One of the nice things about school holidays in our house is the absence of hairstyling routines. Unlike term time, which requires adherence to strict procedure with the brushing and smoothing of unruly locks into nit-resistant plaits or anxiety-infused ballet buns, the holiday allows my daughter the freedom to cultivate more than a few knots in her long hair.
A girl's hair and its presentation are fertile grounds for potential mother-daughter disharmony. For that reason, I routinely remind myself of advice I once heard - you should never, ever brush your daughter's hair when you're out of sorts with each other, or even if you're just a bit annoyed.
At times like those, the hairbrush can turn into an instrument of torture and, before you know it, there's an hysterical episode and the neighbours are left wondering just which side of the parenting divide you've aligned yourself with.
Of course, this could be sorted out with a haircut but the last time my daughter had short hair, she was a 4-year-old. She took the scissors to her pre-school mane with such confidence that the results were truly impressive, punk in fact.
