My oldest daughter participates in AWANA at church. Through the program they have special nights including: Hat Night, Crazy Hair Night, Sports Night, etc. Yesterday was "Crazy Hair Night."
For an entire week, my daughter was upset about Crazy Hair Night. She repeatedly reminded me that I tell her not to do crazy things AND we're supposed to learn "good things" at church... why on earth were they encouraging her to have Crazy Hair... don't they know girls are supposed to have pretty hair?
The children earn points for participation in the special days, so my husband tried several ideas that might be "pretty" but "crazy enough" to satisfy everyone. Nothing was acceptable. I checked out a book of ideas from the library and showed her pictures. Nothing was acceptable.
Finally, she settled on a standard French Braid sprayed with glitter (glitter has become a standard for "special occasions" like visits to Princesses, Disney on Ice, Birthdays, etc, thanks to a friend). Then, she chose to wear a headband with her braid, but not just any headband, the jiggly Shamrock headband from St. Patrick's Day. It might not be very "Crazy Hair" but it was "Crazy Hair Accessories."
The AWANA Leaders awarded her points and she survived the tragedy of Crazy Hair Night unscathed.
The process got me thinking... here I have a four year old who wants to look nice and presentable. In 12 years if she (or one of her sisters) were to advocate truly Crazy Hair in a style that is a bit more permanent than a Shamrock Headband... say a green mohawk or wild designs shaved into hair...
Remind me, why were we encouraging her to participate in Crazy Hair Day again?