So, why do even litvaks grow their kids’ hair down to the cheekbone? If the kids don’t have sideburns, what is the reason to let hair hang down over it from higher on their head?
Does this make any sense?
(And don’t tell me chinuch, since it is not doing the mitzva. The mitzva is to have the hairs that grow there not cut too short, not to have other hair hanging there. It is no different than coloring it on with a marker.)