My daughter Marley’s hair is finally long enough to braid, after her 4 year old DIY haircut experiment. She is also old enough to have caught on to that silly old gender stereotype that boys have short hair and girls have long hair. So, she only kept this hairstyle in long enough to let me take a picture, then promptly took it out because it made it look like she was a short haired boy from the front. She will learn.

On a slightly different topic, almost 6 is a cool age. Marley is starting to develop a social awareness that makes me proud. Hearing her excitement when she talks about MLK and Rosa Parks and how they stood up for what they believed makes me feel like there must be a bright future for my children. I showed her the Same Love video by Macklemore and now she understands the adversity of people who are not treated fairly based on their sexual orientation. She asks A LOT of questions. She wants things to be fair for all people. And she is a complete bossy know-it-all who will not take ‘no’ for an answer so I like to think that she will grow up to make the world as she wants it.

Cool Kid Braids

Getting back to hair, this braided hairstyle is super easy to do and it is perfect for medium length hair. It consists of 3 little braids and a bun. Here is how to do it.

1. Section off both sides of the head, from behind each ear, across the top. Part section down the middle. Make a small dutch braid on one side. secure with a small clear elastic,

2. Repeat on the other side.

3. Join your braids together at the back of the head with another clear elastic. Remove the elastics from the ends of your first 2 braids.

4. Braid the ends of your first 2 braids in with the rest of the free hair. Secure the end.

5. Roll that braid upwards, and pin it to secure.

6. Arrange the bangs or lady parts.