she runs when she sees the brush and then she gets knots in her hair... what should i do? she is almost 4

Stop using the brush to beat her with, then she'll stop freaking out.

Loreal Kids has a great detangling spray. You could also let her brush her own hair, so she can do it as gently as she wants and you don't have to fight her.

Good luck!

My daughter has that same problem. she turned 4 and she tells me that she can comb her own hair. I usually sit her down where she can just watch disney or nick jr and spray detangilar spray and brush it away!

You can let her brush your hair first.

You can make hair brushing a social activity. Like I said let brush your hair, maybe he doll's hair next and then (if she likes) you can brush her hair. Reward her for every tangle you brush out. Make her a partner in this activity.

Let her tell you why she doesn't like to have her hair brushed and let her devise a plan on how to make her hair neat and pretty.

She hates the brush not only because it hurts her but also because she feels a huge loss of control when you hold her and force that thing through her hair without her permission.

cut shorter and use detangler

get her a doll or somthing so that she can brush/fix its hair while you do hers
buy some detangling spray as well so your not pulling on her hair that way it won't hurt and she may not hate it as much

when she is asleep

get her a good hair cut. if she wants long hair then she must brush it herself if she won't keep the tangles out cut cute and short My daughter started brushing her hair at four, if she had not I would have kept it short. You are the Mom! Good luck

I agree with the dolls comment. Let her bursh the dolls hair while you brush hers.

My mom always told me that if I brushed my hair 100 strokes everynight, I'd have beautiful long hair forever. Wether it's true or not, I always brushed my hair when she told me to = )