Looking after a child's hair

I've never been very good with hair. My hair has looked pretty much the same my whole life, just long and straight. I swim regularly and also I can't be bothered with a long hair routine every morning, so I just brush it and tie it back in a pony tail. It's never been good hair for styling, it's very thin, doesn't hold any kind of a curl and falls down if I try and pin it up in any way. I do like wearing it loose, but it grows so fast that it quickly looks messy. Also I have a bit of an issue with going to the hairdressers (i.e. I don't) so I have loads of split ends.

This does not mean that I haven't been desperate to start doing something with Mia's hair. Luckily she was born with a fair bit, so I haven't had to wait too long to begin. I bought her a selection of clips and ties for Christmas, but apart from a few half-hearted attempts with clips I've not been brave enough to try. But I spotted some very well groomed little girls at baby group last week and that inspired me to try a pony tail.

It's not the best effort in the world, and was only achieved after a lot of wriggling, squirming and complaining, so I'm just hoping that it gets easier with practice!