As an adult, you're within your rights to get just about any kind of hairstyle you want. Braid it up, loc it up, relax it, get a weave. Whatever makes you happy, go for it. But what about when you're a kid?

I've asked the question before, and I must ask it again: How young is too young for a certain kind of hairstyle? I ask, because this clip from popular TLC reality show 'Toddlers and Tiaras' -- via Clutch Magazine -- left me feeling all kinds of disturbed.
For any of you who don't have video, 3-year-old Kayleigh gets a sew-in weave from her grandmother Joyce.
"This is the first time we've done this, we normally do hair pieces," she explains as the little girl squirms and says "that hurts."

"Kayleigh, she doesn't realize it, but she's a diva in training, and she's very vain," her grandmother says, and Kayleigh rebutts, "I'm not a diva, I'm Kayleigh."

At the end of the clip Kayleigh says "My hair is longer. I look pretty."

I can't help but wish that she felt that way before she was wearing makeup and a weave. At three years old. And I can't help but lament the things we're teaching our children to believe at such an early age. But that's just me.
What are your thoughts?
Black Hairstyles Through the Years
Wigs: The 1960s
The Supremes must have had a ball dressing in the latest fashions AND hottest hairstyles every time they stepped outside the door. They all wore top-of-the-line wigs, which gave them a different look every night.
Black Hairstyles Through the Years
The Afro: The 1970s
Angela Davis was the poster child for the Afro during the late '60s and '70s with a this perfectly coiffed orb o' hair. Davis said she had to put Tide detergent in hers to make it stand up just so. Afro pick!
Black Hairstyles Through the Years
The Flip: The 1970s
Natalie Cole is the perfect representation of the '70s here with the flip -- hair curled upward in layers made most popular by actress Farrah Fawcett. Her gold hoops and wide collar cement the look.
Black Hairstyles Through the Years
The Jheri Curl: The 1980s
Who could even think about the '80s without thoughts -- or shudders -- of the ubiquitous jheri curl? Everybody had a curl back then and the jokes about activator on pillowcases lasted much longer than the hairstyle ever did. Soooooooul Glow!
Black Hairstyles Through the Years
The Shag: The 1980s
We all sang the line "in my younger days I used to sport a shaaaaag?" The Pharcyde remembers and so do we! The uber-retro Kanye West even brought back the "black man's mullet" this year. Oh yes.
Black Hairstyles Through the Years
The High Top Fade or Box: The 1980s
With the rise of hip-hop in the mid-to-late '80s, a hairstyle rose right along with it -- the high top fade. Hair is shaped into a box shape (of varying heights) and the sides are gradually "faded" down. Will Smith was a man of the day.
Black Hairstyles Through the Years
Razor Cuts: The 1980s
Later in the '80s, the high top fade morphed into the skyscraper with accents cut in with a razor. By the end of this fad, people had faces, names and designs in their hair and eyebrows. Rapper Big Daddy Kane keeps his crispy fresh with a barber on staff.
Black Hairstyles Through the Years
Waves: The 1980s
Waves, such as the ones Tracy Morgan sports here, reached their peak in the '80s. The effect is gotten from grease, water, a brush and a doo-rag or scarf to lay the hair down in a pattern. If your hair was not naturally curly, Nu Nile or S-Curl was the way to go.
Black Hairstyles Through the Years
Fingerwaves: The 1980s
Fingerwaves, worn here by Keyshia Cole, were actually a reprise of yet another era -- the 1920s. This flat, to-your-head style, tended to be hard to the touch. Helmet city!
Black Hairstyles Through the Years
The Asymmetric: The 1980s
This hairstyle ruled the late '80s. Salt 'n' Pepa bust out with it in the 'Push It' video, and they pushed it to us in different colors even. Best. Hairstyle. Ever. Oooh baby baby!


Comments: (47)
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By: Yvonne on 7/27/2010 2:51PM
A weave for toddlers hmmmm I have to think about it, trying to get a toddler to sit down long enough is the real question lol.
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By: Catherine on 7/27/2010 3:45PM
That's ashame! Unfortunately It's just another sign of the times we're living in. PRAY FOR ME AND I WILL PRAY FOR YOU!
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By: Trycya on 7/27/2010 4:26PM
The grandmother has definitely lost her mind! Evidently, the child has been told that long hair makes you beautiful, that is sad! Its not what is on the outside, it's what you believe in the inside that counts! Unfortunately,the mom and granny have problems within them and now is passing that same way of thinking to this darling 3 year old! Sad, these times we live in!
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By: momiesteddy on 7/27/2010 7:23PM
I just want to hug that baby and tell her she is so pretty before the weave..and shame on grandma for putting that mess in that baby's hair..grandma is teaching the child at an early age that she cannot be beautiful unless her hair is long.. beauty is within.. teach her to be proud of herself as she is..whether her hair is short or bald..hair does not make a person.. Fix it now Grandma!!!
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By: Halo OnConga on 7/28/2010 5:40PM
The pedophiles of the earth love mothers and grannies that feed them their most cherished adventures, little girls and boys. Parents are offering society younger and younger bait for the fanatics of the world.
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By: crissypooh1 on 7/27/2010 9:08PM
ok thats sad but sn: doesn't her grandma kinda look like First Lady Michelle Obama
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By: m.woodall on 9/02/2010 2:17AM
smh....she's a bad bad grandma!!!
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