Ignoring my child's obsession

[Guest guest]

My daughter, age 4 has become obsessed with styling her dolls’ hair (dolls, plural!). When I mean obsessed, I’m guessing you guys know it means not stopping for hours. only trouble is that she cannot exactly twist a ponytail holder around the hair on her own, yet. So every 2 minutes, she comes to me for help. I mean, every 2 minutes, for hours. I already put my foot down a few times and I said that if you can’t make *her* a ponytail, then use the headbands! Well, she keeps coming again and again.

Do I have a right to stick to my guns and teach her to play on her own, or is it cruel since it is an obsession, I’m not helping her be soothed by it because I’m not helping her arrive to her goal? HELP! I’m losing my mind. (oh, she has about 40 dolls with long hair!)