style myself. She didn't like that so after a power struggle she now wears her hair in one pig tail. At one point I caught her trying out a couple of my hair claws. I complimented her over board on it (she really looks so beautiful with her hair down) and I bought her her own hair claws, and every once in a while we get a change...but she wore two big tails from the time she was about 2 until she was 9 years old.

My second is almost 8....I would love to figure out how to get her to brush her hair, period. Sometimes, she will just pull back her hair without brushing it. By the time I realize how snarly it is, it has been a few days since it was brushed. Her hair is very thick and easily gets snarled as she isn't exactly the "princess" type of girl. Though she went through a phase of only wearing dresses, this lasted about 2 years. During the winter she would wear a pair of pants under her dress, but she would not take off the dress. Now she is 8 and I can't hardly get her to wear a dress.

All in the phase. Enjoy it while it lasts!

D.,
She has been through much with the devorce and the headband is something she can control in her world. It might be some sort of sucurity issue. I would let her wear the hair band . It makes her feel good about herself and some kids just like that kind of stuff. I have one daughter that is very stylish and has a way with color and has a thought out plan for how she wears things. My other three could care less. I am happy they grew up to brush their hair everyday. hee hee.

So don't worry it might just be part of her being herself.
C. B