0 Natural Hair Discussion: Dreads on Children, yay or nay?

Until recently, I didn't know children with dreadlocks was so common. I was on Facebook and stumbled across and natural hair page filled with pictures of children with sisterlocs and dread locs or locs. While the styles were cute and the children seemed to love their long hair; seeing children with locs made me uncomfortable.

Although, locs are not the same chemically as a relaxer, the style is still in many ways just as permanent. There are currently only 2 ways that I know of to get rid of locs. You can comb locs out, which takes days and may even take weeks depending on the size and quantity of locs the person has or you can grow them out and cut them off. Neither one of these sound appealing when it comes to children.

I simply think dreads are too much of a "permanent" style for children. Teens and young adults are a different story because, they can actually voice their opinion and have the ability to sit down for however long it may take to comb the locs out or re-twist the locs.

Another startling thing about locs is some (please notice I said some) people believe the only way their hair will grow is if they get locs. I know of quite a few people who have gotten locs because, they weren't able to properly care for their natural hair in it's loose state. Could people be applying this same concept to children? Yes, they could and I think locs, as I said earlier, is too much of a "permanent" style to just slap in your child's head because you don't know how to care for their hair.

Let's also not leave out the maintenance aspect. Dread locs or traditional comb or rolled locs are simply tighted or refreshed by re-twisting the root. This process can take hours, that's too long for a young child to sit and get their hair fixed. I have seen locs on children as young as 3! They might like the end result but, I know they aren't enjoying the process. I'm not even going to talk about sisterlocks....those definitely take too long to put in.

The bottom line? Locs in my opinion are for young adults/teens and adults. Not for children. The maintenance and take down is just too much for a child. For the record I feel the same way about microbraids, weaves, and some braided styles.

What do you think? Dreads on children, yay or nay?

I got a "Yay" from Q here is her comment:
"I say yay. It def depends on the child. My 10 year old has them and she loves them and so do I. It wasn't a decision made on a whim either. We talked about it, she talked with my friend who has locs, we looked up info online and I told her it was permanent and she wouldn't be able to wear her hair straight or in styles like her sister. Her response was, "that's okay, I like being different." She comes to me all the time and tells me how much she loves her locs. She's even learned to style them her own. I think the decision should be well thought out and discussed but I have no regrets and neither does she. Actually she smiles when she has to watch her sisters endure the wash, condition, detangle and style process because she doesn't have to endure all of that. The hardest decision she has to make is whether or not to do curls or let them dry straight. Q"


After reading her comment, I can see how having dreadlocks can be a great choice for some children. Seems like her daughter enjoys the locs and she showed me a few pics and her daughter's hair is so adorable! 

Thanks for your perspective Q!


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