Tidy hair for little schoolgirls???

[SSSandy]

Dd starts school this year. She'll be 6 (since we live overseas). Till now she's had a bob with a side parting either chin length or a bit longer but above the shoulders. I put a small plait in the side with the most hair and use a hairclip to keep it off her face. It does still end up messy by the end of the day though.

Now her hair either needs a trim to keep it looking ok or I have to decide to grow it longer and tie it back somehow for school. At the moment, it's too short to be tied up in bunches or a ponytail.

A fringe doesn't suit her so that's not an option, she has a very round face. Hair bands don't work for some reason, they slip back in about 2 minutes.

How do you "dress" your girl's hair for school?

when dd's hair was that short I used to jsut do one or two little bunches on top. It's only recently grown long enough to tie it all up, and she is nearly 6!

DD has a bob and I just brush it in the morning. If looks like ragtails by the end of the day and will do until she learns to or wants to brush it herslef at the end of the day. Not high on her list of priorities at 7

dd has shoulder length hair with a fringe. We sweep the hair which would otherwise fall over her face back ( the sections of longer hair from her face to just behind her ears) and use a small stretchy hair tie to form a little pony tail which falls over the remaining longer hair at the back. Could also use metal hair clasps to secure any wispy bits that fall out. Occasionally I'll attempt to plait it or we put it in bunches. Her hair is very fine so doesn't hold acessories very well.

I do two french plaits when their hair is wet in the evening, and it stays in for the next two days. My dds have fine wispy hair which is shoulder length, but still have "babyhair" round the edges, and this is the best way to keep it all contained.(They are 5 and almost 7)

I also do the one or two bunches with the top half of the hair, and the rest loose.

One of my dds has fine straight hair that hairbands wont work on, so she has a very short bob.
The other has bords nest knotty long hair and hers in contained in a plait down the back or 2 either side.

Er...I attempt to get a brush through DD1's mass of curls at some point before piling out of the Inferiority Complex. Although you probably can't tell that I've bothered, to be frank.

Generally agree it'll always look messy by the end of the day - so long as it's out of her face I wouldn't worry too hard about how it looks.
All suggestions so far are good, but have you tried an elastic type hairband that goes right round her head, as opposed to an open alice-type band?
I always found these stayed in better - we make our own from ribbon with a bit of elastic at the back so not expensive when they get lost etc (can't find good pic, bit like \link{http://www.craftyteen.com/hair.html\this}) Matte ribbon stays in better than satin, but there's all sorts out there.
I wear them too when I need to keep my hair out of my face [shame].

lol MI!
DD's hair is always a mess at the end of the school day, PE day or not.
We do single bunch, two bunches, plaits (they are the best but also take the longest, and are quite beyond poor DH who often does the school run!)
Some of her peers have long hair down their backs - how???
And will somebody tell me why it is impossible to buy nice plain red hair clips that will actually stay in? H&M clips are greatm but there are all pink, purple etc. Is their a business opp here? Or is it only me that's bothered?

we tried

1. growing it long and into a pony tail

2. cutting it off

3. worked better

tried for plaits a year ago but the little fecker won't keep her head still

Should clarify that our school uniform is red and I like DD to co-ordinate (a bit anal I know).

Dd would love to have enough hair to dress ... she didn't have any at all until she was nearly three, and there's still not very much of it. It's curly, and instead of getting longer it just gets curlier so stays the same length. We've tried Alice bands, but she just pulls them down so they cover her eyes. Sometimes I scrape it all together to make a pony tail ... which basically is just a couple of centimetres of fluff sticking out of a hairband.

Because it's short, fine and curly it always looks a bit out of control, no matter what I do with it. I don't worry too much about what it looks like at the end of the day though; she's 5 years old and there's plenty of time yet to worry about whether she looks tidy all the time or not.

Thanks everyone. I see other little girls who look tidy when mine doesn't. She has straight, fine hair which escapes from whatever confinement I think up for it. This morning I gave her a middle parting and made a little plait at the front on both sides, drawing them back and binding them together with a stretchy band at the back, so a little pigtail is sitting on top of the mass of hair at the back. Her hair is a bit short for that look though. Has a touch of the medieval princess actually. Wonder what will have happened to it when I go to pick her this afternoon?!

I don't like messy hair on anyone really but I am not great at doing clever things with hair, including my own. One little girl we know has very long straight fine hair, parted in the middle and it just hangs down. It's never tied back or clipped back at all. She always seems to be peering at you through a curtain of hair. Don't see the point in it really. Long hair is attractive if it is tidy and looks well cared for IMO, otherwise it doesn't do much for me.

Clary I know where you're coming from!
Have suffered under some seriously draconian hair-accessory-colour regulations and spent more time than I care to remember rooting through baskets etc to find (at various times) maroon, royal blue or white hairthings. Remember the utter joy on finding elastics with gingham bows on that matched the summer dress…
Best thing I found was those cheap multipacks including clips, elastics, bands, claws etc - just pick out the right colour ones and save the rest for the weekend.
Try Superdrug, pound shops or pharmacies. Or really tacky market stalls often have a basket of miscellaneous coloured things that they don't mind you picking all the red ones from.

I got some red hairclips with little white hearts on them at H & M last summer (lost now of course) and plain red ones too (also lost) even red hairbands (err.. lost naturally). Dd has more red than pink clothing so it is a pain.

Clary, Woolworths have a range of hair stuff that goes with their summer gingham dresses, including red. They have clips, slides, covered Alice bands, scrunchies and covered elastic bands - some in the plain colour, some in gingham. Dd drools over them every time she sees them but hasn't got enough hair to do anything with!

mine have bobs. we try and brush it every morning but it does get messy again very quickly. at one point dd1 had long hair in a pony tail but we all hated the brushing and washing.

I would use clips but they get lost daily. as do hair bands.

mine don't look very smart really. despite occasionally drives to improve presentation.

my dd's hair was a nightmare until I finally started doing it like this.

Top ponytail, then bottom pony tail then put big scrunchie to hold together.

For top piece of fringe that is growing out I plait it and then add see through tiny band and clip back with 2 clips.

I then spray with gel spray to hold it in place for a day at school.

thanks girls, don't think I have tried woolies OR Superdrug actually tho have purchased gingham scrunches, from Asda I think.
The rules I hasten to add are mine not the school's lol!

Claire's Accessories is good too, and not just the kids' bit - I got lots of plain red stretchy hairbands in the adults' bit, which fit dd's (year 1) head fine.

Loose mane of luxuriant tresses also bit of a nit-magnet, unfortunately. Hence dd has a dutch-doll bob (& the stretchy headband is just decor).