Mami2Mommy retweeted this video today.  I can’t believe I hadn’t seen it before! Funny thing is, I had just had a conversation with my 8 year old about hair this morning and how beautiful it is in all it’s “bigness”.  

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You see, she normally wears it up, in a pony or 2 braids.  Mostly because she’s super active and wants it out of her face.  This week, she’s got a foot injury and can’t do PE or recess.  So, she decided to wear her hair down to school.

For those of you that don’t know my daughter, you just don’t understand how big her hair can get and how much hair she has on her head.  Probably more than 3 average people put together.  So, as it grows, so does her annoyance.  When she’s home, it’s not a big deal, but at school, she gets a little overwhelmed.  Part of it might be that the kids start asking questions, touching it, talking about it.  It begins to take on a life of it’s own.  Now the kids aren’t usually being mean, it’s just that PJ don’t usually wear it down and there aren’t many kids with kinky curls at her school, especially those that leave it natural, so it’s sort of a novelty.

When I saw this cute Sesame Street video, I thought of the times 2 or 3 years ago when she didn’t have all this love for her curly locks.  She asked to straighten it almost monthly.  And let me tell you, that’s a chore.  2 1/2 hours of flat ironing. Brutal. This video would have been great back then.  

I wouldn’t expect this video to be a cure all for kids that don’t love their curly, kinky hair and I’m not saying everyone MUST go natural; I’m just saying it’s another tool that helps parents teach our children to love who they are and appreciate what they have been given.

Ironically, the straightened hair is what taught my daughter to love her curls. You see, when she has straight hair, she’s just like everyone else in her class. At first, it’s cool. She flips it, twirls it, combs it. But then about 3 days later, it’s time to wash it. Time to go back to PJ. Time to be unique and different and curly. She even seems to get a little sassier, a little more outgoing, a little more comfortable in her own skin.

For some kids, their hair really has an impact on their daily lives, so don’t underestimate the value of this video. Teaching curly heads to love their locks at a young age is a good thing. When they’re older, they can choose what to do with it, whether it’s natural, chemically straightened, flat ironed, whatever. But until then, the power of pride never hurt anyone.