This is an older video, but it still shoots daggers into the heart of parents with “natural cuties” everywhere.
I admit, I went natural three years ago because I wanted my daughter to have confidence in the curls that grow naturally from her head. But I realize it’s not enough for her to simply to hear it from me, because sometimes you don’t believe Mommy if everyone else says otherwise.
I remember being picked on in school for daring to wear my hair natural in the eighth grade, and I went home and begged my mother to get me a relaxer. She took me to the salon and I began the ritual of getting my hair “touched up” every six weeks. Not because I really wanted to, but because I didn’t want to be teased, or look different from the other girls. My hair had lost its luster and was no longer thick, but had been beaten into submission. But it was fine with me because I fit in with everyone else.
Like the girl in the video, I hope my daughter has the confidence to say that she is beautiful just how she is and if other people don’t like it, they can go kick rocks.
What would you do if this was your daughter? How are you working to instill confidence in your kids?