Hair is a bit of an issue in this family.
There is a lot of it. Some of us have almost TOO much hair. Those of you who have met the family in real life have SEEN the hair. Really, we do try to manage it. It just doesn’t look that way.
Both Caity and Adam have a LOT of hair. Caity’s hair is thick and curly and we can’t figure out if long or short will make it any easier to deal with. Even after much brushing, she pretty much looks like she just woke up and walked out the door without ever glancing at a brush.
Then there is Adam.
Not only does Adam have thick coarse hair. It is now long. He has been keeping it shaggy for about two years now. This seems to annoy many people around us. And I am fascinated by the need for people to comment on his hair.
Now, from their Grandmother, I understand the comments. She is from the era where children should be quiet and well groomed. Two things my kids are not. But from neighbours and strangers?
The other day while picking up the kids from school, the neighbours dad started to comment about hair styles. HE and his two boys (Adam’s school mates) had obviously just had haircuts. All were the traditional Super/Magic/Cheap cuts that most people do for their kids, especially school age boys. He was going on about Adam being able to see properly or look what a real hair cut looks like …ha ha ha ha.
I smiled and carried on and just ignored him…but the more I have thought about this the more boggled I am.
From Jezebel.com
Now we are not talking Rene Charles hair here. We have trimmed and cut Adam’s hair since he was wee. Frankly I was relieved when he told me he liked it long. I was tired of the lack of choice when it comes to boys hair and the cookie cutter look of boys in elementary school. I liked that he wanted to be different. I do realize that a lot of it comes from his sensory issues and dislike of people touching his head….but I like that he was comfortable in stating what HE felt was right for him and not comparing himself to his peers.
Other people obviously feel differently.
People apparently ASK my mom if he has had a hair cut yet. It prays on their minds. The only thing that bothers me is his laziness when it comes to WASHING his hair. That is just gross.
But I am his parent and it is MY responsibility to make sure he gets the hygiene thing.
So what is the deal with boys and their hair. In a world that seems to struggle to get rid of gender stereotyping….why do we still want our little boys to have short hair?
I know boys that get a lot of comments about the length of their hair too. However, it didn’t occur to me that there might be people SO concerned about it. That’s weird. Most of the boys I know that are teenagers seem to have longer hair. Adam is just starting early. 🙂
Seriously! I can’t even believe how many people comment about Angelo’s hair. Enough already. When he was a toddler we had his hair sort of long all over. I still look at those photos and want to cry because he’s so stinkin’ cute. Now (at 4-1/2) it’s still long on top but the bottom is cut shorter. I’m not explaning that well but it’s not anywhere even remotely close to his shoulders. And people still feel the need to comment all the time! I think the only way I’m not going to get anyone all hot and bothered over it is if I give him a buzzcut. Not happening.
I laughed when I read this story. My eldest, now twenty, keeps his very well groomed, cut close on the sides, longer on the top. But when he was 12 and 14. Whoa! A wild tangle of wiry mess. But he did it not to be individual but to be the same as his friends. So, ‘hats off’ to Adam for being his own man. 🙂 I just have to wait until my twins, now eleven, decide to do their own thing. Thanks for a great post!
Right now my son has the traditional boy cut, and after taking him to get a trim yesterday and watching him cry through it, I am quite tempted to just let it grow. I never expected that my son would be the one whose hair I’m always fixating on, but that’s how it turned out. Who knew boys’ hair was so much harder and more expensive to maintain?