We’ve just been battling the trenches – or should I say tresses! It’s irrelevant that my daughter is relaxed and has happily splashed in the bath for ten minutes. She seems to have forgotten the promise of her favourite picture book. The red flag is raised when anyone brandishes a hairbrush – or God forbid a comb – the war begins.
We fight this battle every night, after swimming and before parties. Her hair seems to invite tangles and knots. Despite my hub and I following the basic hair care routine; kelp matted with sand is a good analogy. It’s not surprising the way she pulls hair accessories out at whim, sucks on the ends and lets her hair ‘blow in the breeze’ unrestrained all day.
The only way to ‘tame her mane’ is to spray, hold and yank that brush through. Needless to say the roar gets louder and the stomp more adamant.
The irony is that Ella Kazoo Will Not Brush Her Hair, by Lee Fox & Kathy Wilcox, is one of my daughter’s favourite stories. You guessed it – a picture book that illustrates my daily battle of wills.
Ella Kazoo goes to all lengths to hide herself, or any hair brushing instruments. Her Mum is clearly frustrated and “sinks to the couch with a mighty big flop.” It gets to a point where Ella’s hair is out of control and she concedes to a haircut. The result is very ‘Ella Kazoo’.
It’s a picture book that makes you laugh and helps your child see the necessity and funny side of hair care. There a subtle lesson in negotiation and the rhyming words aid your child's language development. The colourful illustrations bring this mundane every day chore to life. Ella’s tresses: “slip into some of her dresses…They creep round a chair and they slink round the table…”
I don’t have any answers for the art of ‘de-knotting hair’. I’ve tried different brushes, detangler sprays, lotions and potions: “It still hurts Mum!”
At least I have this book to prove I’m not the only one at war and that she is not the only child in the world who has to have her hair brushed!
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