I had
a lot of trouble with my hair growing up. i was in tears very often. Cutting her hair shorter, will help her learn to take care of it, so when it gradually grows, she will be getting gradually better at it. Also, if her is thick and wavy or curly, (mine is wavy, so this works for me- i can’t really speak for kinky curls) try one of those straightening irons that are for wet hair (no heed for blow-drying). That way two good things come from it: 1) no need to blow-dry, which for me causes more tangles, and broken hairs and frizz which contribute to tangles and 2) hair that is already straight ad untangled won’t tangle as badly when wet to shampoo again. if i don’t straighten my hair, the next time i shampoo, it takes almost twice as long. it’s a cycle in a way.
And when brushing her hair, she should begin at the bottom few inches, then brush from higher and higher up. brushing tangled hair down from the scalp only makes it worse. And when it’s wet, use a comb with big teeth that are wide apart.
since she is ten, it sounds like her mom is still helping her care for her hair, but she is learning (or will soon be learning) to do it herself. which is why i feel that although long hair is very nice, (i’m assuming it’s on the longer side?) you can’t expect her to be able to suddenly manage long hair by herself. she should start with a shorter cut, and learn how to manage her hair, as it gets longer and mroe involved, she will be getting better at it. if her hair is very long, you can encourage her to donate her pony tail to locks of love
www.locksoflove.org i have done this three times so far. that would make cutting her hair a positive thing for her, and perhaps even a lesson in Christian charity, since she would be doing something to benefit others who don’t have what she has. (yea, hair is not the same as money or food, but for a little girl, it’s something she has herself, that she herself can give. sorry this was so long. hope it helped a bit.