no, we will not shave your head!

[GoblinTart]

So a few days ago, I'm hanging out at my parents house. It's time for my 2yo son to have his haircut. Dad pulls out the clippers, I put DS in my lap, mom comes to hold his head still, and we commence clipping. After tears, a bath, and sweeping up hair, my DS looks like a different boy. Dad tried for a mohawk, but DS put up too much of a fight, so buzzed all over like always. Maybe when he's older and can hold still.

Of course, mom and dad are gushing about how much better he looks. Which he does. My 4yo niece is taking in this information. She goes over to my dad. "Papa! You cut my hair like jimmy's?"

Augh! No!! My mom is like, no, only boys get short hair. My sister is like Aaawww, how cute. Dad and i look at my sis horrified. Dad had to tell her "no, papa loooves long hair on girls, It's much prettier"

I take my hair down and show niece, "see how soft it is? And shiny? Long hair is much more fun than short hair."

Now she wants to grow out her hair :)

Of course, my mom had to make comments that I should cut my hair. I'd spend a lot less time on it if it was short. And i look so much better with short hair. sigh....she's convinced that since her hair is easy to maintain at a short length, mine must be too. No, just, no.

[HintOfMint]

Aww, I think it's cute she wanted to be like her cousin.

Actually, I always think its cute the way children copy and experiment and explore, regardless of gender norms. It's nice to have that innocence. :)

[carrieavaught]

That is really very cute, and funny! But I wouldn't have shaved her head either lol!

[GoblinTart]

Aww, I think it's cute she wanted to be like her cousin.

Actually, I always think its cute the way children copy and experiment and explore, regardless of gender norms. It's nice to have that innocence. :)

Oh it was cute, don't get me wrong. But my sister offered to actually buzz her hair after the cute comment. And we're never sure if my sis is just being silly, or serious. That's more what the horrified looks were for.

[Toadstool]

Why did your son have to have it buzzed against his will, yet your niece isn't allowed although she DOES want it? Do you follow strict gender stereotypes where you live?

[Arya]

If we indulged every 4 year old's passing whim, they would be covered head to to toe in non-toxic marker to look like a zebra with a mohawk and wearing only a pink tutu. Okay actually that sounds kind of cool, and I would totally let my 4 year old go for that.

I was a bit shocked at how strictly gender roles seemed to be enforced at first, but we're missing lots of the story here. She could be a tiny truck enthusiast and a white belt in karate, and he could be taking toddler ballet classes and playing dollies for all we know.

Toadstool, take a look, the mother did offer to buzz her hair for her. And my god, two year olds get so much crap caught in their hair, and often hate brushing more than they hate razors, so I can see why they might want to cut it off. Lets not leap to omghorrorletscallCASyouredamagingyourchild proportions just yet.

[GoblinTart]

Why did your son have to have it buzzed against his will, yet your niece isn't allowed although she DOES want it? Do you follow strict gender stereotypes where you live?
We follow gender stereotypes when it comes to appearances. At least while they're small. Boys have short hair, girls have long hair. And on to my next.comment just below...

If we indulged every 4 year old's passing whim, they would be covered head to to toe in non-toxic marker to look like a zebra with a mohawk and wearing only a pink tutu. Okay actually that sounds kind of cool, and I would totally let my 4 year old go for that.

I was a bit shocked at how strictly gender roles seemed to be enforced at first, but we're missing lots of the story here. She could be a tiny truck enthusiast and a white belt in karate, and he could be taking toddler ballet classes and playing dollies for all we know.

Toadstool, take a look, the mother did offer to buzz her hair for her. And my god, two year olds get so much crap caught in their hair, and often hate brushing more than they hate razors, so I can see why they might want to cut it off. Lets not leap to omghorrorletscallCASyouredamagingyourchild proportions just yet.


My sons hair is very very coarse and hard to comb, plus...he's 2, he gets sticky stuff in his hair which makes it even harder to comb.

The girls all have cars and trucks and dolls. My son has cars and trucks and dolls. We don't enforce gender stereotypes in play or actions. Appearances only.
Once we're moved and settled, both my kids (boy and girl) will be put in sports and dance classes once theyre old enough.

Once theyre even older, they can start making decisions on their own about their hair and clothing. But right now, at their ages, I do like it to be obvious that i have a boy and a girl.


And as for making kids do things against their will, if it were up to my kids, we'd live in a pigsty, and they would never bathe or have their hair brushed. They would never eat healthy, and live on a diet of cookies and candies. Sometimes, the decisions belong to the parents, not the child.

[Arya]

We follow gender stereotypes when it comes to appearances. At least while they're small. Boys have short hair, girls have long hair. And on to my next.comment just below...


My sons hair is very very coarse and hard to comb, plus...he's 2, he gets sticky stuff in his hair which makes it even harder to comb.
That's what I figured ^_^
The girls all have cars and trucks and dolls. My son has cars and trucks and dolls. We don't enforce gender stereotypes in play or actions. Appearances only.
Once we're moved and settled, both my kids (boy and girl) will be put in sports and dance classes once theyre old enough.

Excellent! My parents put us in Judo and Ballet. The judo stuck, the ballet didn't, but I'm glad we had exposure to both. We had transformers and ninja turtles and she-ra and toy swords and guns and barbies and dress-up costumes of all types imaginable. I got annoyed by grandma taking me to the hairdressers and imposing her will on my head, but that's about it. I'm really happy my parents let us do what they wanted when it came to how we dressed (within reason: no fluffy dresses at school, no scummy overalls for nice events).

[DragonLady]

Sometimes, the decisions belong to the parents, not the child. :beercheer:

Yes, yes, yes!!!!!

[Arrow]

What does "DS" mean? I'm so down on my internet jargon. People talk about their "DH" as well and I can't interpret :(

[GoblinTart]

What does "DS" mean? I'm so down on my internet jargon. People talk about their "DH" as well and I can't interpret :(

DS- dear son
DD- dear daughter
DH- dear husband
SS- stepson
SD- stepdaughter
And so on...
Beware, look at context too! SD can stand for Search and destroy!

[MinderMutsig]

What does "DS" mean? I'm so down on my internet jargon. People talk about their "DH" as well and I can't interpret :(

DB(F)= dear boyfriend
DF= dear fiancée (or sometimes dear friend)
DH= dear husband
DS= dear son (sometimes followed by a number to indicate which child is which, like DS2)
DD= dear daughter

etc.

Obviously, depending on the story, the D can also stand for damned, dorky or something other but the story should make that clear. ;)

[annah]

We follow gender stereotypes when it comes to appearances. At least while they're small. Boys have short hair, girls have long hair. And on to my next.comment just below...


My sons hair is very very coarse and hard to comb, plus...he's 2, he gets sticky stuff in his hair which makes it even harder to comb.

The girls all have cars and trucks and dolls. My son has cars and trucks and dolls. We don't enforce gender stereotypes in play or actions. Appearances only.
Once we're moved and settled, both my kids (boy and girl) will be put in sports and dance classes once theyre old enough.

Once theyre even older, they can start making decisions on their own about their hair and clothing. But right now, at their ages, I do like it to be obvious that i have a boy and a girl.


And as for making kids do things against their will, if it were up to my kids, we'd live in a pigsty, and they would never bathe or have their hair brushed. They would never eat healthy, and live on a diet of cookies and candies. Sometimes, the decisions belong to the parents, not the child.

All of the above here also. We try to avoid gender roles as much as possible, but in my house, the girls have long hair, the boys short. My girls have trucks, and cars, and transformers, and play baseball (teeball). My son used to have baby dolls, but he stopped playing with it on his own, as he has been growing more boyish. He will sometimes still play dolls with his sisters though.

[Toadstool]

w.

Toadstool, take a look, the mother did offer to buzz her hair for her. And my god, two year olds get so much crap caught in their hair, and often hate brushing more than they hate razors, so I can see why they might want to cut it off. Lets not leap to omghorrorletscallCASyouredamagingyourchild proportions just yet.


I didn't leap to any conclusions. I asked whether this occurred because the OP stuck to strict gender stereotypes. In terms of appearance (which is what I meant) she said yes, she does.

[carrieavaught]

I do stick to gender stereotypes. I won't deny it. However I dare someone to get a pair shears next to my 14yr old son's head ha ha! He doesn't want it cut, he takes really good care of it. He is also a straight A student, member of the Junior National Honor Society, and planning on going to Harvard (on scholarship cause we can't afford it). Because of all that, if he wants his hair long, fine.

[pepperminttea]

I'm so down on my internet jargon.

For future reference, you might want to bookmark UrbanDictionary (http://www.urbandictionary.com/). :) Some definitions are NSFW, but on the whole it's quite handy.

[jojo]

:beercheer:

Yes, yes, yes!!!!!

I totally agree, once there old enough to make an informed decision it's up them what they do with their hair but until then it's up to the parents.

Cute story!