Her daughter asked if she could shave her head. Why wouldn’t she ask? She saw her dad and brother shave their head, just like they do every month. When she asked her Dad he said he’d have to ask mom, because isn’t that what dads say when they aren’t sure what to say?
Paige Lucas-Stannard is a mother who wants her children to be who they are and feel free to express themselves. She wrote “Gender Neutral Parenting” and blogs at Baby Dust Diaries. Paige said she balked a little when her daughter, Aellyn, asked to shave her head. Even though she is supportive of her daughter, she said she had a “gut feeling that sounded something like this: “DEAR GOD NOOOOOOOO!”
In the end she said yes. Paige had a conversation with her daughter about how some people don’t think girls should shave their head. Aellyn told her mom that girls can have their hair anyway they want and she’d tell them she was a girl if they thought she was a boy.
Paige struggled with talking her daughter out of the haircut. It was difficult for her not to just say no. Even though it was a difficult choice, she said she would “take the discomfort of seeing my daughter without hair over teaching her that she is a doll to be dressed up for others’ pleasure or that any future relationship she is in she should allow someone to manipulate her or dictate her appearance.”
You can read all about the event over at her blog, but we want to know what you think. What would you do if your daughter asked to shave her head? Is it the same as letting your son grow his hair long? How difficult would it be not to impart your own ideas on your child? Is it our place to set standards for our children?
