Don’t tell my eldest daughter Helen, but I don’t like JoJo Bows. This puts me in an awkward position because Helen is something of a fan.
Thankfully, Mrs Adams and I feel the same away about these oversized hair accessories. While we are no fan of the JoJo Bow, I can see their appeal to young kids. They’re bold, brash, exceedingly colourful and distinctive.
Alas, whenever I see a kid wearing one, I see the bow before I see the kid. Well, that assumes I see anything other than the bow as they’re so large and the colours and fake gems so garish I generally find I can’t see anything else.
The other issue I have with JoJo Bows is the cost. I don’t mind anyone running a successful business and making a reasonable profit.
That’s all well and good, but I expected some change from a fiver when I agreed Helen could have a new JoJo Bow following a minor display of good behaviour. Little did I realise it would cost three times that much. As a result my poor child has been told she won’t get any further treats until she is at least 33 years of age.
Despite our feelings about the JoJo Bow, Mrs Adams and I have made an accommodation with them. Our daughter is eight years old and she’s obviously finding ways to express herself.
This is visible in other ways as well. Helen’s forever styling and restyling her hair. In fact, this is something she does with incredible skill and it never ceases to amaze me when she shows off her latest crazy plait or perfect bun.
She’s also getting very into her clothes. So much so I got myself in trouble on a recent shopping trip.
We were in H&M and Helen appeared at my side with a couple of items she wanted in the sale. The total cost was about £4.
Having made the foolish assumption she had checked the sizes, I agreed. Why I assumed an eight-year-old would think to do this, I just don’t know.
Although Helen is tall for her age, it will take a little while for her to grow into the clothes as she selected items for a 12 year old. You live and learn, hey?
Clothes, hair, JoJo Bows, all are signs my little Helen is growing up. Needless to say, I don’t need telling this.
While we may need to give Helen a little nudge in a different direction from time to time, I’d never want to stop her expressing herself. The approach taken in my family when I was young was a very conservative one.
It goes without saying I eventually rebelled against this. By my late teens I had the world’s worst hair, dressed like I’d pulled my clothes out of a skip and had a couple of dreadful piercings plus a bad tattoo.
The hair these days is styled, the clothes and piercings are long gone and thankfully the tattoo was small and easy to conceal. Based on my own experiences, I’m prepared to be a touch more liberal.
I may be more liberal, but that doesn’t mean I’m a fan of the JoJo Bow. That said, if it’s a choice between a JoJo Bow and making Helen feel she has to rebel when she’s a little older, I’ll take the lurid headgear every time.
4 thoughts on “A fan of the JoJo Bow? Afraid not.”
JoJo Bow Bow – Large, overpriced tat. But like you said if it stops later rebellions may be a price worth paying
Here’s hoping a slightly more liberal approach now will stop massive rebellion later! That’s my theory anyway.
Sounds like you’ve got the balance right. Like you, I can’t bear the things. When you look at a hall full of kids all you can see is a million garish JoJo Bows. It particularly irks me that kids don’t wear them in school colours and I’m not surprised some schools have banned them!
No doubt Helen will be on to the next thing soon and the monstrosity will be forgotten!
Ah, well, my daughter’s school has banned the wearing of JoJo Bows. Thank goodness I can relax knowing she isn’t wearing them during school hours. Perhaps it makes me sound like a snob, but they really aren’t very nice at all!