What Would You Do If Someone Relaxed Your Child’s #NaturalHair Without Permission?

Natural Hair Little GirlFor the second time in the past few weeks I’ve been told similar horror stories.  In both situations children with natural hair were sent for short visits with relatives and were returned with relaxed hair!  In the first story the mom sent her two daughters to be with their dad and stepmom for Spring Break and the stepmom put relaxers in both girls hair.  In the second story parents sent their daughter with grandparents for the holidays and she was returned with hair that had been chemically relaxed.

Needless to say I was horrified when I heard this.  I could not imagine what I would do if someone did this to my daughter.  These are definitely fighting words for me!  Of course since I am a strong advocate for natural hair I find these actions highly offensive.  But even if I wasn’t,  why would anyone think that it’s ok to change anything on another person’s child? How dare a person make such a “permanent” (pun intended) decision without the input of all involved.  Especially when the potential to cause irreversible damage is so great (especially for young children).  It is a chemical process after all.  Whether having natural hair is the belief of all parents or not it should absolutely be discussed and agreed upon before any action of this type is taken. I mean what if someone decided that they don’t like the color of your child’s hair?  Do they have permission to change it to another color? If there is even an inkling of a chance that this situation could happen to you and your child(ren) here are 3 ways to ensure that your child’s hair is not tampered with when they are away visiting others.

Protective-Style

1. Protective Styling

Protective styling is a way to style the hair so that it is protected from the weather, damage, etc.  Cornrows, 2 strand Twists or braids are just 3 of the styles that can be used to achieve this.  Hair worn in these styles can last for at least a week, so that nobody has to do anything to the hair while they are away.  These styles are very versatile and can withstand an active lifestyle.  I recommend this especially for younger children who are not old enough to maintain their own hair.

2.  Teach your child to maintain their own hair

If your child is old enough, teach them to maintain their own hair.  At the very least they should know to cover their hair at night.  You can start them on a regimen of spraying their own hair with a moisturizing spray daily when they are old enough to do so.  This will help keep people out of their hair.

3.  Blatant threats

Should you threaten bodily harm to anyone that messes with your baby’s hair?  Wellll…ok don’t do that.  Just make it very clear to the people that are caring for your child on your behalf.  Let them know up front that you don’t want their hair altered. When blended families are involved have the discussion and work out any disagreements so that there are no misunderstandings. Communication is key. I feel for both of the mother’s in these situations. I hope this never happens to anyone else.  Hopefully my suggestions can help to prevent it.

Would you be upset if someone put a relaxer in your child’s hair without permission?

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Thank you for visiting my site. My name is Stacey Taylor aka “The SistahChick” I am the Head Sistah-In-Charge here at TheSistahCafe.com.   I am an Atlanta based Professional Blogger who spends my time enjoying the beauty of everyday life and sharing that here on my blog.

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