Mine is more wavy than curly, but the curls are the reason that I grew my hair out in the first place. When my "bangs" got to the point that they were no longer an issue, I had to do something different.
Growing up, my dad, who had the same hairline as I, as did/does his father, my brother, my uncle, and I presume all male ancestors on that side of the family, (Sorry son!) always just had my mom cut his hair. She would just comb it back and cut it straight across the bottom. Done! Simple, easy to maintain, and looked fine, considering there was nothing on-top or in front. If I did that, my curls/waves would make my hair stand out all over the place! That length, just to the nape of the neck or whatever, is precisely the WRONG spot for my hair to be, unless I totally forgo all vanity. So I had a choice: Cut it short, as in buzz-cut, shave it off, or grow it out. I chose the latter. (Interestingly, one of my co-workers shaved his head about the same time, and my brother usually has a buzz cut...)
So I started growing it out. This was about 6 or 7 years ago, when my daughter was about 4ish and starting to grow her hair out too. Here is one of the best pictures of my hair, with an assist by the Magic House children's science museum in St. Louis:
My mom always told me growing up that if I grew my hair long I would be the envy of all the girls, because it waves in just the way many of them spend lots of time and money to get their hair to do... I don't think they envy the front though...