69.Even if the advice may not help you become a successful student, they will surely help you be on the right road to success.

A)Small children rarely bother about what clothes they wear, what trainers to buy, or what color hair they have and how they wear it. One of the most noticeable signs that a child is “growing up” is when they start to be conscious of their appearance and start stating what they want to and do not want to wear.

B)This initial enthusiasm towards their appearance usually begins when they first become teenagers and gradually deepens throughout their teenage years, as the pressure to “look good" also intensifies. This desire to dress and wear their hair and makeup the way they choose is a natural response to growing up, and any teenager who is not conscious of their appearance would be considered a little “odd”. In this sense when children reach the age of 13 giving them the freedom to decide when and how to cut their hair positive step in accepting that they are no longer “babies”.

C）Letting teenagers perm (烫发) their hair when they want to,cut off their long, flowing locks they have had since they were two years old, or dyeing (染发) their hair another color should be encouraged as it gives teenagers some of the freedom that they crave.

D）Giving teenagers their own space and allowing them to decide their own hairstyle is all very well when a son or daughter is happy to bob along with the fashion, without springing any “hair shockers" on their parents. But problems will arise when a son or a daughter dramatically enters the room with deep purple locks, or worse still a completely shaven head! Surely then it is acceptable for parents to “step in".

E）Teenagers who “go against the rules” and drastically change their hair would usually make it as some kind of statement, since dramatically disobeying “the rules" of the society is perceived as abnormal. Parents recognize this popular view as they too are on guard against their offspring from befriending the long haired, nose studded, Gothic dressed boy from down the road.

F）Parents are also often worried about how they will be judged as parents if their son or daughter turns up at the school gates with hair as pink as raspberry bubblegum(树莓泡泡糖). For schools usually have a strict code of appearance, which includes little make up, no short skirts and no “radical" hairstyles.

G）Teenager with dreadlocks or purple hair might be regarded as“unstable” or “unreliable”,and potential employers are less likely to employ them. They are less likely to gain entrance to a university which requires a face to face interview, and potential partners might be “scared off”. As we live in a culture which depends a lot on first appearances, our parents recognize these potential risks a radical hairstyle may pose and want to protect their kids from the discrimination their physically “wayward" offspring will almost inevitably experience. 

H）Whilst a 16-year old boy whose face is framed by long dreadlocks is going to be labeled as “crusty” and a “hippy”, a young girl with sporting purple, spiky hair will be regarded as a “punk”. Certain hairstyles, cuts and colors evoke stereotyped connotations, which unfortunately are usually derogatory (贬义的),although some hairstyles have deservedly warranted their reputation. In this sense it is arguably justifiable that teenagers should be refrained from making their own minds up about whether to do something as drastic as shave their heads, given that their relatively small number of years on the planet means they are unaware of the negative meanings of some radical haircuts that are associated with radical movements.

I) On the other hand freedom of expression should be a granted right of society,and unfortunately it is often teenagers who are the most eager to express freedom, whilst being the most restricted from doing so. A boy or girl's choice of hair, like the amount of makeup they choose to wear, or the clothes they dress in, will never impede (妨碍)any fellow students from learning, or ridicule anyone else, so why is it something that even needs to be addressed? Because society has become so intent with following a set of socially accepted standards regarding the way we look, teenagers rarely stand a chance in their war to hairstyle liberation. To alter these codes of conduct which obstruct freedom of expression, parents should allow their teenagers to decide what they do with their hair.