I have a sad story to tell today.
Sofie began asking if she could cut her hair short last week. She became more and more insistent that what she wanted was to cut her hair. I'm personally of the opinion that it's her hair, so she can do what she likes with it. I talked it over with her father and we agreed that we would allow her to cut to midback length.
As the stylist began cutting away her beautiful locks, she asked why Sofie wanted to get her hair cut off. Sofie told the stylist that Madison (not her real name, of course), a girl in her class, had been making fun of her and told her that she was ugly. Madison told Sofie that she'd better cut her hair off, or she'd be ugly forever. This may sound ridiculous, but Sofie is only five years old.
As I heard my daughter telling the story, I was fuming. I couldn't believe that my daughter was bullied into cutting her hair!
Once her hair was cut to the middle of her back, Sofie turned to me and said, "It needs to be shorter, Mommy. Madison will be mad if it isn't up to here." She indicated chin length.
"Absolutely not!" I said, "Mommy and Daddy decided that you could cut to where it is now and I absolutely will not allow you to cut more just because someone else told you that you had to cut it. If you decide that you want to cut it shorter later, we'll talk about it."
She seemed worried, but didn't argue. She hasn't complained about the length of her hair except to mention once or twice that it needs to be shorter because of Madison.
I sat down this morning and wrote out a long letter to her teacher about what had happened. I asked the teacher to set up an appointment with me to discuss what had happened. I am so mad! Sofie had beautiful hair and seemed really happy with it. The fact that someone else made her feel bad enough about her hair to make her want to cut it just really ticks me off. I'm mad at myself, too, because I didn't ask the simple question "Why do you want to cut it, Sofie?"
It is hair, though, and it will grow back, if that's what she wants. Her hair grows incredibly fast, too. I'm just worried that she'll succumb to bullying in other ways. I'm interested in what the teacher will say about what happened. In the teacher's defense, the bullying seems to have happened in the cafeteria, where the teacher is not present and the children are supervised by lunch monitors. Sofie may have been scared to tell her teacher (and me) that someone was bullying her.
I'll definitely update after I talk to the teacher. Bullying is not okay, whether it's about hair or anything else.
Sofie began asking if she could cut her hair short last week. She became more and more insistent that what she wanted was to cut her hair. I'm personally of the opinion that it's her hair, so she can do what she likes with it. I talked it over with her father and we agreed that we would allow her to cut to midback length.
As the stylist began cutting away her beautiful locks, she asked why Sofie wanted to get her hair cut off. Sofie told the stylist that Madison (not her real name, of course), a girl in her class, had been making fun of her and told her that she was ugly. Madison told Sofie that she'd better cut her hair off, or she'd be ugly forever. This may sound ridiculous, but Sofie is only five years old.
As I heard my daughter telling the story, I was fuming. I couldn't believe that my daughter was bullied into cutting her hair!
Once her hair was cut to the middle of her back, Sofie turned to me and said, "It needs to be shorter, Mommy. Madison will be mad if it isn't up to here." She indicated chin length.
"Absolutely not!" I said, "Mommy and Daddy decided that you could cut to where it is now and I absolutely will not allow you to cut more just because someone else told you that you had to cut it. If you decide that you want to cut it shorter later, we'll talk about it."
She seemed worried, but didn't argue. She hasn't complained about the length of her hair except to mention once or twice that it needs to be shorter because of Madison.
I sat down this morning and wrote out a long letter to her teacher about what had happened. I asked the teacher to set up an appointment with me to discuss what had happened. I am so mad! Sofie had beautiful hair and seemed really happy with it. The fact that someone else made her feel bad enough about her hair to make her want to cut it just really ticks me off. I'm mad at myself, too, because I didn't ask the simple question "Why do you want to cut it, Sofie?"
It is hair, though, and it will grow back, if that's what she wants. Her hair grows incredibly fast, too. I'm just worried that she'll succumb to bullying in other ways. I'm interested in what the teacher will say about what happened. In the teacher's defense, the bullying seems to have happened in the cafeteria, where the teacher is not present and the children are supervised by lunch monitors. Sofie may have been scared to tell her teacher (and me) that someone was bullying her.
I'll definitely update after I talk to the teacher. Bullying is not okay, whether it's about hair or anything else.
