Do you blow-dry your toddler's hair?

[sweet_pea]

Last week DD had a cold, the weather was freezing, DD has long-ish hair and so after her bath my mom, who was visiting, decided to blow-dry her hair a little before DD went to sleep. In the past, DD has been scared of the blow dryer and so I was hesitant to use it, but now at 2.5 she is okay with it. Since then, I've dried her hair a couple of times, but only for a few minutes and on the lowest heat setting, just so her hair isn't damp when she goes to bed. I'm not planning to do this all year round, only when it's cold and esp. when DD is sick. DH, who is usually an "everything will turn out fine" type of person, was a little surprised when I told him that I dried DD's hair. He is concerned that the noise from the blow dryer is bad for DD's hearing.

So we decided to do a poll and see what the BBB parents think :) Do you ever blow-dry your toddler's hair? Why or why not?

ETA: Does anyone know if DH's concern about noise is valid or where I could find more information about this? Thanks.

[ABO Mama]

We have little boys with very short hair, so drying is not necessary :)

[babybell]

I doubt my toddler would stand still long enough for me to do that.

[ourbabygirl]

Yeah, I've always dried DD's hair (she's a little over 3). She has long straight hair and we live in the midwest where it's basically winter for 6 months, so yeah, I take the extra 5-10 minutes after her bath to blow dry her hair. :) (She usually has her bath around 6 or 6:30 and goes to bed around 7:30 or 8, so I'd hate to have her go to bed with wet hair unless it's steamy July or August.)

[AnnieW625]

I voted other as I have done it in the past and I have done it all year round, but I don't do it on a regular basis.

[KrisM]

I voted other as I have done it in the past and I have done it all year round, but I don't do it on a regular basis.

Me, too.

[sweetsue98]

DD is 19 months and we have been drying her hair since 6 months. She has a lot of hair and its long. Sometimes in the summer we don't blow dry but for the most part we do. This way she doesn't have to go to bed with wet hair.

[babyonway]

DD is 19 months and we have been drying her hair since 6 months. She has a lot of hair and its long. Sometimes in the summer we don't blow dry but for the most part we do. This way she doesn't have to go to bed with wet hair.


this is us exactly!

[wellyes]

I dry her hair if it's necessary - like if we're about to go out of the house in winter. But let it air dry most of the time. I also let my own hair air dry. I don't think having damp hair for 20-30 minutes is a big deal.

I don't think most hair dryers are generally loud enough to do any damage to a toddler. I'd think it's not so loud it upsets the child, it's not too loud.

[crl]

It never occurred to me to blow dry dd's hair. It is in a bob so not all that long. And I don't blow dry my hair either.

Catherine

[DietCokeLover]

I dry DD's hair 90% of the time. I can't stand sleeping on wet hair, so I guess I've just taken that same approach with her.

[HIU8]

I only dry my kids hair when they get bathed in the mornings and we are headed out someplace. DD's hair takes a LONG time to dry naturally. I blow dry DS's hair in the mornings only b/c DD is getting it done. I have done it a handful of times in 7 years. At night I do not blow dry anyone's hair ever. I don't even do it when DD is sick. I do use a low heat and low motor setting when I do their hair. I mostly do that so I don't burn their scalps though.

[scrooks]

We blow dry both kids hair 90% of the time. We don't want them to go to bed with wet hair. Ironically, i very rarely blow dry my own hair and often go to bed with it wet.

[Pyrodjm]

Other.
I very rarely blow dry my toddler's hair. When I do it, I keep the dryer a good distance from her head and don't worry about getting it completely dry. I let her hair air dry 90% of the time. Heat is damaging to our hair and I'm doing my best to protect hers by using products and techniques the let it look it's best naturally.

[lalasmama]

DD's older now....

When she was younger, she had thin, medium length hair, and it would dry naturally in 20 minutes. I never thought to blow-dry it.

Now, DD has a REALLY short inverted bob, and we dry it, because if we don't, it doesn't look "right". But it takes all of 4 minutes to do, and she comments every time that we're playing beauty shop. And if it keeps her hair looking cute, and saves me from wetting it each morning to style it, I'm all for it.... We wash, towel dry, get in jammies, then blow-dry. In the morning, it still looks great, which means a quick run-through with a comb or brush, and she looks like I actually spent time making her look cute ;)

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I doubt my toddler would stand still long enough for me to do that.

:yeahthat:

that, and the hair dryer would scare the beejeezus out of him. It had never occurred to me to blow dry his hair. He gets a bath every night before bed..but he doesn't seem to mind his hair being wet for a while, even in the winter.

[kijip]

No, because I see no earthly reason to blow dry the short hair of 2 boys with stick straight hair.

[american_mama]

I voted other. I have never blown dry my kids' hair, but not because I think it's a bad idea or bad for their hearing. Season has nothing to do with it. They just have such thick and curly hair that 1) it would take forever and 2) it requires more skill than I have. I might be a tad concerned about the heat burning their scalp slightly, but if that didn't seem to be an issue, blow dry away. If my kids' had different hair, I probably would have done it at some point.

[klwa]

Neither of my kids like the noise associated with a blow-dryer (DS still freaks out when clippers are brought out), so we've never worried with it. They go to bed with damp hair most nights.

[TwoBees]

We blow dry DD's hair now that the weather has gotten colder. She tends to get cold easily anyway. I'll admit though, I usually only dry it 75% of the way because she has curls and I want them to spring back up. :)

[elliput]

DD would have a sensory meltdown, so no, I do not blow dry her hair. I don't even blow dry my hair.

[hillview]

Once in a while I will. The boys don't have super long hair (but not super short either).
/hillary

[luckytwenty]

No, it's never been necessary. My boys have short hair, and my daughter has long, wavy hair that dries quickly enough that I don't worry about her going to bed with a wet head. (Which isn't the worst thing in the world--I do that sometimes!) Also, if you blow dry her hair, it becomes straight.

[MamaInMarch]

I blow dry DS's hair each time he gets a bath or shower. He has a longer cut (think of the kid Max in the movie Liar, Liar) so it's necessary for the style. He has thinnish baby hair still so it only takes me a couple of minutes. I don't worry about the noise at all. I don't think I would let my kid go with wet hair unless it was a boy's buzz cut.

[mommytoC]

I dry her hair if it's necessary - like if we're about to go out of the house in winter. But let it air dry most of the time. I also let my own hair air dry. I don't think having damp hair for 20-30 minutes is a big deal.

:yeahthat: ...except my DD#1's hair takes more like 60-90 minutes to dry.

[amldaley]

We have to dry DD's hair. It is curly and needs to be finger combed and fluffed as it dries or it is a SERIOUS MESS.

[momm]

No.. not because of the length of DS's hair, but I never even blow dry my own hair. I feel it causes my hair to be even more dry, and DS's hair is just like mine so I will try not to put him through that.

[Moneypenny]

I dry DD's hair, but only in the winter because we keep our house chilly and she tends to sit around for a while reading after her shower. I don't dry it all the way because I don't want to damage her hair, but I try to get at least most of the dampness out. In the summer she air dries.

[sarahsthreads]

I voted no for "other reasons". And it's because we don't actually even own a hair dryer. It drives my MIL absolutely bat-sh!t crazy whenever she's visiting and the girls go to bed with towel-dried hair after a bath. But she's also of the generation where she believes if you run around the house barefoot in the winter (which my girls do of their own accord - there are socks scattered in every room in my house because they refuse to keep them on) you'll catch pneumonia and probably die. :shrug:

So far, in the 7 years of DD1's life, I'm fairly certain we've never had a cold or other illness that I could attribute to going to bed (or even outside) with towel-dried hair or running around the house with socks off.

Sarah :)

[sweet_pea]

Thanks for everybody's perspective!

[maiaann]

I only blow dry the girls' hair on super cold nights (after a bath) so they don't have to go to bed with wet heads. During the winter (after the swimming pool), we often use the locker room blow dryer. Other than that, the blow dryer remains untouched in a drawer. In fact, half the time I forget where it is! :ROTFLMAO:I've never been much of a fan, even for myself. :)