You can tell a lot about someone’s personality simply by looking at their hair.
I ask my three girls every morning, “How would you like to wear your hair today?” The nine year old is old enough to brush her own hair and won’t let me near it, the six year old thinks she’s old enough but sometimes needs a few extra strokes at the hands of her Mommy and at least four hands to braid, tie or scrunchie some or all of her up-dos, the two year old is probably running a wet paint brush up and down the hallway while we’re all distracted.
I ask Hanna, “How are you going to wear your hair today?”
Hanna’s response is always the same, “Down.”
She likes to wear her hair the same way every day. It’s brushed and left down. There are no bells or whistles, bows or elastics to draw a lot of attention. She’s found a look that works for her and has stuck with it—a creature of habit.
When I ask Ellie how she would like her hair, her answers range from, “a ponytail at the tippy-top with three small braids at the back and a small bun at the base of my right ear next to a feather,” including any number of ribbons, stickers or sets of chopsticks to, “am I allowed to wear a wig?”
She’s unpredictable, loves attention and wants to dazzle the crowd.
When I ask Chloe (age two) if she would like a barrette or a ponytail I usually get the same answer, “Neither. Don’t brush my hair. I’ll just wear a crown.”
