kids with dreads and stuff

Hi there everybody!
So...heres my situation. I started my dreadies about a month and a half ago and my oh my I kinda look like an alien plant.... but in a good way I suppose. Once my hair starts to settle a little I'll post some pics. Anywho....my 5 year old daughter, Amara, has been asking for dreads. I'm really hesitant to allow her hair to dread because I think dreads are a personal journey that every person should decide to embark on or not on their own terms. I know that her wanting dreads now is only because I am doing it. However, I still find myself toying with the idea of letting her hair dread because oh lawdy it would be so adorable! So......I was just wondering for all you dreadie parents out there....whats your take on it? Have any of you dreaded your kids hair?
Much love!
Heres my little one......



Her hair is so fine it would dread really quickly...she wakes up every morning with crazy knotted mounds of madness!

 

I'm definately dreading my kids hair. What I plan to do is never cut his hair, so it starts dreading right from the beginning, maybe help it along with some back combing. But as it gets dreadier I'll maintain it by keeping the knots seperate so they don't matt together.
Your kid looks like she has prett thin hair, so keep that in consideration. You should keep in mind that she may be risking getting teased or even bullied at school, and she might want to take them out after a few days, you know how kids are. Give her and yourself a week or too to think about it, if she still wants it then let her do it, but assure her that there's no turning back. Good luck!

 

thanks for the input Kiwii! I thought about the teasing aspect...i dont think it'll be too bad though...her school has 2 dready kids already! But I know what you mean. Good luck with your little guy too!

 

amara is a spiecial child i think she knows perfectly well what she wants, and has always been a lil dready at heart..i think you know that too

ive known some kids who dreaded from birth and they were definately specal kids

if she wants em let her habve em but yea make sure shes aware that some close minded ppl might not like em

 

two of my kids have had dreads at one time or another. my son just didn't want anyone to touch his hair when he was 4.. so he had dreads starting. my youngest wanted dreads because we know lots of folks, kids included, with dreads.. so i let it dread. however once we moved and we didn't know a lot of people with dreads, she didn't want them anymore. luckily for me, someone else brushed them out.

 

i think that kids definitely know what they want. they may not always want it for ever and ever, but that doesn't diminish their ability to really want it for all the right reasons, or have personal growth from the experience.

5 is old enough to really process what you want, and to understand if you tell her that some people will laugh at her and maybe say mean things to her, and once well informed about the pros and cons of it, she should be able to make a decision about whether or not she cares if other people think she's a little different for not brushing her hair.

and like i mentioned in the thread of mamamojos... dreads are "permanent" but hair grows. kids like big change from time to time as they grow. i'm thinking your sweet little beauty knows exactly what she wants, and is quite capable of making the right choice for herself.

 

She asked, so I think I would give it a week or two (because that's a really long time for a kid) and if she STILL wants them then why not. BUT you should explain that mommy will have to cut her hair very short if she changes her mind after they've formed. And have her say that back to you in her own words so she understands. I say that only because it'd be much to painful to a kid to comb out well formed dreads. You know her best though, so follow your mom instincts.

p.s. she's a beauty

 

think of all the fun you can have as a kid that you cant have as an adult and let her get dreads. That said, make sure that she knows she cant just cut them out the first time someone at school calls her a tramp.

 

thanks..you all have def. given me some food for thought! I talked to her again last night about it and she still wants them......Looks like we might do it! Were gonna wait a couple days.... I'll keep ya'll posted on her journey as well if she follows thru! =]

 

Here's my experience: My hubby and I both have dreads and our daughter who was 8 years old at the time siad she really wanted dreads. We talked about it for a year and she still wanted them, so I started the long process. She loved them at first but hated getting them ripped apart, so they started to mat into some large dreads. After 1 1/2 years of having dreads, just when they were starting to look good, she decided to cut them off.
I had to put alot of time & energy into her dreads as she wasn't able to maintain them herself. It was frustrating & heart werenching when she chopped them off-I almost cried!

 

I wish you good look and I'm eager to see it! She'll be the coolest kid on the block!

 

Teehee...thanks Kiwii!

 

Im afraid of that too! Im sorry that happened! Did she get ridiculed by other kids at all?

 

She didn't get teased or anything, one of her friends said the dreads felt wierd, but that's about it.
She just wanted "normal" hair again, in her words.

 

My son who is eleven has a really curly fro right now. I have it cornrowed at the moment but he has mentioned getting dreads and his would dread quick. But I told him to wait and tell me if he wanted them in three months cause kids do change their mind but he seems pretty fixed on the idea especially since there are a quit a few dread heads around here. i encourage it because its a beautiful journey and I think he would benifit from it.

 

id love to see pics if he goes thru with it and you feel comfortable postin pics of your son on here KnattyK! Kids with dreads are so friggin cute!

 

at the gatherigs ive net many dready kids and ibe known some ppl who let theyre babies dread from birth
ive known alotta the move folks too and theyre kids all dreaded from birth


ya know..once she grows her dreads it wont be long till she'll want fairy wings
and a tatoo of a silver eye over her 3rd eye


but make her wait on the tat till shes older

 

haha...she's already got some pegasus wings for halloween...and on saturday I got a new tattoo on my wrist....when she saw it she started marking up her wrists! she actually drew a really cool spiraly river design that started from the palm of her hand and went down to her wrist...I was impressed! Funny bussiness!

 

you have a VERY special daughter! let us know what she and you decide, and post pics of the journey! i always experiment with tattoo ideas by drawing on myself with magic marker. go mandy's daughter!!!

 

lol!
yeah...it's funny...we sat down and talked about it and I listed out the pro's and cons of having dreads....she said she'd think about it....and then this morning she asked if I'd shave her head!!!!!!!!! WTF?!!! lol.
I think I def have a little rebel on my hands here...she's already wanting to make bold fashion and lifestyle choices!!!!! Yikes! Im even more apprehensive about shaving her head than I was dreads! Her hair is so purty!