Help my DH tie a toddler's hair?

[hentheeighth]

Hi wise MNers

Wasn't sure where best to post this (style and beauty? disability?) but wondering if someone might have a similar problem or a clever idea to solve this one.

DH and I have a DD, 18 months old, whose hair is just getting long enough that it gets in her eyes a bit if not tied up. Hair clips work but she takes them out quickly, where as a cute little ponytail on top of her head usually survives most of the day.

BUT DH has limited mobility in one arm which makes it quite difficult to tie a ponytail. He manages well in day to day life but struggles a bit as he finds it requires a fair bit of dexterity in both hands to tie - to give an idea he also finds things like buttons etc a bit trickier than others might.

Does anyone have any good tricks, either for tying hair with one hand, or other easier ways to tie hair/keep it out of her face for the days he gets her ready? We usually take it in turns to get her ready in the mornings and he manages fine (and likes doing it!), he generally just brushes her hair to one side at the mo but would be great if he had an easy way to tame her hair as it grows, and that she couldn't too easily throw off...

Thanks in advance!

bandana style head band?

butterfly grips?

www.claires.com/claires-club-rainbow-butterfly-mini-hair-claws---8-pack-34824.html?lang=en_GB&cgid=48

and then teach the child to do her own hair asap - she will get the hang of it and then it will not be an issue.

there are also a whole lot of youtube videos that claim to teach how to do a ponytail with one hand.

@parietal Will take a look at those thanks! Will be the dream when she can do it herself - I'm guessing it might be a while yet though...

is There enough hair to do some sort of overnight plait she could sleep in?

Yeah, I'd seen some for tying your own hair, but none for tying someone else's! Maybe same principles apply. Off to google some more...

Not quite but v good idea for when it grows a bit! Thank you!

You just reminded me of when I had ds and left dh at home with the 2 dd's. He text next day while I was awaiting them visiting that he hadn't been able to brush the dd's hairs so he had just shaved the lot off!! I cried. Hormones!!.
They looked wild when they arrived but still had their hair!

@Onemoresleeptogonow Haha oh god, I can imagine! To be fair DD's does look a mess a lot of the time and I don't really mind as long as she can see! 😁

then why not pixie cut her hair?

Where does she spend the day? Put a bobble in her bag and ask nursery to do it - or child minder - they won’t mind in the slightest.

Hi, I'm an OT and just did some activity analysis on this task, it requires so much more dexterity than you'd have thought, no wonder he's struggling!

Assuming he has some grip ability here are some initial ideas to help:

• If agreeable, get toddler to bend over head upside down so gravity helps to gather the hair on top of her head. This could be made into a fun game.
• Put hair bobble on less mobile hand and use that to steady the pony, then the pulling through and twisting part of the task is done by the more dexterous hand.
• Use snag free bobbles so the twisted bobble can be moved round & passed back to the less mobile hand to repeat pulling through.
• A scrunchie rather than a bobble might be easier to manipulate.
• Consider trying various types of headband, you can get the old school Sloane ranger types but also elastic ones which are like a massive hair bobble which sporty types use a lot. Putting one of these on first might also help with gathering hair.
• Practice! Let him practice on you if you have suitable hair.

I'll also post in my online OT communities and come back to you if anyone has some good ideas 💚

This is unbelievably helpful thank you! He did have a go on me earlier today but a bit more practice needed I think - will definitely give these tips a go!

@Threetulips Yes good idea - she is at nursery FT and they do sometimes do this anyway so may ask, thank you 🙂

Just my advice as the mother of four DDs - trim her hair.

Long hair in little girls turns into a rat's nest and leads to tears and misery as you try to tame it.

I would just cut a fringe.

Hi OP. Has your husband come across ‘active hands .com’? We are a small, family run business who make and sell things for those with reduced hand function. We have a one-handed hair tie which is extremely popular. Takes a little practise but is designed for those with limb difference or use of just one hand. We also have heaps of other items which may help him as he cares for your child. Feel free to ask me any questions to check out the website. Hope it’s ok to suggest our own website, but the one-handed hair tie really jumped out as a possible great solution for him. Take care. X

Try the hoover trick. Bobble on hose of hoover, put hoover nozzle to hair and push bobble down

Just checked out your site, can't believe I'd not seen you before. The one handed hair tie would 100% do the job with a compliant toddler. You could cover with a scrunchie if aesthetics is important. Just pasting a link so it's easier for OP to find. 💚

www.activehands.com/product/1-up-hair-tie/

@CorpusCallosum ah so glad you’ve found us. I meant to tag you in my first reply as I wondered if we’d be helpful to some of your clients too. We work with a lot of OTs who work with children and adults with a wide variety of disabilities. Feel free to use the contact page on our website if you have any questions, or areas we can help you with. Or we are active on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. Thanks for your reply.

Thank you so much @Purplepjs we will give it a look!

And really appreciate other suggestions too. We will definitely give it a trim when it grows out a bit but it's a bit too wispy at the moment to be uniform!

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