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Original poster

Kids with long hair - what age should they shower independently?

23 replies

KenAdams · 12/01/2020 10:26

DD has long thick waist length hair. For those of you whose children have similar hair when did they learn how to shower themselves please including hair washing?

OP posts:

lucysmam · 12/01/2020 10:40

Dd1 was about 8yo. Her hair's just past her shoulders.

Dd2 is just 10yo; she can get a shower independently but struggles with her hair - she doesn't like the water near her face. She does try but quite often I'll jump in just to make sure the area at the top of her head is rinsed properly, then she gets out and I get my shower.

inwood · 12/01/2020 10:41

Dts are 8 and do their own but I still need to check it's rinsed out properly.

stripeypillowcase · 12/01/2020 10:42

around 8.
however prefers baths and uses the hose sitting down to wash hair.

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AudacityOfHope · 12/01/2020 10:44

I think DD was 6, turning 7.

haba · 12/01/2020 10:45

Mine are 13 and 10, can shower independently but wear shower caps to keep hair dry. They still need their hair washing to get it rinsed properly
They have AS and dyspraxia though, so take that into consideration. I have warned both that they need to be able to manage it themselves or it needs to be cut some... haven't had the heart to follow through, as for DS his hair is his comfort IYSWIM. It's clean, because I do it. They're not bothered by me being in the bathroom when they shower, otherwise they'd have had the chop by now!

cobwebsoncornices · 12/01/2020 10:54

DD is 10 and has been doing her's by herself for six months or so. Before that, there were several months when I'd check it was all done & rinsed properly before she got out of the shower and I wondered if she'd ever get the hang of doing it herself.
Something which has helped was getting her a comb to use in the shower. She shampoos her hair, rinses that off, puts the conditioner on, combs her hair through, washes & then rinses our the conditioner, combs her hair again and does a final rinse.

HarryRug · 12/01/2020 10:58

DD was taught to shower independently age 4 and wash and condition her long, curly hair independently age 6 years but she is extremely coordinated. DS learnt to shower independently and wash hair age 7 nearly 8. At school they’re expected to shower after swimming from year 2 (although not hair wash) which made me think most kids are capable of this if school are of the view they can.

MartyrGuacamole · 12/01/2020 12:20

Dd is 7.5 and can wet her hair, add shampoo, rinse and add conditioner. She starts the rinsing the conditioner but it is a bit tricky to get it all out so I usually have a quick check. She's been doing it this way about 6 months.

MartyrGuacamole · 12/01/2020 12:21

@cobwebs that's a great idea re the comb, I'll get one for dd :-)

DisgraceToTheYChromosome · 12/01/2020 13:55

I think DD was about 9. Certainly that was the last time she had nits. After that she managed by herself, as well as doing her own plaits.

happycamper11 · 12/01/2020 14:15

DD1 was 5 or just 6 with long hair. Dd2 is nearly 7 and has short very tight curls and a special routine. I still help her mostly - she does have very short arms though so finds it harder

Pilot12 · 12/01/2020 14:33

When I was 11 my Mum made me learn to do it myself because there was a school residential trip coming up and the school sent a letter saying everyone had to be able to wash their own hair if they wanted to go. There was one girl who had to have a teacher wash her hair because she couldn't do it and everyone took the piss out of her for the rest of the trip.

HelloDulling · 12/01/2020 14:35

One of DD’s friends is 14. Her mum still washes and dries her hair.

BorissGiantJohnson · 12/01/2020 14:40

10 and I still have to take her back in and rinse the shampoo out for her. It's not even that long. I suspect it doesn't help that she never wants to shower/wash her hair to begin with, so is probably not motivated to try her best.

MonstranceClock · 12/01/2020 14:44

My 5 year old washes her own hair.

Dogsaresomucheasier · 12/01/2020 14:57

My dds were about 7, learned after swimming lessons where it was easy to supervise without getting wet!

cobwebsoncornices · 12/01/2020 23:12

@MartyrGuacamole Boots sell a special wide tooth one with a hook on the end which is specifically for shower use & hanging up in there when used. I'm sure you'd could make something which does the same thing but I'm not that talented or patient so just bought it when I saw it.

Ginxed · 12/01/2020 23:19

My DD started washing and conditioning her waist length hair between 9 and 10, it took a few goes before she got the hang of rinsing it completely though.

Rastamousehat · 12/01/2020 23:22

My DD has very long hair. I think she started showering/washing hair independently around age 8 or 9.

CatFaceCats · 12/01/2020 23:23

My DD is almost 9 and I can trust her to do it herself. But she has been half arsed doing it from about age 5.
She still likes it best when I come into the shower and do it for her.

Rastamousehat · 12/01/2020 23:24

DS is 10 and needs about 685 reminders to actually use soap/shower gel and shampoo instead of just arsing about daydreaming in the bath or shower

PlaymobilPirate · 12/01/2020 23:38

Oh god, ds is 7 and has short hair...and he struggles with that! He hates the water in his eyes si I have to coax him to rinse, be on stand by with a towel...

73Sunglasslover · 12/01/2020 23:39

My DD was about 10. She is not the most co-ordinated and her hair is trickier to wash as it's very thick. You can't just let the water run over it as it will only get to the top 'layer'. You need to lift it to get the bottom layers rinsed too. She was mostly independent from about but didn't often properly rinse out the conditioner - of which she needed to use a lot as her hair is pretty wirey like mine.

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