Keeping a little girl’s hair tidy and neat can be a challenge for any parent. Finding the right hairstyle for your toddler girl depends upon her hair type, temperament, and simply how much hair she has. While we all have mental images of little girls adorned with bows and ribbons, the reality often involves jam in the hair and pigtails pulled out as soon as they’re put in place. Try these simple toddler girl’s hairstyles to tackle those bad-hair days.

Bangs or No Bangs

Decide early on whether want to cut bangs in your baby girl’s hair. If you want long hair without bangs, use simple, no-slip baby hair clips as soon as her hair is long enough. This will get her used to wearing hair accessories and make it easier to keep her hair neat. If you cut bangs, keeping them trimmed can reduce the amount of time and effort you’ll have to put into your toddler girl’s hairstyles.

Short or Long

Both have their advantages. Long hair can be pulled back and styled in a variety of ways, but it will require more brushing and care. Short hair, such as an A-line bob, requires substantially less brushing and is easier to wash, but it has fewer styling options. If your toddler hates having her hair brushed and styled, go short, at least for a year or two. Little girls with curls may do better with enough length to weigh down their curls.

Clips, Bows and Ponytails

Use all those cute hair accessories. The easiest hairstyle for most toddler girls is to simply clip back the bangs or sides of the hair with no-slip barrettes. This will look cute and well-groomed but doesn’t require much time or work. Once your baby girl has enough hair to graduate from a single whale-spout ponytail on top of her head, try two playful pigtails. Bows can be used to adorn a single ponytail, two pigtails or the ends of braids. Soft, knit headbands are ideal for keeping long bangs out of her eyes.