Should my 8 year old nephew have his hair permed?

[KateGrace]

My 8 year old nephew has disclosed to his dad (my brother) this weekend that his mum is going to get his hair permed. My brother has asked his ex not to get it done as he is too young. She refuses to listen and has stated that she is going ahead with it anyway. Are we being unreasonable?

I had my hair permed at 9 (very late 80s) and it did me no harm. That being said, it looked bloody terrible. A perm is always unreasonable.

Any reputable hairdresser wouldn't do it. Chemical treatments such as perms and dyes carry risks, and they won't be insured. The chemicals used aren't tested/approved on children so the business insurance is invalidated. That's before getting into the issues around fashion/maintenance on a young child.

I've looked into the legalities of a few things like this due to working with children in residential children's homes. Parental consent shouldn't be the only factor here!

Half the boys in my area are trotting about with hair like alpacas at the moment. Most are year 6 and above though.

Thankfully DS appears not to have noticed though. I can't be doing with the faff or expense.

I don't have nephews, but what my nieces do with their hair isn't my concern. I enjoy their company but don't get involved in hair or fashion choices.

I don't know any hairdresser who would perm an 8 year olds hair

What's this 'we' OP? What business is it of yours?

Whilst it's not something I'd do at that age, my philosophy with my own children is that it is only hair so whatever they want to do, it's up to them 🤷‍♀️
My own kids. What other kids, related or not, do or don't do is never on my radar

Ooo OP you have set all the pearl clutchers off haven't you! 🤣

I get not wanting to perm young kids hair but why all the nasty comments about boys with curly hair? The 'llama look', 'look like Ronald mcdonald'.

I have never seen anyone with curly hair sporting this hairstyle before. The comments are referring to the hairstyle, not curly hair. A mullet looks hideous but isn't an indictment against straight hair!

Ooo OP you have set all the pearl clutchers off haven't you!

I doubt anyone is scandalised, they just think it's not age appropriate and unsafe.

I know this is old but I felt I needed to revisit.

a boy in ds’s class (year 4 so 9 or possibly 8) has turned up today rocking the alpaca look. I really hope ds doesn’t want one. I knew it was the thing for high school boys but at 9? Wow.

ps would love an update form the OP but yes unreasonable at any age against their will, surely

He is 8, not 16!

It will be easy enough to cut it off, so I don't really see the issue, as long as the kid wants it. Tbh I would not even be telling kids that young that they can change the curliness or colour of their hair. I'd be worried it would make them insecure about what's there naturally. I honestly thought perms were dead since the late 80s. But hey, maybe it will look great? 🙄

zombie thread. My fault. Sorry

He’s 8. 8 year olds don’t get perms. End of

Daughter of a hairdresser in the 60s, I'm 58 now but had my first perm at 2 years old. My hair is still very thick and undamaged lol

There’s no upside, but I’ve seen quite a lot of perms in tween and teen boys over the last few years — it’s perfectly possible it’s the child’s own idea. A friend of mine’s then 11 year old persuaded him to let him have it done last year, though I’m not sure most middle-aged men would have any knowledge of what chemicals are involved…

I was waiting for my own young DS to have his hair cut last year and one of the barbers was explaining very kindly to a boy on the phone that no, he couldn’t book in for his first perm at 4.45 because the salon closed at 5.30.

2!!!

Yanbu, unless the child is a precocious antiques dealer.