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As adults, we see hair loss as a sign of lost youth and we resign ourselves to the inevitable. However, when our children lose hair, we feel betrayed and alarmed that youth is slipping away from them before they have a chance to bask in the glory of ribbons, barrettes, beads, corn rows and pompadours. Whether we view hair loss as a sign of wisdom and maturity, or a sign of youth stolen prematurely, we should be aware of the signs that differentiate a pathological process from simple aging and genetics.

While it's not a very common disorder, hair loss does occur in children for various reasons. Often for children, the hair loss will cease without medical attention and the hair will re-grow. But it is still wise in most cases to have a doctor examine the child. There are a variety of medical conditions that can cause childhood hair loss or alopecia. Here are some of the causes:

Children are subject to several causes of hair loss, some common, some rare. The most common cause is a simple physiologic pause in hair growth. Termed "telogen" phase, the hair goes through spurs and lags in growth just as does the entire body. During the rest phase between spurts, the bulb at the end of the hair root decreases in volume and the hair becomes loose. Although exaggerated during adolescence, particularly in girls (due the influences of female hormones), even preadolescents can lose up to two hundred hairs per day. Despite finding hair all over the bathroom floor and in your drains, the scalp hair population appears normal in this condition. A microscopic examination of the hair root identifies the cause of the hair loss.

Alopecia, a spontaneous loss of hair, either in patches ("alopecia areata") or over the entire body ("alopecia universalis"), has no defined cause or predictably effective treatment. The areata variety usually resolves with time. The universalis variety is less likely to remit. The diagnosis is based primarily on ruling out other causes of hair loss. This condition has been known long before the advent of vaccines, antibiotics and environmental toxic contamination. Therefore, claims that any of these factors are responsible for this condition are unfounded.

Children's trichotillomania is the compulsive twirling or pulling of the hair, resulting in patches of hair loss. It can be diagnosed by watching your child closely if he or she starts to develop irregular patches of baldness. Trichotillomania may include the pulling of eyebrows and lashes. The hair loss is usually in the form of broken hair of different lengths patchy. This type of loss usually resolves itself.

Telogen effluvium is another common cause of hair loss in children and results from a number of causes. Hair that is in its growth cycle changes to the resting cycle, after which it will shed. The causes are high fever, emotional stress, flu, medical treatment such as chemotherapy, surgery, too much vitamin A and dieting. The hair may take a few months to begin the growth cycle again, so it may be slow to return.