There Is Literally No Better Time For A Crazy Haircut Than Childhood

If you can’t have a crazy haircut as a kid, when can you?

A mom is getting flak for allowing her daughter to realize her dream of a very funky hairstyle. She’s being criticized for letting such a young child make drastic changes to her hair, but it begs the question — what better time than childhood to experiment with a wild hair-do?

A story on the Luxury Spot blog details the saga of Mary Thomaston, a Florida hairstylist whose own brightly-colored, crazily-styled hair inspired her daughter to ask for something unique herself.

Lyra was entering first-grade and would not stop badgering her mom for a unicorn-inspired hairdo. Mary did her best to hold her off, but upon realizing just how obstinate and single-minded six-year-olds can be, eventually relented.

“I told her if the school gives us permission then I’ll do it, and they allowed it. Her hair is already really light so all I had to do was add the temporary color. I tried to talk her out of the shaved side because I thought she might regret it once it was done but boy was I wrong. She was sooooo excited.”

As well she should be, the little unicorn Lyra looks adorable.

Mom did a great job, Lyra looks like a million dollars. And she’s not the only tiny tyke getting in on the funky hairstyle trend. Check out these other hip kiddos Mary styled into something much cooler than your average back-to-school trim.

And of course, because it’s the Internet, people weren’t entirely receptive to Lyra’s ridiculously cool locks.

Mary shares that people said she was “poisoning” her daughter with the dye, despite the fact that she’s a trained stylist and knows that the product she used is non-toxic and temporary. They also questioned Mary’s parenting and whether a kid should be allowed to express themselves by way of a non-conventional hairstyle.

Because why bother even being online if you’re not judging someone else?

As to the criticism that a child shouldn’t have this brand of style freedom Mary says, “Really? Because when you’re a grown up with crazy-colored hair, people say that such things are for kids. It’s a contradiction. I say why not let them have fun while they’re young! Who knows what type of job she may end up with, but a lot of them won’t allow unnatural colors. When you think about it that way, it’s actually the perfect time to let them experiment with color.”

Boom. Why shouldn’t a little kid be allowed to get funky with their hair-do? It won’t be long before society’s shackles start forcing them to conform, so not only is the time right for such experimentation, all the better that kids learn to be an individual early.

And honestly, is crazy-colored hair really the worst thing you can allow your kid to do? If it makes them feel amazing and unique, what’s the harm? None, that’s what. Imagine a kid like Lyra looking back as an adult and remembering that time her mother let her have rainbow hair with a shave up one side. A fond memory and it makes her mom seem like the ultimate Cool Mom. Everyone wins.

So if your kid wants to experiment with neon tiger stripes in their hair, let them. There’s no time like childhood to not take life too seriously.