More on Memories: and Blue Hair

Yesterday I wrote about how quickly the kids grow up and it's along the lines of conversations we've been having in my house for the better part of a week.  When I think about the fact that they only have a short period of time to be kids and how there's like this clock ticking for us parents to give them everything they need to know before we send them out into the world... well sometimes I'm left feeling like I'll never get it all in!

Miss. Me is eleven and a budding fashionista.  Okay, she's already a fashionista - and she wants to do more.  Over the past few days she's been asking to dye the tips of her hair.  Thanks to a post by Barbie, Bieber and Beyond, I know how to do this.  Miss. Me would like those tips to be blue.

Credit: glamour.com

My initial reaction is "Ugh! No!" But then it got me thinking about how short their time is.  Sure we need to prepare them to be adults.  It occurred to me as we were discussing this blue hair that they only have a few short years to be able to do something like that.  When do you want your child to do something silly?  Okay, maybe the answer is "never" but let's be realistic here.  If I keep an extremely tight leash on them until the day they turn eighteen and then say "now you're an adult, you can do what you want"... they probably will.



Credit: geekosystem.com

Do I want Miss. Me to show up with blue hair the day after her eighteenth birthday? Yeesh, I hope not. Would I prefer her "blue hair phase" to happen when she's eleven?  Well, between the two choices, yeah, I think I would.  As adults we know how irrelevant those years become once we're past them but in the thick of it, well their peers, school, activities - it truly is their entire life.  And it does go by quickly.  They only have a little bit of time to dye their hair blue before I want them to start acting like an adult - even if I want them to prepare for it; if they can't be a kid now, then when?

So, yes, I've managed to convince myself that I will let her get blue tips.  Once I found the two photos it helped: a little blue versus the possibility of a full head of blue? UM, Yeah.  I suppose I've just reminded myself about the power I do have as a parent.  If I allow her to get the blue in her hair, I can opt for something similar to the first photo - because I'm making the decision; and she will be thrilled.  If I hold out until she can do what she wants, I could end up looking at something like the second photo.  Damn.